Carol Cooper

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by Ravi Nessman ( © The Associated Press) DURBAN, South Africa (Sept. 8) - The World Conference Against Racism adopted a declaration Saturday recognizing the injustice of slavery and colonialism and the "plight" of Palestinians after nine days of contentious debate and brinksmanship that repeatedly threatened to unravel the gathering. Compromises on both issues were reached only Saturday morning, a day after the conference had been scheduled to end. Even as they accepted the compromise, Arab states registered their reservations that the gathering would not directly condemn Israel for its treatment of Palestinians. The United States and Israel had abandoned the conference on Monday, after efforts by Norway to work out a compromise on the issue of the Middle East failed. After the conference declaration and program of action were adopted about 4:40 p.m. Saturday, Australia and Canada said they were unhappy with final documents' language on the Middle East conflict. The gathering had been envisioned as a historic opportunity for the international community to create a blueprint for fighting racial discrimination around the globe, but became bogged down in disputes over whether to provide an apology and reparations for slavery and whether the document should condemn Israel. Earlier Saturday, South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told the conference she understood there was agreement reached on the two issues, and the Islamic states issued a statement confirming this. But several Muslim countries then objected to efforts to delete additional text that many delegates felt indirectly referred to Palestinians, including a paragraph that said "foreign occupation . . . is among the forms and sources of racial discrimination." The conference rejected the efforts of those Muslim countries and passed the text by consensus, after debate pushed past a 4 p.m. deadline when translators had to return home. Under the slavery deal, the conference acknowledged that slavery is a crime against humanity and "should always have been so." It also expressed an apology in the form of acknowledgment for the wrongs of slavery and colonialism and offer a package of economic assistance to Africa. "We are happy we found a solution," Hans Winkler, an Austrian delegate, said. It remained unclear what the new language would mean for European fears of potential lawsuits seeking reparations, though several European delegates said on condition of anonymity their fears had been addressed. "It's certainly an issue that warrants further exploration," said Wade Henderson, a lawyer and executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, a U.S. organization. Negotiators from the European Union and African nations reached the agreement on reparations and the "crime against humanity" language about 4 a.m. Saturday morning, said South Africa's minister of public service, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi. They had reached agreement Friday to a compromise calling on those responsible for slavery to find ways to restore the dignity of victims. The statement amounted to an apology, said EU spokesman Koen Vervaeke.

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