Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.com
CFI has welcomed the UK Government’s announcement that it will not be attending the United Nations conference in September to mark the 20th anniversary of the 2001 World Conference Against Racism in Durban, known as Durban IV, over “historic concerns regarding antisemitism”.
Conservative parliamentarians have regularly been raising concerns about the UK’s participation in the conference in recent months.
CFI’s Parliamentary Chairmen, Rt. Hon. Stephen Crabb MP (Commons) and Rt. Hon. The Lord Pickles (Lords) and CFI Honorary President Lord Polak CBE said the announcement is “extremely welcome”. “We applaud this latest decisive action from the UK Government in opposing antisemitism in all its forms and wherever it occurs”, they added.
The CFI Parliamentarians said it is “absolutely right that the UK is joining our close allies Australia, Canada and the US in condemning the infamous gathering”.
The 2001 conference undermined anti-racism efforts by singling Israel out for criticism, with Israel and the United States walking out of the summit after the revival of charges equating Zionism with racism.
The US, Canada and Australia previously announced that they will not be participating in the 20th anniversary conference.
CFI has raised concerns about the Durban IV events directly with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, urging the UK to boycott the conference.
CFI’s Parliamentary Chairmen, Rt. Hon. Stephen Crabb MP (Commons) and Rt. Hon. The Lord Pickles (Lords) and CFI Honorary President Lord Polak CBE said:
“Confirmation that the UK will not attend Durban IV is extremely welcome. It is absolutely right that the UK is joining our close allies Australia, Canada and the US in condemning the infamous gathering. We applaud this latest decisive action from the UK Government in opposing antisemitism in all its forms and wherever it occurs”.
Last month, CFI’s Parliamentary Chairmen Rt. Hon. Stephen Crabb MP and Rt. Hon. The Lord Pickles, and Honorary President Lord Polak CBE wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, calling on the UK to announce its withdrawal from the Durban IV Conference, and “to take a stand against antisemitism on the international stage”.
The letter underlined: “If we are not prepared to take a stand against antisemitism on the international stage, British Jews will not feel reassured of their safety at home. Zero tolerance to racism must mean zero tolerance”.
CFI Vice-Chair Rt. Hon. Theresa Villiers MP also wrote to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab last month calling on the UK not to participate in Durban IV. Following up on an exchange in the House of Commons, the former Cabinet member welcomed that the Foreign Secretary had said the UK “will not support any partisan or political attacks on Israel” and was “crystal clear in our condemnation of antisemitism”.
Conservative parliamentarians including CFI Vice-Chair Andrew Percy MP, Nicola Richards MP, Bob Blackman MP, Lord Shinkwin, Matthew Offord MP, Damien Moore MP have raised the issue with Ministers in Written Parliamentary Questions, and Lord Polak CBE raised the issue in the House of Lords during the Queen’s Speech debate.
In 2011, then-Prime Minister David Cameron boycotted the Durban III conference to mark the 10th anniversary, and the UK voted against the 31st December 2020 General Assembly resolution to convene Durban IV.
