Den forberedende teksten til Durban-II konferansen er blitt tonet ned både når det gjelder religionskritikk og kritikk av Israel. Det er en bevegelse i riktig retning, slår vestlige land fast.
The draft declaration now speaks only of concern about the “negative stereotyping of religions” while omitting direct references to Israel.
“We believe this shortened text represents a solid and meaningful basis for negotiations by member states toward a positive outcome for the conference,” said Doune Porter, a spokeswoman for the U.N. human rights office in Geneva.
Western diplomats declined to comment immediately on the new draft, except to indicate that it appeared to go in the right direction.
The latest draft declaration, a compromise 17-page text issued by Russian working group chairman Yuri Boychenko after private consultations, omits any reference to the Middle East conflict as well as defamation of religion.
“The document contains no reference to Israel, the Middle East or defamation of religion,” said one United Nations source.
“The text goes in the right direction,” an EU diplomat said.
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, responding to questions in parliament, said that “it would seem that precise improvements have been made.”
The EU’s “red lines” that would keep it from participating in the forthcoming Geneva gathering were clear, he said in a text made available by the French diplomatic mission in Geneva.
These included stigmatization of a country, the lack of a possibility to criticize a religion, discrimination against women, discrimination against people on the basis of their sexuality, as well as demands for reparations for slavery.
The 27-member EU bloc would have a “common position” on whether to participate in the meeting, Kouchner said. Italy broke ranks earlier this month when it said it would not attend unless the document’s wording was altered.
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