Ottawa, November 25, 2010 - Canada will not participate in the events to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action (DDPA) in September 2011, announced Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.
"Just as Canada was first the in the world to withdraw from Durban 2, so too Canada will lead by not attending this new Durban event," said Minister Kenney. "Our government has lost faith in the Durban process. We will not be part of this event, which commemorates an agenda that promotes racism rather than combats it."
Canada was the first country in the world to withdraw from the Durban 2 conference, which took place in 2009. Other countries -- including the United States of America, Australia, Israel, the United Kingdom, and most of the European Union -- followed Canada's lead. Canada's principled stand last year was vindicated when Durban II was used by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – the only head of state to attend – as a vehicle for Holocaust denial and xenophobia.
Last December, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to hold a one-day plenary in September 2011 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the first Durban conference in 2001. The General Assembly is currently finalizing the details of this event. "Canada will not participate in this charade any longer. The Government of Canada will not lend Canada's good name to the organized exercise in scapegoating that is the Durban process," said Minister Kenney.
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For further information (media only), please contact:
Alykhan Velshi
Minister's Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Alykhan.Velshi@cic.gc.ca
Media Relations
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca
