*EPF207 07/31/01
Text: State Dept. Official on U.S. Approach to Racism Conference
(Wood remarks to congressional subcommittee) (1340)
The United States has "much to contribute" to the upcoming World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) in Durban, South Africa, says a U.S. State Department official.
William Wood, acting assistant secretary for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, told a House International Relations subcommittee July 31 that the United States is concerned, however, about two topics currently under discussion in Geneva in PrepCom (preparatory) talks to the WCAR.
These, he said, are proposals for calling Zionism "racism," and for reparations or compensation for trans-Atlantic slave trading.
"Although we have made a decision that we want to support a successful WCAR as strongly as possible, we have made no final decision on an official delegation to Durban," Wood said. "We will take that up on the basis of the results of the PrepCom."
Following is the text of Wood's remarks to the congressional subcommittee, as prepared for delivery:
(begin text)
Oral Testimony by
William B. Wood
Acting Assistant Secretary
Bureau of International Organization Affairs
U.S. Department of State
At a hearing entitled
"A Discussion on the UN World Conference Against Racism"
Before the
International Relations Committee
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights
U.S. House of Representatives
July 31, 2001
Madame Chairwoman, Members of the House Committee on International Relations' Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights: It is an honor to be here to testify on the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance (known as the WCAR) and the efforts of the United States to ensure this meeting is successful in combating the scourge of contemporary racism and intolerance. The Conference will take place in Durban, from August 31 to September 7.
Because the WCAR concluding documents are currently under active negotiation in Geneva, we will be forced to limit what we can say time about our positions and negotiating tactics. Nor will we be able to characterize, except in the most general terms, the positions of other delegations. My testimony today will focus on two areas: how we view the Conference; and diplomatic efforts made to ensure its success.
The WCAR is the result of years of work and the goals are universally accepted: acknowledge past injustices around the world; work toward a world free of racism and intolerance. I strongly believe that the U.S. has much to contribute to the WCAR, including the chance to tell our story to the world, share our "best practices" and to listen and learn from other nations. The Preparatory Process: In 1999, the U.S. co-sponsored the UN General Assembly resolution against racism, which called for the third World Conference. There have been four international meetings by region to prepare for the WCAR; we attended most of them and participated actively at the regional meeting for the Americas in Santiago, Chile. We have also been active in two all-states Preparatory Committees held in Geneva. In addition, over the past year, the White House has sponsored a series of meetings around the country to exchange views on this important event.
The U.S. has a positive agenda and our presence in the preparatory process has extended the scope of discussion and proposals to include: criminal justice; elimination of racial profiling; diversity in all aspects of law enforcement; prohibiting violence motivated by race, color, descent or similar reasons; promoting minority owned business; globalization; health; environment; HIV/AIDS; access to education; and the impact of multiple discriminations, especially for women. In many cases, our ideas have found acceptance, while for others further negotiation is necessary. My colleague, Mr. Steven Wagenseil of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor will address those issues.
The Third PrepCom: The third PrepCom, which began yesterday, is in the final phase of elaborating a non-binding declaration and "program of action" aimed at securing the commitment of governments, UN agencies, civil society and individuals to the elimination of racism and to lay out concrete steps to reach that goal. The U.S. team in Geneva is a strong one, headed by the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Lorne Craner.
We have accelerated our diplomatic efforts around the world in recent weeks. President Bush and Secretary Powell have participated directly in this process. In all of our discussions our message has been consistent -- we want the WCAR to be a success. This point was again made on Friday to representatives of 44 nations by Under Secretary for Political Affairs Grossman and Under Secretary for Global Affairs Dobriansky.
Problem Areas for the Third PrepCom: The draft texts under consideration include language that characterizes the situation in the Middle East in a highly inflammatory way and diminishes the unique tragedy of the Holocaust in Europe. It is not unusual, at this point in the negotiation of a multilateral document, to have unacceptable language relating to the Middle East -- but it is unusual to find it so inflammatory and in so many places. We will take the position we have taken when we encountered such language in other forums: we will not accept the unacceptable.
Concerning on the trans-Atlantic slave trade and calls for reparations or compensation. No one should doubt the profound regret of the U.S. that our country was ever a participant in the abomination of slavery and the U.S. has expressed its readiness to join with all WCAR participants in an expression of regret for historic injustices, such as slavery and the slave trade.
However, the most important of the WCAR's objectives is to look at how we can combat contemporary forms of racism. The U.S. has opposed the call for reparations for a variety of reasons: there is no consensus in the U.S.; it is not clear what would be the legal or practical effect of such reparations for injustices; nor is it clear that reparations would help eliminate contemporary racism.
The U.S. is strongly committed to helping Africa meet its development challenges, to overcome ethnic strife and to assist African states to end conflicts so that the continent can assume its rightful place in the world. We believe that the "New Africa Initiative," originally proposed by President Mbeki of South Africa, may provide a useful way forward. Support for the New African Initiative would reflect a shared commitment to overcome Africa's development challenges.
Conclusion: In his testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on a variety of topics on June 20, Secretary Powell stated that "serious work" needed to be done to remove the points which put the conference "in danger of becoming mired in past events." The Secretary stressed to High Commissioner Mary Robinson and in his SFRC testimony that he is "anxious to see strong U.S. participation in the conference but that some serious work needed to be done to eliminate such issues as the `Zionism is racism' proposition or getting into slavery and compensation and things of that nature which would detract from the purpose of the conference." Right now, the U.S. is focused on the work of the PrepCom. Although we have made a decision that we want to support a successful WCAR as strongly as possible, we have made no final decision on an official delegation to Durban. We will take that up on the basis of the results of the PrepCom.
In conclusion, the WCAR represents an opportunity for the nations of the world to act in a matter of worldwide concern and high priority for the U.S. The recent UNGA Special Session on HIV/AIDS showed that it was possible to reach global agreement on an urgent global need. We will continue to do our very best to make the WCAR an equal success.
Thank you again, Madame Chairman for this opportunity to testify on the WCAR. I would welcome the chance to answer questions or provide further information.
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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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