- GENEVA - Diplomats say they've
removed anti-Israeli remarks in a statement being prepared for a United
Nations conference on racism at the end of the month.
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- The United States and Israel had both threatened to boycott
the meeting, set to begin in Durban, South Africa on Aug. 31, unless the
text was changed.
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- Arab states wanted the document to single out Israel
as a "racist" occupying power, but the UN doesn't equate Zionism
with racism so the final communique was changed.
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- Not all hurdles have been removed, however. Officials
are still wrangling over how to address recent bloodshed in the Middle
East without offending either side.
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- Last week in Geneva, negotiations over the exact wording
of the conference's final document collapsed. More negotiations are scheduled.
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- Even if the sensitive issue of language is dealt with,
a boycott may still go ahead.
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- The United States is also upset over a plan to include
colonial slavery and victims' reparations on the conference's agenda.
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- It's not the first time Washington has bickered with
UN officials over topics for a meeting on racism. The U.S. boycotted two
previous conferences for similar reasons.
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- Written by CBC News Online staff http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2001/08/18/unracism_010818
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