UN Watch's Summar and Analysis of the of the meeting of the Bureau-designate of the Preparatory Committee for the Durban Review Conference with NGOs, held on Wednesday, 22 August 2007

Background

Following is UN Watch's summary and analysis of the meeting of the Bureau-designate of the Preparatory Committee for the Durban Review Conference with NGOs, held on Wednesday, 22 August 2007, from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. in room XXVII of the Palais des Nations, UN European Headquarters in Geneva. UN Watch will continue to provide the latest news and analysis of the Durban Review organizational session opening next week

Analysis

The innocuous, procedural discussions from today's meeting belie the strident agenda that is expected to emerge next week -- the calm before the storm.

Today was Libya's first public appearance as Chair-designate of the Durban Review process (to be formally confirmed on Monday). We at UN Watch consider it an outrage that the bureau--a kind of steering committee--includes a regime such as Iran, the world's leading force in Holocaust denial. That Libya could be elected as Chair--and the West and other countries respond with deafening silence--is doubly disturbing. 

Colonel Khaddafi's Libya is a regime that certainly knows a thing or two about racism. This is the country that, in 2002, gave its highest award to convicted French Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy. That routinely brutalizes the country's black African migrants, forcibly kicking out 145,000 of them between 2003 and 2005 alone. That tortures Bulgarian and Palestinian medics for the crime of being foreigners. This is the country who will now teach the world about racism--all under the U.N.'s imprimatur.


Meeting Summary

Libyan Ambassador Najat al-Hajaji, the Chair, introduced the Bureau-designate and explained that it consisted of four representatives from each Region:

                  Eastern European Group:    Armenia, Estonia, Russian Federation and Croatia
                  Western European and Others Group:  Greece, Turkey, Norway, and Belgium
                  African Group:  Libya, Cameroon, Senegal and South Africa
                  Asian Group:    Iran, India, Pakistan and Indonesia
                 Latin American Group:  Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Cuba

The Chair opened the floor for questions, ideas and opinions for NGOs.

Renata Bloem, Conference of NGOs (CONGO), asked several questions:

What will be the procedures for the Preparatory Committee?
In what way can NGOs contribute in relations to the rules & procedure?
What will be the role of NGOs?
What methodologies would be used for the upcoming PrepCom?

The Chair responded that the Bureau-designate had a very long debate on the participation of NGOs.  She stressed that the Bureau was committed to NGO participation.  She added that she hoped that the rules and procedures will be adopted on Monday under item (4) of the agenda (Organization of work).  The Bureau encourages the participation of NGOs as follows:

NGOs with consultative status with ECOSOC

NGOs with no consultative status with ECOSOC, but that attended the Durban Conference and the follow-up meetings

NGOs with no consultative status with ECOSOC, that didn't participate in Durban or the follow-up meetings

There may be objection from Member States about the participation of some NGOs.

In terms of organization there will be 3 sessions in Geneva:

1. An organizational session to take place next week
2. A substantive session in April / May 2008
3. A substantive session in the second half of 2008

The Conference itself will be held in the first half of 2009.  The venue has not been decided yet.  The Bureau said that if no offers will be received for the Review Conference it will take place in New York.  They are trying not to make it clash with the Third Committee.

NGO interventions will be made possible on the afternoon of the first day, Opening Statements, and on Tuesday, under agenda item (5), Objectives.  Interventions may be possible during the week.  The Chair encourages participants to speak in groups, especially on day 1.  Individual statements will have 3 minutes.  Collective statements will depend on the number of NGOs wishing to speak, given that the total time for that session is of 3 hours.  The Chair will inform NGOs on collective statements as was the custom in the Commission on Human Rights.

Claude Kanaan who was in Durban in 2001 asked whether there has been thought for structure and procedure to avoid the acrimony that Durban provoked.  He hoped that the Review Conference will be democratic, fair and egalitarian.  He wondered how it would be possible for next week's meeting not to address substantive issues, but remain organizational.

Renata Bloem went back to the three types of NGOs who wish to participate and asked what would be the participation criteria.

Charles Graves of Interfaith International wanted to know about the location of the PrepCom and the actual Conference.

Diane Ala'I of Bahá'í International Community asked whether there will be regional conferences as there were in Durban.

Renata Bloem inquired about the participation of NGOs in the final Review Conference.  Will there be an NGO Forum?

Lukas of the International Commission of Jurists asked whether there has been a preliminary exchange on the objectives of the conference.

Renata Bloem asked whether it would be possible to see a draft of the rules & procedures before they are adopted on Monday.

The Chair encouraged Member States to respond to the questions.

Greece asked the NGOs present whether they believed that their contribution would make a difference to the Conference's outcome.

Iran welcomed NGO participation and stressed that the common objective was to have open and free participation to all NGOs throughout the Conference.

Belgium said that the draft of the rules and procedures will be distributed.  He added that the Bureau did not discuss the objectives of the Conference as it was meant to discuss organizational issues only.

Turkey asked what were NGO expectations of the Durban Review Process.

South Africa wishes NGOs that are not based in Geneva to be involved.

The Chair then elaborated on the remaining questions.

NGO Forum in 2009:  Members of the Bureau have not discussed this.  It will be dealt with by the hosting country.

Regional Meetings will take place to help the Preparatory Committee for the Review Conference.  The Bureau will make a proposal on the regional meetings.

Time allocation for NGOs: 

                                       3 minutes for individual statements
                                       4 minutes for joint statements by 3 - 5 NGOs
                                       5 minutes for joint statements by 6 - 10 NGOs
                                       6 minutes for joint statements by more than 10 NGOs

Member States will have 5 minutes.        

The Bureau will be available to meet with NGOs during intersessional periods.

Peter Splinter of Amnesty international had three questions/comments:

1. Why will the rules & procedures of the HRC not be used?
2. Will there be a possibility to submit written statements?
3. Recommended to establish an extranet site for the Review Conference

Charles Graves invited participants to a dialogue between NGOs and Member States next Thursday, 30 August between 1:00 - 3:30 p.m. to which independent experts from Paris and Amsterdam were invited, as well as Icare.

The Association of World Citizens said they wanted clarification as to what came out of the Durban Plan of Action; in what areas has progress been made; what have governments done and that the focus should remain on issues of human rights, racism and racial discrimination.