Ros-Lehtinen: U.S. Must Pledge No Role in Durban 3 Meeting

(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today urged the Administration to pledge publicly that the U.S. will neither participate in nor fund this September’s “one-day high-level meeting of the [United Nations] General Assembly to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.” The meeting is commonly known as Durban 3. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen: 

“The U.S. rightfully walked out of Durban 1, and stayed away from Durban 2, because each conference was hijacked by extremists who turned them into anti-Western, anti-Israel, anti-Semitic hate-fests. This September’s Durban 3 will, sadly, be one more wasted opportunity that will only harm the cause of fighting bigotry.

“Canada and Israel have already announced that they will stay away from Durban 3. It is long past time for the U.S. to do the same. The Administration must pledge publicly and unequivocally that the U.S. will neither participate in nor fund Durban 3.”

NOTE: Ros-Lehtinen has authored several pieces of legislation opposing U.S. participation in or funding for the Durban process, includingH.Res. 879 in the 110th Congress and H.Res. 42 and H.R. 3231 (the Durban Taxpayer Refund Act) in the 111th Congress. Ros-Lehtinen will soon reintroduce the United Nations Transparency, Accountability, and Reform Act, which will include similar provisions to prohibit U.S. participation in or funding for Durban III and the broader Durban process.