Racism conference: Was it worth it?

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The UN racism conference in Durban has finally ended a day late after acrimonious argument on the legacy of slavery and on Israel.

It agreed on a declaration of principles and a global plan to fight discrimination which was praised as a breakthrough by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.

The compromise text agreed by more than 160 countries recognised slavery as a crime against humanity and offered a package of economic assistance to Africa.

But the summit has been criticised for achieving very little and managing to upset just about every country that attended. The US and Israel walked out earlier in the week in protest at attempts to brand Israel a racist state.

So does the final declaration say anything relevant? What do you think the summit has achieved?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

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Your reaction

Perhaps the title of the conference, on "Racism, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance", was aptly named after all. Never was there so much of it, mixed liberally with humbug, exhibited in one place.
Ben Broadbent, England

I am disappointed that my government decided nothing to be discussed was important enough to hang around for

Carleen Ibrahim, USA

I am disappointed that my government decided nothing to be discussed at the conference was important enough to hang around for. Unfortunately, it only speaks volumes about the continued American refusal to acknowledge and accept responsibility for our part in the two most important issues on the agenda: slavery and Zionism. As Mr. Parker from the UK so astutely pointed out, Germany was forced to pay reparations for injustices, so what makes the US any different? Perhaps we need to get our heads out of the clouds and, for once, take an honest look at the way we have both negatively and positively influenced the world. Oh, but wait! That would mean accepting responsibility for injustices of the past, and we don't want to do that, now do we?
Carleen Ibrahim, USA

The equation of compensation paid to Jews after WWII with the idea of reparations for slavery is entirely erroneous. Firstly, much of the compensation paid to Jews is not compensation at all but redress for the Jewish property that was seized by the Nazis. Secondly, the Holocaust happened within living memory; those who have received payments from Germany were directly affected by it. Any argument for reparations for Africa should not be based on this spurious notion that slavery and the Holocaust are in some way comparable. They are not.
Michael Entill, UK

I think that the conference failed and it is sad for all the world.
Amos Kedem, Israel

I only wish I had the circa $10m to return to the poor of South Africa, which was wasted on this poisonous circus

Derek Johnson, UK

What did it achieve? Absolutely nothing. Other than make normally moderate people in the West take a more hardened view towards hypocritical Islamic and Third World despots, I see the whole charade as setting back Global harmony by years. The irrational and evil pursuit of Israel was a disgrace and the US were right to leave them to it. I am ashamed that the UK stuck around to give false legitimacy to these racists. I only wish I had the circa $10m to return to the poor of South Africa, which was wasted on this poisonous circus.
Derek Johnson, United Kingdom

It WAS worth it. Eg Dalits: never heard the word before this conference. But why did some participants prematurely flee? Unilateralism is a path to conflict and calamity. Multilateral negotiations will be slower but more trustworthy.
Thomas P. Higgins, USA

The conference was a waste of time and money. A cynical attempt at showing whoever is gullible enough that the UN has some clout, when in fact it is a collection of mostly self-seeking politicians, paying lip-service to the idea of freedom when few of the countries they represent have even a semblance of civil rights for the ordinary individual.
Ram Kalbag, U.K.

People should understand that Rome was not built in a day

Chibamba Douty, Zambian student

That it was the first time such a conference took place was an achievement in itself. People should understand that Rome was not built in a day, similarly this conference could not resolve all the thorny issues just at one sitting. The challenge has been put forward and it's up to the serious ant-racist people world over to take up the challenge and tackle this huge problem of racism. Thumbs up to the organisers and those delegates who went all the way to the end.
Chibamba Douty, Zambian student in Brunei Darussalam

I think that the mere fact that the conference has finally been held is quite a success, despite the redundancy of the closing statement and its lack of achieving enough especially in the field of foreign occupation and discrimination.
Rabih Ayash, Lebanon

Racism is a critical problem which cannot be solved with a unique conference. It needs a lot of effort from us, as humans, to minimise its effects.
Jamal Wajeeh, Oman

The common creed seemed to be, let's talk about issues where we can pontificate to the rest of the world

Ashok, Australia

The conference just proved that racism is alive and very well. The most racist of countries ganged up together to brand others racist. If you take a close look at different nations and peoples, each of them has their own dark chapters in history. The common creed seemed to be, let's talk about issues where we can pontificate to the rest of the world.
Ashok, Australia

It was certainly well meaning and highlighted historical injustices although it was overshadowed by peripheral issues. Holocaust victims were provided with reparations, so why not victims of slavery?
Nasarul Islam, UK

As far as I am concerned the conference achieved a lot for those with realistic and not very selfish expectations.
Charles, Nigerian (in Kuwait

Injustice demands reparation

Matthew Parker, UK (Currently in Singapore)

Injustice demands reparation. We made Germany pay for the World Wars. When we thought what they did to us was unjust, we demanded not only an apology but also reparations. Come to think of it, Europeans and Americans exploited the Africans to build their economies. We built our nations at their expense. We made them work in our labor-intensive industries and as domestic servants. What did they get? Misery, poverty and not a word of apology (or any form of payment) until now. I feel ashamed to be a part of such a culture.
Matthew Parker, UK (Currently in Singapore)

Yet another conference and one more declaration to add to the pile.
Aneeta Pathak, India

This conference was not an attempt to deal with racism in general. It was simply a racist exercise in attacking white Europeans and Americans. Great emphasis was put on the trans-Atlantic slave trade but the Arab-controlled slave trade and the internal market for African slaves were ignored. Just as many people were sold on to Arabs and other Africans as were shipped over the Atlantic. And virtually all slaves were initially enslaved by Africans. These crimes against humanity were not considered important enough to mention at Durban.
Joe Schumann, UK

What a joke. The conference generated its own conflict grounded in the very bigotry which it is supposed to oppose. The energy of the conference is then spent on trying to patch up the mess. Then it claims success for pathetic compromise resolutions for a self made disaster. How can the average person be expected to take this seriously?
Duncan, Australia

I think the summit is a step towards achieving a global reconciliation of slavery

Abdul Bin-Jibreel Madaha US/ Ghana

I think the summit is a step towards achieving a global reconciliation of slavery but other people think it's perhaps aimed at demonising the role of United States and Israel in a global front. To me, African leaders must ignore this issue and focus of changing the plight of their people, for history is enough of a weapon to reveal the shame of any enslaver.
Abdul Bin-Jibreel Madaha US/ Ghanaian student

What did this conference serve to do? Only three words: antagonise, exacerbate, and divide. Nigel Hawthorne said it best in "Yes, Minister": "The UN is the recognised forum for expressing international hatred." How right he was - and still is.
Matthew Shields, Canada

It would have made sense for the countries to concentrate more on modern day relevant issues, rather than spending all that time drafting out an apology note for something that took place many, many years ago. I'm sure my English teacher would have been happy to draft out a 'balanced' slavery note, while the leaders dealt with more important issues.
Ajay Arora, UK

The conference has at least made the world aware that racism still exists and that there is a long way to go before eradicating it in one way or another it may present itself. Congratulations to Mary Robinson who despite all odds managed to pilot it through to the end. What now really matters is the follow-up, whatever any mega-federation or particular State might say. Once again, congrats!
Athena, Malta.

As expected, much ado about nothing. It seems that the modern concept of serious accomplishment is to declare a consensus - no matter how irrelevant or meaningless the statement. Too many narrow agendas are being pursued by too many parties for these forums to be of any use.
George Milton, USA and Italy

I think that the summit showed that racism is still alive and well. It is ironic that a summit on racism seemed to be the most racist free speaking public forum in the last 30 years.
Lisa, Australia

Yes it was definitely worth it - it was a chance to point things out, the slave trade and Israel got a lot more attention than ever. Obviously this is the reason why the Prime Minister Shimon Peres has called for Yasser Arafat for discussion. Hopefully it will work
Abush, Ethiopia

It was worth it in the sense that it showed us America doesn't take racism seriously, and I think that it could be a very good start. Not a solution, just the beginning of a very long bumpy road.
Alex White, UK

So sad, so much unfairness in this world, so much suffering. So much to truly talk about, and instead they decide to debate and fight among them over one or two details.
Joe Salas, Mexico

I think the only thing that this conference achieved was to prove to us that everybody is guilty of racism. The fact that nothing was solved is no surprise as most countries went there to point a finger at others rather than face their own guilt. Racism is a problem faced by all races and conferences like these do little to solve such problems but they do highlight where the problem lies - squarely on the head and shoulders of us human beings.
G, The Netherlands

The conference was a joke. It produced no serious results and just fuelled the Arab-Israeli conflict and African hatred toward America. It seemed like a cycle of hatred with other country hating each other country even more. This just goes to show the ineffective style of the United Nations to produce any results
Ahmad Chehab, Lebanon