Wiesenthal Center Urges Latin American and Caribbean Countries to Announce Its Absence from the Twentieth Anniversary of the infamous Durban Conference

August 4, 2021

Buenos Aires and Paris – The Wiesenthal Center sent letters to all Foreign Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean urging that their respective countries declare that they will not participate in the twentieth anniversary of the infamous World Conference Against Racism held in August 2001 in Durban, South Africa.

The expectations that had been formed for diplomats and global NGOs to establish a roadmap for the fight against hatred were dashed as it became the largest public display of anti-Semitism since the defeat of Nazi Germany.

During the conference, in addition to suffering physical attacks, the Durban police chief, on the eve of Shabbat, declared that he could not guarantee the safety of the representatives of Jewish organizations who wanted to walk 3 blocks in front of a demonstration of 20,000 people with banners with the mention "Hitler was right!" while distributing anti-Semitic libels.

To date, the United States, Canada, Australia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom have already declared their absence.

“The Wiesenthal Center urges you to add the important voice of your country and declare that your nation will not attend or participate in any way in glorifying a conference that 20 years ago disgraced the United Nations and helped legitimize the genocidal hatred against the Jewish people. everywhere. Doing otherwise will mean separating the fight against anti-Semitism from that of human rights," concluded Doctors Shimon Samuels and Ariel Gelblung, respectively, Directors for International Relations and for Latin America of the Wiesenthal Center.

For further information, please contact Dr. Shimon Samuels at +336 09770158 or Dr. Ariel Gelblung at +54 9 11 49695365.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization numbering over 400.000 members. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO)