Julie Bishop demands Durban II withdrawal
The Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, has called for Australia to withdraw immediately from the Durban II Review Conference.She said: “The Rudd Government’s failure to take a stand on this issue is compromising long-held bi-partisan foreign policy principles including Australia’s support for Israel.”
Having examined the revised text, Ms Bishop points out that it includes a statement that it ‘reaffirms the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action as it was adopted at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in 2001’.”
She added: “Given that the first Durban conference was marred by anti-Israeli bias and rampant antisemitism, this paragraph provides the platform for a repeat of the same bias and should provide no comfort to principled Governments.”
The Shadow Minister has made repeated criticisms of the Rudd Government’s “drive to gain votes to win a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council.”
