IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1361 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States 
should lead a high-level diplomatic effort to defeat the campaign by 
some members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to divert 
the United Nation’s Durban Review Conference from a review of prob-
lems in their own and other countries by attacking Israel, promoting 
anti-Semitism, and undermining the Universal Charter of Human Rights 
and to ensure that the Durban Review Conference serves as a forum 
to review commitments to combat all forms of racism. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 22, 2008 
Mr. BERMAN (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. 
WATERS, and Mr. SCOTT of Georgia) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the United States should lead a high-level diplomatic 
effort to defeat the campaign by some members of the 
Organization of the Islamic Conference to divert the 
United Nation’s Durban Review Conference from a re-
view of problems in their own and other countries by 
attacking Israel, promoting anti-Semitism, and under-
mining the Universal Charter of Human Rights and to 
ensure that the Durban Review Conference serves as 
a forum to review commitments to combat all forms 
of racism. 
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•HRES 1361 IH 
Whereas the United Nations is undertaking preparations for 
a 2009 Durban Review Conference on the implementa-
tion of commitments made as part of the 2001 World 
Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa; 
Whereas the 2001 World Conference Against Racism marked 
an important recognition of the historic wounds caused 
by slavery, colonialism, and related ongoing racism and 
racial discrimination, including the recognition of the 
transatlantic slave trade as a crime against humanity, 
and that people of African descent, people of Asian de-
scent, and indigenous peoples who were victims of these 
acts continue to face discrimination and marginalization 
as a direct consequence; 
Whereas the 2001 World Conference Against Racism also un-
dertook historical efforts to recognize and address ongo-
ing racism and racial discrimination against persons of 
African descent, Jewish, Muslim, caste, indigenous, Roma 
and Sinti, and other communities, anti-migrant xeno-
phobia, and incitement to racial and religious hatred; 
Whereas the 2001 World Conference Against Racism and its 
achievements were overshadowed and diminished as some 
participants in the conference, in particular during the 
Non-Governmental 
Organization 
Forum, 
called 
the 
‘‘NGO Forum Against Racism’’ (NGO Forum), misused 
human rights language to promote hate, anti-Semitism, 
incitement, and divert the focus of the conference from 
problems within their own countries to a focus on Israel, 
leading the conference to be discredited; 
Whereas the NGO Forum produced a document called the 
‘‘NGO Declaration’’ that contained abusive language 
branding Israel an ‘‘apartheid state’’ that is guilty of 
‘‘racist crimes against humanity’’; 
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•HRES 1361 IH 
Whereas the United States withdrew its delegation from the 
2001 World Conference on Racism, a decision that Sec-
retary of State Colin Powell explained by stating that 
‘‘you do not combat racism by conferences that produce 
declarations containing hateful language, some of which 
is a throwback to the days of ‘Zionism equals racism’; or 
supports the idea that we have made too much of the 
Holocaust; or suggests that apartheid exists in Israel; or 
that singles out only one country in the world—Israel— 
for censure and abuse’’; 
Whereas the atmosphere of anti-Semitism at the NGO Forum 
was dubbed as ‘‘hateful, even racist’’ by former High 
Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson and as 
‘‘disgraceful’’ by Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad of 
South Africa, who also affirmed that parts of the 2001 
World Conference Against Racism were ‘‘hijacked and 
used by some with an anti-Israeli agenda to turn it into 
an anti-Semitic event’’; 
Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 
Rights, who served as Secretary General of the 2001 
World Conference Against Racism, refused to accept the 
NGO Declaration, and some leading civil and human 
rights organizations and activists criticized the repugnant 
anti-Semitism and demonization of Israel in the NGO 
Forum, and the harassment of Jewish participants it fo-
mented; 
Whereas despite recognizing the Holocaust and increased 
anti-Semitism, the official government declaration adopt-
ed by the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, the 
‘‘Durban Declaration and Plan of Action’’, highlighted 
the ‘‘plight of the Palestinian people under foreign occu-
pation’’, and in so doing singled out one regional conflict 
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•HRES 1361 IH 
for discussion in a biased way, and wrongly branded 
Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as racist; 
Whereas, at the first organizing session of the planned 2009 
Durban Review Conference on August 27, 2007, in Gene-
va, Switzerland, Ambassador Masood Khan of Pakistan, 
speaking ‘‘on behalf of the OIC’’, described the concerns 
being expressed about the Durban Review Conference as 
a ‘‘smear campaign’’, and made it clear that the Organi-
zation of the Islamic Conference’s (OIC) intention is to 
make so-called new forms of racism a centerpiece of the 
conference agenda, urging also that ‘‘[t]he Conference 
should move the spotlight on the continued plight of Pal-
estinian people and non-recognition of their inalienable 
right to self-determination’’; 
Whereas many OIC member states have already made clear 
their determination to go beyond the comprehensive list 
of items covered by the Durban Declaration and Plan of 
Action to force consideration by the 2009 Durban Review 
Conference of a global blasphemy code that would legiti-
mize arbitrary restrictions of religious freedom, freedom 
of conscience, and the freedom of expression and opinion 
in the name of protecting religions from ‘‘defamation’’ 
and ‘‘blasphemy’’; 
Whereas the Human Rights Council agreed in Resolution 3/ 
2 on December 8, 2006, that the 2009 Durban Review 
Conference would, like other United Nations review con-
ferences, focus on countries’ implementation of the many 
commitments to fight racism and discrimination already 
affirmed in the official governmental Durban Declaration 
and Plan of Action and that there will be ‘‘no renegoti-
ation of the existing agreements contained therein’’; 
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•HRES 1361 IH 
Whereas, following the August 27, 2007, 2009 Durban Re-
view Conference preparatory meeting in Geneva, Switzer-
land, countries, including the United States, France, and 
Israel, have stated that, unless the direction of the Con-
ference is refocused, the process will not be credible or 
worthy of support; 
Whereas the High Commissioner for Human Rights was 
named Secretary-General of the 2009 Durban Review 
Conference; 
Whereas, in advance of determining the modalities, format, 
duration, and venue of the 2009 Durban Review Con-
ference, the OIC and G–77 member states requested the 
United Nations General Assembly to fund a $7.2 million 
preparatory process of international, regional, and na-
tional meetings; 
Whereas, on November 28, 2007, 45 United Nations Member 
States, including the United States, joined together in 
the Third Committee (Resolution A/C/3/62/L.65/Rev.) to 
vote against a resolution that contradicted the 2009 Dur-
ban Review Conference preparatory committee consensus 
agreements about the framework of the Durban Review 
Conference, its scope, and sources of funding; 
Whereas, on December 21, 2007, 40 United Nations Member 
States, including the United States, joined together in 
the Fifth Committee (Resolution A/C.5/62/21) to vote 
against a resolution that authorized up to $6.8 million to 
fund the 2009 Durban Review Conference preparatory 
process; 
Whereas the United States has decided to withhold from its 
2008 funding for the United Nations an amount equiva-
lent to the United States share of the United Nations 
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•HRES 1361 IH 
Human Rights Council-administered preparatory process 
for the 2009 Durban Review Conference; and 
Whereas, since the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, 
the need for a credible global forum to review United Na-
tions Member States’ efforts to combat racism remains 
urgent given the continuing scourge of racism and related 
violence, including discrimination against persons of Afri-
can descent, Jewish, Muslim, caste, indigenous, Roma 
and Sinti, and other communities, anti-migrant xeno-
phobia, and incitement to racial and religious hatred: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) acknowledges that the 2001 World Con-
ference Against Racism marked an important rec-
ognition of the historic wounds caused by slavery, 
colonialism, and related ongoing racism and racial 
discrimination, including the recognition of the 
transatlantic slave trade as a crime against human-
ity, and that people of African descent, people of 
Asian descent, and indigenous peoples who were vic-
tims of these acts continue to face discrimination 
and marginalization as a direct consequence; 
(2) notes that the Human Rights Council 
agreed in Resolution 3/2 on December 8, 2006, that 
the 2009 Durban Review Conference would like 
other United Nations review conferences, focus on 
countries’ implementation of the many commitments 
to fight racism and discrimination already affirmed 
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•HRES 1361 IH 
in the official government Durban Declaration and 
Plan of Action and that there will be ‘‘no renegoti-
ation of the existing agreements contained therein’’; 
(3) commends the Governments of the United 
States, France, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom, 
and the Netherlands that have declared their inten-
tions not to participate in any United Nations Dur-
ban Review Conference that supplants a discussion 
of country commitments to combat contemporary 
forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, 
and related intolerance with a campaign that pro-
motes hate, undermines human rights standards, 
and damages the credibility of the United Nations 
itself; 
(4) calls on the President to urge other heads 
of state to condition participation in the 2009 Dur-
ban Review Conference process on concrete action by 
the United Nations and United Nations Member 
States to ensure that it and they will reject any ef-
fort to inject anti-Semitism, hatred, and discrimina-
tion in all its forms onto the agenda of the Con-
ference; 
(5) calls on the Secretary of State to— 
(A) initiate United States policy into ac-
tion by calling on counterparts, especially Paki-
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