Canada decries part of anti-racism declaration
Canada's delegation to the UN conference against racism stayed to the very end Saturday, but the federal government made it clear there are sections of the final declaration that it rejects outright.
Hedy Fry, the secretary of state for multiculturalism and women's issues, issued a "statement of reservation" that the document refers to the Middle East conflict.
"We are not satisfied with this conference," Fry said in her statement as the UN meeting wrapped up in Durban Saturday 24 hours later than originally scheduled as delegates wrangled over wording of the final communiqu.
"Canada is still here today only because we wanted to have our voice decry the attempts at this conference to de-legitimize the state of Israel, and to dishonour the history and suffering of the Jewish people," Fry said.
"We believe, and we have said in the clearest possible terms, that it was inappropriate ... to address the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in this forum," she added. "That is why the Canadian delegation registers its strongest objections and disassociates itself integrally from all text in this document directly or indirectly relating to the situation in the Middle East."
The final declaration included a statement of concern for the "plight of Palestinian people under foreign occupation." But it stopped short of directly condemning Israel.
Fry also used her written objection to clarify Ottawa's position on the document's statement about another contentious subject: slavery and colonialism. Although virtually all countries agreed that this is a regrettable chapter of our past, Canada and the European Union were concerned that an unqualified apology could open the door to a legal fight for reparations.
"Canada believes that the transatlantic slave trade was morally repugnant and is a stain on the fabric of history" and would constitute "a crime against humanity if it occurred today," Fry said. But it's Canada's belief that "under international law there is no right to a remedy for historical acts that were not illegal at the time at which they occurred."
In the final document, delegates agreed that slavery is a crime against humanity and "should always have been so." Some countries have pledged to offer African countries financial help, such as debt relief. But they're strongly opposed to paying compensation for old wrongs.
- BACKGROUNDER: United Nations Conference on Racism
Dr. Yvonne Scruggs-Leftwich, an American who was in Durban as executive director of the Black Leadership Forum, said she was surprised that Canada did not agree with the "crime against humanity" slavery clause.
"I must say, I'm disappointed that Canada has not stepped up to the bar and has not used its own very positive and creative experience in multiculturalism to provide leadership to the world," she told CBC Newsworld Saturday. "Of course, the U.S. didn't even stay around to have the conversation and Canada did."
- BACKGROUNDER: Racism: a glossary of terms
Margaret Parsons, head of the African Legal Clinic, a Canadian non-governmental group meeting in Durban, said Canada is hiding from its past and from its role in the transatlantic slave trade.
"I think Canada, in a way, is being somewhat hypocritical, because Canada talks about telling the truth, and part of telling the truth is owning up to Canadian history and to the fact that Canada engaged in the practice of slavery," Parsons said.
The United States and Israel pulled out of the conference last Monday after Arab delegates refused to abandon efforts to label Israel a racist state.
Fry, the head of Ottawa's delegation to Durban, said it was important for Canada to stay for the final negotiations. She argued that her team made a difference by removing specific criticism of Israel from the document, leaving only indirect references that she then objected to in her "statement of reservation."