home > recent articles > RESPONSE TO WCAR WALKOUT
Statement on US delegation walkout from anti-racism conference

See also

GBGM at
   anti-racism
   conference 		Seventeen delegates from four United Methodist Church boards and agencies are attending the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa. The General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) is represented by Executive Secretary for Women and Children Liz Calvin, the Women's Division's Assistant General Secretary for Christian Social Responsibility Lois Dauway, Women's Division Director Mee Sue Park, Executive Secretary for Human Rights and Racial Justice David Wildman, and Women's Division Executive Secretary for Racial Justice Suzanne Ife Williams.

The following statement was drafted by GBGM's David Wildman and the General Board of Church and Society's Gretchen Hakola,with input from Lois Dauway.

Yesterday the Bush Administration tried to wash its hands of responsibility when the U.S. delegation walked away from the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) taking place in Durban, South Africa. By doing so, the U.S. walked away from international efforts to eliminate racism. In calling the delegation home at a critical juncture of the conference, the U.S. Administration expressed its unwillingness to participate in dialogue, international cooperation and global struggles for racial justice. This marks the latest in a disturbing series of decisions by the U.S. Administration. This is the third world conference against racism that the U.S. has refused to participate in.

Today, thousands of delegates from governments and non-governmental organizations around the world, including 17 delegates from four United Methodist Church boards and agencies, continue the hard and necessary work to forge a consensus on a global plan of action to confront racism and related intolerances.

The Church has declared that "The plague of racism is manifested all over the world, intensifying discrimination and marginalization of people based on their race, ethnicity, nationality, language or caste...The struggle for justice is based on the belief that new attitudes, new understandings, and new relationships must be reflected in the laws, policies, structures, and practices of both church and state. ["Racism-A Violation of Human Rights," #159, 2000 Book of Resolutions]

While we recognize that many difficult issues remain to be addressed by delegates in Durban, to quote the WCAR secretary, South African Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, "Nothing is beyond discussion. That is the beginning of a tolerant society when we can sit down and listen to one another, even if we do not agree. We cannot build the kind of world this conference seeks by redlines, by ultimatums."

As a faith community, The United Methodist Church is committed to continuing the struggle against racism in all its manifestations, hand in hand with other churches around the world. We do this in the hope that God's people will fulfill the gospel mandate that we "may all be one." (John 17:21)

David Wildman, General Board of Global Ministries, and Gretchen Hakola, General Board of Church and Society

September 4, 2001
General Board of Global Ministries
United Methodist Church
475 Riverside Drive - New York, New York 10115
1-800-UMC-GBGM