JEDDAH: The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has welcomed the US government’s decision to send a delegation to the preparatory meeting of the Durban II Review Conference, which is scheduled in Geneva from April 20-24.
Terming it as a positive development, OIC Secretary-General Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu emphasized the importance of the conference in stepping up the worldwide efforts to counter discrimination, racism and xenophobia.
He further added that the decision to enable the US representation in the conference would be a move in the right direction. He said the decision would be widely perceived by the Muslim world as a credible signal of the new US administration’s goodwill and desire to introduce a fresh, fair and objective approach to the issues related to human rights and Middle East peace process as well as to rejuvenate the US’ positive image throughout the Muslim nations.
“The Durban II Review Conference should not be perceived as a gathering of the UN member states to criticize specifically Israel. The conference should rather be perceived as an expression of the global community’s growing concern over acts of discrimination, intolerance and incitement to hatred,” Ihsanoglu said.
Regarding the allegation that the Durban II Review would be exploited by some of the OIC member states to make anti-Israel and anti-Semitic diatribes, Ihsanoglu said anti-Semitism is a practice, which neither originates within nor belongs to the Muslim communities. Therefore, anti-Semitism should not be associated either with Islam or with the OIC members.
Secondly, it should be every individual’s right and freedom to criticize the policies and practices considered to be in breach of human rights. In the same vein, criticizing Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories, which are in contravention of the universal human rights principles and specifically relevant articles of the Geneva Conventions, should neither be perceived nor portrayed as anti-Semitism.
The very fact that a number of OIC member-states have sizeable Jewish populations and that the Jews enjoy living in these countries as integral parts of the societies, is a testimony that anti-Semitism is not the right word to describe Muslim’s discontent with the Israeli practices. “From the very beginning the OIC has made it clear that the Durban review process should not be a politically motivated process or an anti-Semitic exercise. It should be, on the contrary an inclusive process, where all stakeholders should be free to address the real and serious challenges of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia,” he added.
