Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-02-Speech-2-229"
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"I think I can also safely say that the political scope of the compromise achieved on the causes and origins of racism is another important successful result of the Durban Conference.
Like you, I have read some of the comments. I certainly do not want to start a controversial debate on this subject, but I will say, on the subject of the forgiveness and excuses which those who negotiated at Durban seem to have been accused of – I was there and I know I had quite a struggle to obtain this text – that of course people of our generation, like those of the previous generation, are not and were not involved in what was all too often misguided colonisation, or in slavery, but I would ask those people the following question. How can we be satisfied with such a banal, factual observation as that, at the same time refusing, by default, to give justice to those people who, even today, still bear the badly healed scars of colonisation and slavery? I should like to reply to what I have been reading in the press by saying that we are not engaged, here, in sanctimoniously and naively cultivating a sentiment of injustice. On the contrary, we have to recognise, on behalf of our forebears, that the evil deeds that were committed were morally debatable, if not downright reprehensible. We must also tell the victims, past and present, that we know that our history has not always been glorious and that by admitting as much, obviously on behalf of others, we are showing our intention of recognising their right to extenuating circumstances and, having said that, we must propose a true partnership, based on mutual respect, and far removed from the humiliating paternalism and miserly gestures of a self-satisfied and satiated lady of the manor.
I should therefore like, for a moment, to come back to the result. I believe that the result obtained at Durban opens up positive prospects for the continuation of the dialogue between North and South. The European Union has recognised and condemned the immense suffering caused by past and present forms of slavery and trafficking, wherever they took or take place, as well as the most blameworthy aspects of colonialism. It has recognised that slavery and trafficking were crimes against humanity and should always have been crimes against humanity. Durban was therefore an opportunity to look our common past in the face. Some people saw that as an act of regret, others as an act of remorse, and still others as an act of excuse. The important thing, it seems to me, is, above all else, the willingness to close the darkest chapters of our common history so as to be able to construct a new relationship, based on mutual respect, solidarity and partnership. An appeal has been launched so that more funds can be authorised for initiatives taken by developing countries, in particular the new African initiative.
There is another element which I would not like to pass over in silence. In the final analysis, Durban was a success because, throughout this difficult negotiating process, the Member States of the European Union remained united. Intensive coordination was implemented with the support of the Council Secretariat and the Associated States were kept constantly informed. It was this close cooperation which enabled the Presidency, duly mandated by its European partners, to negotiate delicate compromises with the representatives of the geographical groups concerned, and with the President and Secretary-General of the Conference, Mrs Zuma and Mrs Robinson respectively.
Regular coordination with the Western Group has also borne fruit. The European Union and its external and common security policy have emerged strengthened from the Durban Conference. Durban was the proof that the European Union is capable of speaking with a single voice on the difficult question – but one that is vital to the future of humanity – of the fight against racism and for respect for human dignity. The European Union asserted itself as an incorruptible negotiating partner and mediator. It presented an image of unity and consistency, and it supported the use of firmness, depending on the circumstances. As a result, its credibility was reinforced, as was its position at international level. The proof of this lies in the extreme flexibility and spirit of openness that the European Union showed in the discussions on the Middle East. The burden of those negotiations really did rest mainly on the European Union following the departure of the United States and Israel.
The re-launching of the Middle East peace process is one of the European Union’s priorities. However, it believed that the Durban Conference, based as it was on the fight against racism, was not the appropriate forum for dealing with that question Since, however, the Arab and Moslem countries were insistent that the issue should be discussed at Durban, the European Union agreed to take an active role in formulating a draft consensus which was presented by the South African Presidency. In that draft, the European Union was able to retain the principles which it believed to be essential, namely a balanced text with a strong call for negotiations to be resumed and for violence to be brought to an end, while at the same time expressing concern about the increase in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the world. A reference to the Holocaust was retained, whereas the equation ‘Zionism equals racism’ disappeared, as these were among the conditions and prerequisites.
That was what was achieved at Durban. We must now look to the future and put into practice those commitments to which we universally subscribed in South Africa. I must emphasise that everyone should be informed of the positive coverage of this conference. Each of us, and Member States in particular, must now redouble our efforts so as to ensure that we make the most of the exemplary success achieved by the European Union at the Durban Conference. I believe, therefore, that we can be reasonably satisfied with the outcome.
I would simply like to say that you get an even better idea of how successful the conference was if you imagine for a moment what it would have represented, in terms of a message or a negative signal, if Durban had not been a success. I believe that in the context that we are experiencing now, that would certainly not have helped. I think, therefore, that we did our duty, we did exactly what we ought to have done, it seems to me, in extremely difficult conditions. I am very pleased to have succeeded, on behalf of the European Union, with the support of the Commission, with the support of the Council, and with the support of the fifteen Member States, but also – which is very important – with the support of the thirteen candidate countries, to have succeeded, in fact, in saving this conference. If we had not succeeded in saving this conference, I believe it would have had relatively damaging consequences in the longer term."@en1
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