Categories: Need to know

Canada won't take part in "anti-racism" conference

Durban meetings are platform for racism: minister

by macleans.ca on Thursday, November 25, 2010 3:33pm - 38 Comments

Canada will not take part in the third United Nations anti-racism conference, called Durban III. At the original conference in Durban, South Africa in 2001, Israel was singled out as a racist country. “The original Durban conference, and its declaration, as well as the non-governmental activities associated with it, proved to be a dangerous platform for racism, including anti-Semitism,” Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said on Thursday. At last year’s conference (which Canada also boycotted), Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered the keynote speech, where he alleged Israel is a genocidal regime built on racism.

Toronto Sun

Tags: Durban

citizen_CA

I'm happy to hear that Canada will not be there. Conferences like these make me question the usefulness and integrity of the UN. Mahmoud Imamadman should not be allowed to speak at any event hosted by the UN, as he is refusing to cooperate with the UN on his nuclear program, as well as he is an illegitimate leader.

JenniferMack

Ha! At first I thought Mahmoud's surname was a typo… pretty funny.

john

Of course Kenny & Harper won’t attend an anti-racism conference. As fervent supporters of Israel and Zionism, they wouldn’t want to come across as hypocrites.

Con Crusher

Well said John. Amazing that in a world full of races that it is only Jews that suffer racism. But then that's how they play the game and create the victim ™.

NiceGuy

Yeah, that was pretty wiley of them…to get kicked out of their homeland, and get persecuted and murdered by the millions around the world.

We seriously need to wipe out the commies in Canada.

Gary

Israel is a racist theocracy . No rocket science

Bob

Actually Israel is very secular

Gary

Nowhere else are Jews trying to impose their religious creeds on each other; nowhere else has the conflict between religion and freethinking remained as bitter as in Israel. The involvement of religion in Israeli politics has led to a polarization that is not to be found anywhere else in world Jewry. Far from leading to Kiddush Hashem, the involvement of religion in politics has led to a culture war that is completely unnecessary.
We can interpret it as a religious state not a secular one. William A. Cook outlines the argument:
"….its system of laws is determined by the Torah, a religious document not a secular one; it denies recognition of the Palestinian minority despite UN Resolution 181 calling for such recognition; it defies UN Resolutions requiring it to accept return of the indigenous Palestinians from the refugee camps to their rightful homes taken from them in 1948 or 1967 but allows Jews from Russia and other lands to immigrate and become citizens solely because of their religion, making Israel a de facto theocracy (similar, ironically, to an Islamic democracy!); and it keeps on the books more than 20 laws that discriminate against the Palestinian minority (Adalah: Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel)."

Ariadne

Funny, Muslims have more rights in Israel than anywhere else in the Middle East. Palestinians are allowed to work and could own property in Israel if they live there. Compare that to Middle Eastern countries, where Palistinians are not allowed to work in many jobs and do not have the right to own properties even if they live there. It is just most recently where Lebanon pass legislation in allowing them to drive (taxis?). Amazing how hypocrisy works. By the by, Israelis don't convert Christians and Muslims to their religion.
NiceGuy

Hi! You're a moron.

Rudy Haugeneder

To boycott a UN one-day global anti-racism meeting because of fears that some minor countries will use it to express their construed hateful views is tantamount the saying they are right.
It would be like saying Parliament is not worthwhile and little more than forum of hate that Canadians should boycott because socialists and right wing MPs strongly express different views on what society should be like.
Open dialogue is needed by all sides so that the public at large can draw useful conclusions that can weed out what is right and what is wrong, and work toward solving problems like racism whether based on religion, ethnicity, or color.
To do otherwise, in this case, simply polarizes those who hold extreme views and gives those holding such views the right to revert to terrorism, whether Jewish extremists, Muslim fanatics, or Christian end of days crazies.
Meanwhile, until the dust of hate settles and people learn, Happy Holiday Season.

Agha Ali Arkhan

Merry Christmas

http://intensedebate.com/people/Ottawa_Centrist Ottawa_Centrist

Israel isn't perfect but its faults do not warrant it being the focus of an anti-racism conference. Then another. Now a third.

If the UN had conferences hijacked by countries denouncing Canada as a racist state because of the condition of some Aboriginal reserves, we'd protest the situation is more complicated than 'racism.'

Hijacking the same conference three times to single out one country; that racism (whatever intolerance-ism) isn't too complicated to understand.
Jack Sour-Tit

This has upset Jim Reed http://www.reedwrites.ca/ 85% of the anti-Israeli NDP, Toronto Star adolescent, undergraduate Linda McQuack, Toronto Star resident Islamic jihadist Haroon Siddiqui, the jerk student council president of York University, QUAIA, the U of T sponsors of annual hate fest, the Marxian,carpet cleaners from rabble.ca as well as Gerald Caplan.
Ethan

This isn't surprising when Canada's largest weekly newspaper sees there's no problem with writing an article about how it's a problem when a certain race is too academically successful.

Stevie

Just shut up about it already. You must be Asian. Stop moaning and go study or something.

cupoftea

By judging your comment, Asians are smarter.
guest

First of all, I'm not sure if you're aware, but you're clearly doing some inappropriate racial stereotyping. It doesn't take an "Asian" to figure out that Maclean's and the Toronto Star are being racist, with supporting a title like "Too Asian"…gee, that TOTALLY DOESN'T spell racism.

Just stop YOUR lack of ability to infer logically instead.

f4hq

The UN has morphed into something very dangerous. I want out.
Judge RoyBean

He is 200% correct. There are far more reported cases of assaults on Jews than Arabs in the States yet the left wing crazies could care less about 'facts'. They know what they know. Whoopi Goldberg shrugged off O'Reilly' making this point. Facts don't matter when you are a left wing loon. I am not necessarily pro-Israeli but the UN is definitely ANTI and events like this are a sham.

VicNurse

Way to stereotype using American examples for Canadian politics. Did you even talk to any of those "left wing loons" and find out where they stand or are you choosing to stick to Whoopi Goldberg as the shining example of all left leaning people of the world?

Not all us "loons" are against Israel or in disagreement about boycotting this event. We are not all anti-semitic and pro UN.

As for your comment about assaults on Jews in the States, please cite your "fact". I don't necessarily disagree with you but you make a bold statement without actually providing said fact and isn't that your issue with us blind idiots in the first place?

cupoftea

Not surprising , Canada wants to lecture other about human rights and moral values, but when come to Israel, Canada will defend it at all cost. This is the real Canada we are seeing.

NiceGuy

I hope so.

Slice of Bread

Racist or Not.

Canada is being hypocrtical.

Because these small "rogue" nations are expressing their freedom of speech. Even though we disagree with those rouge states.

VicNurse

I understand the point you are making but I have to ask to what benefit is there if we go?

Does it not speak more that we are taking a stance and publicly saying that we will not go and sit and listen to Israel be called a racist nation without any justification? By going, what purpose do we serve? Does our representative stand up and denounce this? Are we slated to speak about racism and the issue in general?

If there was some good that came from these types of conferences, then I'd agree we should be there but when they deteriorate into a soap box for allowing nations to gang up on another without any justification, they complete lose their purpose.

Philanthropist

A good decision.
George Waugh

Racism of any kind is inappropriate however it appears that this particular forum is misused to attack Israel primarily by Muslims and therefore should not be tolerated or supported in any way just like we would not support racism against blacks or native peoples.
Racial Justice

Well said, Slice of Bread and George Waugh. It is simply hilarious that this is reported in Maclean's, since Maclean's itself is a racist magazine that sells itself off of racial stereotyping. Maclean's ought to be ashamed of even trying to "report" this…it's more like racist gossip when it comes from Maclean's.
NiceGuy

The UN is such a sad waste of time and money.
Philanthropist

Gay Arab Muslims seek refuge from being killed where? Israel. You haters are hypocrites.
peter

Boycott ISRAEL, the big bully that's always crying victimhood!
Agha Ali Arkhan

Do unto Muslims as they do unto others. Or is that too cruel. Perhaps do unto Muslims as you wish Muslims do unto you.
Bill Wasylko

Canada is right to boycott this conference. The UN is turning out to be a waste of time and money.
VicNurse

A lot of comments in regards to the UN as a whole being useless and it is. Let's look at some major points. The UN told Bush NOT to invade Iraq because there was no grounds for it, Bush did and there was no repercussions. The UN has strict laws against Child Labor yet China is notorious for it yet allowed to hold permanent seats and is not subjected to sanctions. What is the UN even good for?

Israel is not perfect and I've found myself butting heads with Harper and supporters on some issues but to allow Israel to be called a racist nation is ridiculous. Normally I'm for Canada going and being a voice of reason and compromise but this is counter productive and I agree with this move. It will speak more volumes to boycott then to go and sit and listen to truly anti-semitic nations like Iran (huge human rights abusers themselves) call Israel a genocidal, racist country.
Baz Irvine

Canada couldn't go – they have taken away basic human rights and removed English schools in NB. They force English natives to put their children in French immersion that consists of three periods of English per week with the rest of the curriculum (Math, science, gym, art, French) in French. They specify "must be bilingual" on their job banks which discriminates against unilingual Anglophones. They promote Quebec's language laws that declare French must be on all signs. They sponsor minority French areas with government monies even when there is a French majority in that region. They turn the colleges French and eventually promote the townships as French (Dieppe, Atholville, and more to follow). NBCC / ccnb Campbellton is now just ccnb campbellton. There are French nursing courses at the college in Campbellton and now the healthcare system in Campbellton is declared as French. Tell me how our constitution supports this form of bilingualism? This is not a democratic process and our elected officials won't even discuss the matter.
Baz Irvine

English people are left feeling shame because of their heritage and schooling in English – a choice they didn't personally make. Their children are forced (compulsory) into immersion programs that are core French!

There is no recourse! No English schools in the province! Bilingual my ass – the government just took away our constitutional rights and has no place commenting on anyone's human rights – they are the biggest racists in the world. Bring on the Germans – it would have been clearer on where we stand and a lot more obvious!
angelphone

In 1993, the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled that Quebec's sign laws broke an international covenant on civil and political rights. "A State may choose one or more official languages," the committee wrote, "but it may not exclude outside the spheres of public life, the freedom to express oneself in a certain language."

Reacting to these events, Bourassa introduced new legislation in 1993. This law would allowed English on outdoor commercial signs only if the French lettering was at least twice as large as the English.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/10/22/f-quebe…
Ariadne

If UN is really serious about addressing racism, why have they not done something about issues that has been brought up on the following links and have been known occurence in the Muslim world?

http://vimeo.com/16779150
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11799713
http://www.averroespress.com/AverroesPress/Main/M…