NGO Monitors Submission to the 2009 Durban Conference Preparatory Meeting
As NGO Monitor has reported, the UN will be convening a 2009 follow-up to the 2001 Durban Conference. The Preparatory Committee for the 2009 conference is holding its organizational review session from August 27-31, 2007, in Geneva. The meetings will be chaired by Libya and other members of the committee include Iran, Cuba, Russia, and South Africa. A number of international and Palestinian NGOs are also expected to participate. Many radical Palestinian NGOs such as PNGO and LAW played an active role in the preparatory meetings in Tehran leading up to the 2001 Durban Conference and were largely responsible for shaping the anti-Israel and antisemitic agenda of the NGO Forum at Durban. In advance of the session, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has invited NGOs to contribute reviews and written recommendations. To that end, NGO Monitor has prepared a submission detailing the role of NGOs at the 2001 Durban Conference, the adoption and subsequent promotion of the Durban Strategy in NGO campaigning, and offering recommendations to prevent a repetition of these events in 2009.
