2001-
World Conference Against Racism-2001
In his opening remarks to the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance he sought balance.
The audience in Durban sat in silence as he spoke of Jewish suffering during the Holocaust, which he described as "the ultimate abomination".
Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, looked on but Israel's delegation had not arrived and its desk, located next to Italy's rather than Iraq's, was as yet unoccupied.
But the audience erupted in applause as Mr Annan spoke of the "wrongs done to the Palestinian people" which he listed as displacement, occupation, blockade and extra-judicial killings.
Current 2008 Concerns for World Conference 2009
During the 2001 World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, Israel came under fire from Arab and Muslim countries, as well as from a number of nongovernmental organizations, prompting Israel and the United States to walk out in protest. This year, concerns about a repeat of Durban were ignited by the election of Libya as chair of the gathering and Cuba as its vice chair, as well as by Iran’s appointment to its organizing committee. Moreover, the U.N. gave planning oversight for the conference to its Human Rights Council, a body that has come under criticism for its focus on Israel.
The contours of the new conference, which is set to occur during 2009, will be debated during a series of preparatory meetings this year, some of them called for Passover and Yom Kippur. The timing would likely prevent Israeli officials from participating. Moreover, all the nongovernmental organizations invited to the first conference have been invited back to the second. The forum for nongovernmental organizations, which took place in parallel to the governmental one at Durban, was where the most forceful denunciations of Israel were aired.