Netherlands Threatens to Boycott World Conference Against Racism

[cali]

THE HAGUE, 17/12/08 - The Netherlands will boycott the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) if the anti-Semitic tone in the texts for the draft resolution is not removed, said Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen yesterday on Radio 1.

The UN conference takes place in Geneva next April. Verhagen will still make proposals for altering the texts in two preparatory meetings. If this does not succeed, the Netherlands will withdraw.

According to Verhagen, some Islamic countries misuse the UN for anti-Semitic mud-slinging. "It all again only appears to be about the branding of Israel and the condemnation of Western countries because of their past of slavery and colonialism."

The pro-Israeli small Christian party ChristenUnie had called on the government to stay away from the conference. Canada and Israel have already withdrawn, while the US is still in doubt. Verhagen, too, does not want to close the door already now.

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http://www.nisnews.nl/public/171208_3.htm

[LeftishBrit]

1. It's sad that this needs to be considered...

but if a conference against racism gets used as an excuse for nationalistic, xenophobic, and antisemitic rants, then it defeats its own purpose.

ETA: I hope that Verhagen's opposition to antisemitism and other forms of racism is expressed as much at home as abroad. There has been a significant rise in antisemitism in the Netherlands recently; not to mention the Islamophobia and anti-immigrant bigotry of the disgusting Geert Wilders.

[Lithos]

2. Rise in bigotry

I think there is fair correlation between the rise in bigotry in places such as the UK and the Netherlands and poor economic and labor (job) conditions which have been prevalent. In addition to the obvious issues with the economy plunging now, I am also concerned that if it gets bad enough we will see even greater rises in hate.

L-

[LeftishBrit]

3. I agree about the association between economic hard times and scapegoating..

but this particular form has been an endemic problem in Europe for a long time. When Tory MP and demagogue Enoch Powell whipped up anti-immigrant hatred in the UK in the 1960s, the economy was not in bad shape.

Fortunately, most Europaean governments nowadays at least nominally oppose and try to ameliorate these forms of bigotry (though the effort is not always great). There are exceptions, where governments actively whip up bigotry: notably in several Eastern Europaean countries, and in Italy under Berlusconi.