27 February 2009. A date which richly deserves to live in memory, in history, and in infamy, but which many seem to be doing their damnedest to conveniently "forget." On a Friday night closing out Black History Month (do you appreciate the irony?), and thirty-eight (38) days into his presidential tenure, Barack Obama's admin issued the following press "statement." I believe the impact of this buried press statement may hold far more lasting significance than Mr. Obama becoming president of the United States. The February 27 statement announced that, despite the U.S.'s own history, origins, and factual demography (as opposed to what I'll call her "fantasy demography"), and, in spite of having elected an individual with a campaign claim to being the "first black president of the United States" (who chose to take the oath of office with his hand on Abraham Lincoln's Bible(why??)), in spite of all this, the United States would not even participate in the 2009 Durban Review Conference. The Durban Review, which most Americans probably have never heard of, was the official, international follow-up to the World Conference Against Racism, held July and August, 2001 in Durban, South Africa. In 2001, the U.S. Government, headed by George Bush, the son (and relative of Barack Obama), sent then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Jamaican-American black person, rather than a Black American, aka "DAEUS" -- "Descendants of the Africans enslaved in the United States," meaning someone from the Black American ethnic group, such as both Mr. Obama's and Mr. Powell's wives, for example. Below is the rarely seen, official 2009 press release. I think of it as Mr. Obama's "Friday night special," issued by a man named Robert Wood, then, the State Department's acting spokesperson. #BlackHistoryMonthUSA
U.S. Department of State
U.S. POSTURE TOWARD THE DURBAN REVIEW CONFERENCE AND PARTICIPATION IN THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Acting Department Spokesman, Office of the Spokesman
The Administration is also strongly committed to fighting racism and discrimination. Consistent with that commitment, and with the goal of trying to achieve a positive constructive result in the Durban Review Conference, the United States recently sent a distinguished delegation to attend the ongoing negotiations on the draft outcome document.
Our delegates met with over 30 delegations, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, and other interested parties. In addition, the Department consulted with many governments in capitals regarding our effort. The engagement by the U.S. delegation was widely welcomed and appreciated.
Sadly, however, the document being negotiated has gone from bad to worse, and the current text of the draft outcome document is not salvageable. As a result, the United States will not engage in further negotiations on this text, nor will we participate in a conference based on this text. A conference based on this text would be a missed opportunity to speak clearly about the persistent problem of racism.
The United States remains open to a positive result in Geneva based on a document that takes a constructive approach to tackling the challenges of racism and discrimination. The U.S. believes any viable text for the Review Conference must be shortened and not reaffirm in toto the flawed 2001 Durban Declaration and Program of Action (DDPA). It must not single out any one country or conflict, nor embrace the troubling concept of “defamation of religion.” The U.S. also believes an acceptable document should not go further than the DDPA on the issue of reparations for slavery.
We will observe developments in Geneva and in capitals to see if such an outcome emerges. We would be prepared to re-engage if a document that meets these criteria becomes the basis for deliberations.
On the UN Human Rights Council, we share the concerns of many that the Council’s trajectory is disturbing, that it needs fundamental change to do more to promote and protect the human rights of people around the world, and that it should end its repeated and unbalanced criticisms of Israel.
We believe, however, it furthers our interests and will do more both to achieve these ends and advance human rights if we are part of the conversation and present at the Council’s proceedings.
Accordingly, we will participate in this month’s Human Rights Council session as an observer and will use the opportunity to strengthen old partnerships and forge new ones. These times demand seriousness and candor, and we pledge to closely work with our partners in the international community to avoid politicization and to achieve our shared goals.
Our participation as an observer is a sign of the commitment of the Administration to advancing the cause of human rights in the multilateral arena. We look forward to the help and cooperation of our friends and allies to ensure the Human Rights Council focuses on the pressinghuman rights concerns of our time.
PRN: 2009/178 [This is a mobile copy of U.S. Posture Toward the Durban Review Conference and Participation in the UN Human Rights Council]
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