At 4PM Geneva time, the United Nations and its High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay announced that the responsible committee (hard to know exactly who that is) had approved the final outcome statement of the Durban Review Conference.
The odd thing is – it’s Tuesday and the conference is not supposed to end until Friday. Whazzup?
Ahmadinejad, of course. This was damage control at its most obvious – and totally predictable to many people here, myself included. The UN wants everyone to go away and forget this conference as quickly as possible. The institution has received a horrible dose of publicity that led even the usually idolatrous BBC to raise a skeptical eye.
In short, they have been humiliated big time by the Iranian despot’s racist screed. Non-attendance by the Americans was one thing, but mass walkouts by the almost always complaisant Euros was highly threatening to the UN machine. And, make no mistake about it, here in the small city of Geneva especially, the UN is a machine, a money machine that brings in a significant proportion of the local GNP. No wonder the Swiss President, despite much criticism, was eager to shake the hand of the Iranian leader. Even though the Iranian people are in disastrous financial shape, Ahmadinejad was more than willing to blow off the money for forty rooms in this swank hotel, plus banquets for five hundred, plus who knows what else? Middle Eastern despots are cash cows for Geneva and the proximity of the UN to the local banks is no accident. They come to the Palais, say a few bad things about Israel and make a deposit.
Making matters worse for the UN today was a seemingly under the radar panel brought together in the Palais (only yards from the actual plenum) by the Touro Institute’s Ann Bayefsky in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day. This formidable panel consisted of Natan Sharanksy, Elie Wiesel, Jon Voight, Alan Dershowitz, Shelby Steele and Father Patrick Desbois. Father Desbois is the only name there that may be unknown to you. It shouldn’t be. He is an extraordinary man who has devoted his life to locating the remains of anonymous Holocaust victims in Eastern Europe and is the author of a book undoubtedly not high on Ahmadinejad’s reading list – The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest’s Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews.
This panel was electric, even to jaded me, and should have been the true conference. (PJTV will have it in a day or so.) During it, the African-American Steele made some telling points that were taken up by the others – (paraphrasing here – I would recommend the author’s own work) implying that racism had diminished significantly and was now being used as an excuse for failure. It had become, in Steele’s words, a “distraction.” And that anti-Semitism was the biggest distraction of all, an obsession that turned people away from their own problems and prolonged them.
Meanwhile, an unbelievably high percentage of the UN’s time (and money, of course) has been devoted to the Palestinian-Israeli question with little or no time for anything else. This was underscored later in the day when a demonstration in support of Darfur was staged outside the Palais. There was little interest in this genocide inside, just as there was very little interest in Rwanda. For the UN, it’s “All Palestine All The Time”.
But it didn’t work this time. Fewer people tuned into that network. For now the Durban II Conference is a fiasco, the UN’s inverted human rights campaign at bay. But like “The Creature from the Black Lagoon,” it can come back. It always has before. But I suspect there may be a chink in the armor this time – and it’s called your money. We live in difficult financial times. Just remember – and remind others – that what you are paying for with your taxpayer dollars that go to the UN (the US is 22% of their budget) are speeches by the likes Ahmadinejad, whose pathological hatred of Jews is exceeded only by his pathological hatred of women. Enough of that. If he wants to be Hitler Jr., he can pay for it himself.
PS: Speaking of money, I asked the UN porte parole (we have this on upcoming PJTV video) how much the Durban II conference cost. He said he didn’t know and that it was part of a larger budget. Then he tried to change the subject. Let’s not let him. From now on, full financial transparency for the UN, public and online, or no money from us. Not a penny.
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38 Comments
1. Lightnin' Hopkins:I’ll go even further, Roger. Pull out of the UN altogether. What little they occasionally get right can be achieved through other aid organizations that don’t rub shoulders with filthy despots and racists.
Considering the current leadership in the U.S., both of our suggestions are wishful thinking at best. Perhaps someday. I hope it’s sooner rather than later, but I have serious doubts.
Apr 21, 2009 - 5:08 pm 2. Barry Dauphin:Bret Stephens in today’s WSJ has a good column related to this. Paraphrasing— if you say you are concerned about what happens to the Palestinians, where’s your outrage about what the Russians have been doing to Chechnya? Throwing double standards right back at the crowd who scream double standards at the tops of their lungs.
Apr 21, 2009 - 5:11 pm 3. bgates:racism had diminished significantly and was…now a “distraction.”….anti-Semitism was the biggest distraction of all
That reads as though Steele was claiming Al Sharpton and Israel are making equally invalid complaints, which I’m sure isn’t right.
Apr 21, 2009 - 5:11 pm 4. Pajamas Media » Durban II Diary: The UN Folds Its Cards:[...] the entire story here [...]
Apr 21, 2009 - 5:13 pm 5. MikeD:The UN, its conferences, its posturing, and its actions are ineffective and a waste of time, attention, and resources. The more you illustrate and convey this message Roger the more valuable your own efforts and attendance at this worthless confab become.
Apr 21, 2009 - 6:05 pm 6. AThinkingPerson:I’ve always had a sneaking suspicion that the UN was basically just a way for small time despots to have a turn at the mic on the world stage. Iran’s President never fails to use his time in the limelight to his full advantage. Why when faced with UN sanction after sanction and not falling into line he’s still given a voice is beyond explanation. The walkout was nice but seems sort of silly to an outsider. They knew before he took to the podium what his agenda would be, they should not have even shown up in the first place. Hell, they should not have even had a place on the agenda for him. If Iran can’t be a “United” Nation, why are they allowed to attend?
Apr 21, 2009 - 6:13 pm 7. Lee Merrick:Excellent post, Roger. Thank you for being there.
Apr 21, 2009 - 6:19 pm 8. Winston:Thanks for your report. UN is a joke and a big circus. I hope to see the total demise of the Mullahs of Iran sooner than later.
Apr 21, 2009 - 6:20 pm 9. Tonya:The U.S. is paying these monsters our money? And 22% of the budget?
I did not know it, and if I did not know it, than many people do not know it. People should know it.
Be careful, because if the likes of Ahmadinejad, and his entourage are running around there than pure evil is there.
I am thrilled to hear about their fiasco, and it serves them right. That is a good report to read.
Apr 21, 2009 - 6:21 pm 10. Allan Crowson:“racism had diminished significantly and was…now a “distraction.”….anti-Semitism was the biggest distraction of all”
That threw me at first, but I believe what is mean is: anti-semitism on the part of Israel’s enemies is a distraction that keeps them and their people from focusing on their real problems.
Apr 21, 2009 - 6:25 pm 11. David Thomson:“It had become, in Steele’s words, a “distraction.”
Nothing could unfortunately be further from the truth. The argument laid out in Shelby Steele’s book, A Bound Man: Why We Are EXcited About Obama and Why He Can’t Win” was never truly tested in the last election. The politically correct John McCain was too intimidated by his opponent’s skin color to ever run an effective campaign. Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, or Fred Thompson would have easily defeated the left-wing Obama. To be blunt, the country needed a conservative Republican black man in the White House. This was the only real way to resolve the race issue. Instead, we now have Obama who subconsciously is hostile towards white people. We are going to suffer worsening race relations in the next four years.
Apr 21, 2009 - 6:39 pm 12. Allyson Rowen Taylor:Great Reporting. Now what we need is to throw the UN out of the USA. We need to start holding protests there, and getting the tea parties to incorporate this idea into the teapot. It is time to get rid of this horrific institution and take the land, and make it a…..homage to the victims of socialism and communism…a mall!!
Apr 21, 2009 - 6:47 pm 13. Margie:Keep up the good work!
We can thank Communist, Alger Hiss, for the establishment of the United Nations. No wonder it stinks to high Heaven.
Apr 21, 2009 - 7:00 pm 14. Joshua:That sudden gust of wind coming out of Washington, D.C. is Barack Obama breathing a huge, heartfelt sigh of relief that, for whatever season, he didn’t see fit to participate in the conference – thus not only avoiding the fallout from the whole sorry affair, but allowing him to watch his calls for dialogue with Tehran blow up from a safe distance, as opposed to (quite literally) in his face.
Apr 21, 2009 - 7:49 pm 15. Joshua:… for whatever reason…
Apr 21, 2009 - 7:51 pm 16. John Costello:Racism is certainly more than a mere “distraction,” but it is used most prominently as a distraction from economic collapse and despotism by the likes of Ahmedinejad, which may be its greatest utility to assorted dictators.
Apr 21, 2009 - 7:51 pm 17. Mark Epstein:It never ceases to amaze me just how far leaders will go to divert attention from the problems they’ve created. On the world’s stage the Iranian president shields his domestic failures by launching international attacks against the Jews. Similarly, Obama’s flacks shield the biggest power-grab in our nation’s history by screaming “racism” (hmmm, a common ploy it would seem). This time, however, it appears Americans are getting smarter and returning to what works — self-reliance.
As other commenters noted, the UN is a waste of time and we appreciate your report.
Apr 21, 2009 - 7:58 pm 18. gsarcs:Two years ago I worked at an international school located in Brindisi, Italy. The initial school site was on the Italian air base that is shared with the UN. This gave me an opportunity to watch this organization in action on a daily basis. Having been in the military (7 yrs) and a former school principal, I think I have a eye for getting a “feel” for how large organizations operate.
Apr 21, 2009 - 8:17 pm 19. common sense:My overall impression was that whatever work was being done was being accomplished in a very leisurely manner. I had a distinct feeling that there was quite a bit of “busy work” but nothing substantial was actually taking place. My understanding from the Italian locals that worked at the UN, was that regular UN personnel are highly paid. One of our Italian friends and colleague had a spouse that worked for the UN. They had a dim view of what they perceived as wasteful spending by the UN. He actually espoused the view that whatever money Italy was spending on the UN was a complete waste!
My conclusion after that experience was that I don’t have anything positive to say about that organization. As a US taxpayer, I am angry that I have to contribute to that money pit.
gsarcs
“Colonial past
Observers are divided over the likely success and impact of Durban II.
According to Adrien-Claude Zoller, the director of the non-governmental organisation Geneva for Human Rights, the pre-summit tensions over references to the Middle East and defamation of religion have overshadowed the human rights debate.
“The Geneva conference is supposed to monitor what has happened since Durban, but this question is hardly touched upon. This is therefore a missed opportunity to carry out a detailed evaluation of what has and hasn’t been accomplished since Durban 2001,” he said.
In negotiations over the draft declaration European countries have opposed all new initiatives to compensate victims of slavery. The EU also exerted pressure so that immigration issues should be watered down, claiming they have nothing to do with racism.
“The problem of a colonial heritage is still there, always raising frustrations and anger in former colonies. The former colonial powers have not sufficiently recognised this reality,” said Geneva consultant Yves Lador.”
Kouchner :
“Ahmadinejad was predictable but there are 192 countries in the UN, we can not prohibit them from talking,” he explained. “We left the room, the 23 European countries who were all together in unity, because of Ahmadinejad’s speech was unacceptable but we have not left the conference, where we return.”
“We could choose like the others others, do the hard back and not go” but “we have worked for months for it,” explained Bernard Kouchner. “It’s hard politics, this is not an NGO.”
What the Iranian president said was “a shock, but I am very accustomed to hatred, this kind of excess: it is the reality that we must bear,” he joked. “This is not a world of comics, blogs moods and cries from the heart”.
The government spokesman Luc Chatel has stated that “this should be the policy of the empty chair is the worst.”
“If we leave, it is Mr. Ahmadinejad who won,” he argued on LCI. “Leaving would be a disastrous message to all the moderate countries which are the majority, who also want the values embodied in Europe , is defended in this conference.”
This is not a failure but the beginning of a success, “assured the french minister of Foreign Affairs.” In this text, all we wanted to mention, anti-Semitism, discrimination on persons, freedom of expression, the Holocaust, women’s rights “are mentioned,” it is a success. ”
Apr 21, 2009 - 8:44 pm 20. NahnCee:“There I hope it’ll be approved (it is) this evening or this night, and it will be real”
Has a line been drawn in the sand, too, over the UN’s support of the Arabs wanting to ban freedom of speech, not allowing anyone to ever criticize their demented religion? Prior to the conference starting, I would see that mentioned as Issue B after Issue A-Racism, and thought it might have accounted for the countries who chose to stay away. But I haven’t seen it mentioned at all for several days now … other than the uncommented-upon freedom of Dinner Jacket to give his abominable speech.
Apr 21, 2009 - 9:50 pm 21. V.B. Bart:Many thanks for the intrepid reporting, Roger! I look forward to reading more as you process the “UN experience”. Your impromptu interviews of Alan Dershowitz, Shelby Steele, and the eloquent Anne Bayefsky on Pajamas TV were great. May we hope for actual sit-down interviews with, perhaps, Dersh, Bayefsky, Steele, Sharansky, and/or Wiesel? That will keep you busy! I’m also looking forward to the PJTV film of Anne Bayefsky’s counter-conference — something we should all help to expand for the next time the UN nutjobs crank up Durban III. Again, many thanks for all your efforts to chronicle the surreal UN at work.
Apr 21, 2009 - 10:06 pm 22. The Historian:IRAN & NAZI GERMANY: THE DIFFERENCES ARE NOT SUBSTANTIVE
At the heart of both is the drive to kill the Jews.
http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2009/04/iran-nazi-germany-one-in-same.html
Apr 21, 2009 - 10:06 pm 23. Ken Hahn:I think “not one penny” in any and all circumstances is the correct policy. The UN is and always has been absolutely worthless.
Apr 21, 2009 - 10:38 pm 24. ic:“From now on, full financial transparency for the UN, public and online, or no money from us. Not a penny.”
You are funny. We can’t even make our “most ethical” Congress transparent. Where did the trillions go? To whose pockets?
We, the people, are transparent. They, the political parasites, see thru us. We don’t exist, they can do whatever they want to milk us dry, and there ain’t nothing we can do about it. And be ready to give up .7% of our measly GDP to the UN. Obie promised them to show we ain’t no stingy selfish morons.
By the way, the foreclosed homes are contracted to Diane Fienstein’s husband’s real estate company to unload. No bids, no fuss.
Apr 21, 2009 - 10:39 pm 25. EdGi:You hit it on the head. The UN operations have become a cash cow for corruption. Palestine and the refugee aid effort is the worst cash cow corruption, and any contribution we make is counterproductve because it only multiplies the problem. The UN corruption cannot withstand transparency, keep at it.
Apr 21, 2009 - 10:57 pm 26. Rhod:A good read is Malcolm Muggeridge’s “The Thirties”, where you learn, for certain, that some things never change. The book was written during the decade, and in the author’s words, the decade commenced with a phony peace and ended with a Phony War. In the interim:
The idiotic and useless League of Nations spent unmeasurable wealth and time in Geneva either avoiding or falling into outright complicity with evil in Manchuria, Europe and elsewhere. It accomplished nothing.
The species of elite moron who supports this buffoonery, in any age, is just as guilty as the monsters committing the crimes.
Apr 22, 2009 - 3:19 am 27. tehag:For all the people who have backed the UN in the past: reap what you sow. The UN was founded in corruption, deception, tyranny, and totalitarianism. No surprises at Durban… the end result of decades of vile hatreds. Why should I care about the latest victims of UN?
tehhag
Apr 22, 2009 - 4:51 am 28. David Levavi:The modern state of Israel was created in the UN, if I’m not mistaken. There are very good reasons to have a world forum. What is needed is radical reform.
The Arabs use their oil wealth to coerce and manipulate members. So should the US. We have the power of the purse but we don’t use it effectively.
Apr 22, 2009 - 5:10 am 29. glenn:“From now on, full financial transparency for the UN, public and online, or no money from us. Not a penny”. Couldn’t agree more but good luck, all the folks at the UN who have their snouts in a very large trough aren’t going to give up the trough.
Apr 22, 2009 - 5:49 am 30. MAS1916:We at least need to thank Iran for presenting the UN out to be the joke that it is.
Apr 22, 2009 - 9:19 am 31. Peter the Bubblehead:NOW can we kick the UN out of NYC?
Apr 22, 2009 - 9:35 am 32. NahnCee:If we kicked it out of NYC, Obama would probably just invite them to relocate to DC so he wouldn’t have to travel as far to reach a wide audience of anti-American dictators.
Apr 22, 2009 - 9:47 am 33. gm1000:Show me the bill! How much did this fiasco cost? And where’s sthe new UN boss, I can’t even remember his name.
Isn’t it time to just say goodbye to the UN?
Apr 22, 2009 - 10:16 am 34. Lightnin' Hopkins:“Show me the bill! How much did this fiasco cost? And where’s sthe new UN boss, I can’t even remember his name.
Isn’t it time to just say goodbye to the UN?”
Indeed. Goodnight (Ban Ki-) Moon.
Apr 22, 2009 - 10:28 am 35. Crusader:One would think that the real genocide happening in Darfur would dominate the proceedings, no?
Apr 22, 2009 - 1:35 pm 36. Delia:Great post again, Sir Simon.
Anyone who thinks the corrupt, sleazy, downright evil ‘UN’ is playing with a full deck or is looking out for the betterment of the world needs a check-up from the neck up.
Apr 22, 2009 - 1:58 pm 37. Durban2-Schaschlik (22.4.) « abseits vom mainstream - heplev:[...] Roger L. Simon berichtet direkt aus Genf. Er wertet die Verabschiedung des Abschluss-Dokuments schon am Dienstag als Ablenkungsmanöver, eindeutigen Versuch der Schadensbegrenzung, völlig vorhersehbar und deshalb eigentlich unwirksam. [...]
Apr 22, 2009 - 2:21 pm 38. Mike_K:A lot of people knows Jesse Helms only for the caricature of him promoted by the left. In fact, he is the only American who ever got the UN to do any reform. Read his speech and see if anyone else has ever talked to them like this. We need him back.
Apr 22, 2009 - 2:21 pm