A three-country panel was chosen Monday to examine Israel's human rights record as part of a Universal Periodic Review this year of 64 countries by the United Nations Human Rights council in Geneva.
A view of the assembly hall during a session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Photo: AP [file]
All 192 UN states are subject to review.
According to Israel's ambassador to Geneva Roni Leshno Yaar, the review will be conducted by Nigeria, South Korean and Azerbaijan at the council's December session.
The council, which opened its September session on Wednesday, offers countries a limited right to replace the panel with alternative countries.
Israel, along with other Western countries, chose to stick with the initial panel assigned to them, said Leshno Yaar.
Turning to the 2009 anti-racism conference, dubbed "Durban II," which was also raised in the council on Monday, Leshno Yaar said he was struck by the positive-sounding statement by Pakistan's Ambassador, who spoke on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
Pakistan's Ambassador said that the anti-racism conference "should not turn into an exercise in anti-Semitism and that doing so would be a clear violation of the Durban declaration and program of action."
As plans for the conference proceed, "I hope we will find that the OCI member states will stick to that commitment," said Leshno Yaar.
Israel has said it is likely to boycott "Durban II" out of a fear that it would be a repeat of the anti-Semitic and anti-Israel hate-fest that had characterized the first UN World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, which met in Durban, South Africa in 2001. Although the follow-up conference is to be held in Geneva, it has been nicknamed Durban II.
Canada has already said that it won't go, and the US, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands have also threatened not to attend.
Speaking Monday, in her first address before the Council since taking up her post at the start of December, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay urged all countries to attend.
"Allow me to welcome the progress achieved thus far in the lead up to the anti-racism review conference... and in particular the productive discussions of the two regional meetings in Brasilia and Abuja," said Pillay.
"I urge those governments that have expressed an intention not to participate in the conference to reconsider their position," said Pillay, adding that their attendance would improve the conference.
"Without that participation, the anti-racism debate and agenda will be impoverished," said Pillay.
Israel remains firm in its intention not to go, said Leshno Yaar. But he added that if significant changes in the conference's stance toward Israel were made, the possibility remained that Israel could change its mind. But at this point, he said, he saw no sign that such a change was in the works.
