B’nai B’rith International (BBI) welcomes Italy as the latest nation to withdraw its support for the Durban Review Conference. Italy joins the United States, Israel, and Canada in concluding that the conference is hopelessly on the same anti-Israel path as the original 2001 Durban conference on race. That event was so biased, the United States, Israel, and many non-governmental organizations, including BBI, walked out in protest.

The work of the preparatory committees leading up to the April conference has made it clear that Israel is once again to be demonized at the expense of legitimate conversation about the very real issues of racism and intolerance around the world.

We urge other nations to withdraw their support for a conference that seems most unlikely to serve as a legitimate forum for tackling a serious issue.

BBI, through its Center for Human Rights and Public Policy and Office of United Nations Affairs, will continue to monitor these issues as Durban II draws closer.