BlackMan Time

What message is sent when six of the world’s biggest, most multi-cultural nations, decide to boycott a global anti-racism conference for fear it will attack another nation which has, apparently, shown itself to be racist against another nation?

That’s the question being asked in diplomatic circles following the withdrawal of the US, Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, Israel and Italy from the United Nations anti-racism conference opening today in Geneva.

The reason that this six nations have given for withdrawing is that they fear the conference might specifically single out Israel for attack and try to stifle criticism of Islam. This scenario did play out at the last meeting to review international progress on combating racism and xenophobia in Durban, South Africa, eight years ago.

In the 2001 Durban meeting Israel fielded fierce criticism over its alleged racist policies to-wards Palestinians. Today, the first of the event’s five days, coincides with Holocaust Remembrance Day – which will be dominated by an address by Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, president of Iran.

Maybe this is the real reason why they have all decided to boycott the event: fear of being seen on the same platform as the president of Iran.

Now, I ask you, isn’t such a policy “inconsistent with the administration’s policy of engaging with those they agree with and those they disagree with”, a contradiction of US President Obama’s quoted words?

Am I alone in thinking this is somehow hypocritical?