Here is the full text of the Liberal Party media release concerning Durban II:

The Conservative government must lay out its next course of action now that it has made the correct decision to pull out of the second Durban anti-racism conference, said Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic Bob Rae.

“We support the government's decision to withdraw from preparatory meetings for the 2009 Durban conference. The first meeting was turned into a political circus, and became a platform for blatant anti-Semitism and an effort to make the very existence of Israel illegitimate. Judging by early rounds of discussion, Durban II will be no better. The world deserves better,” said Mr. Rae.

“But Canada’s commitment to fighting racism and intolerance in Canada and around the world is still very important and we must not remain silent about it. Now that Canada has withdrawn from Durban, the government must set out an alternative course of action to try and bring international partners together in a different forum.”

During the first Durban conference in 2001, Canada made a point of strongly opposing any mention of the Middle East conflict, or any anti-Israel and anti-Western bias in the conference’s final declaration.

“Since the preparatory discussions for Durban II appear to be a repeat of Durban I, Canada can not possibly participate,” said Mr. Rae.

“But our withdrawal doesn’t mean the government can sit back and do nothing. We must continue to strongly advocate against racism and convene a formal process to set out a course of action to fight it. The government must also continue to fund UN efforts at combating racism.

“To do anything less would be irresponsible and would cast yet another blight on our international reputation as a leader on human rights and tolerance,” said Mr. Rae.

I find it interesting that Bob Rae, who is the Foreign Affair Critic for the Liberal Party but not a sitting MP, is the only MP mentioned in the release.  It would have been nice to have a few words from Stephane Dion in which he personally endorses the decision by Stephen Harper to withdraw from the Durban II conference.

Given the vitriol from Khaled Mouammar of the Canadian Arab Federation aimed at Jason Kenney for having made the announcement, maybe the Liberals figure to spare Stephane Dion the same treatment.  Since Bob Rae had already been targeted by Mouammar during the Liberal Party leadership campaign for having a Jewish wife, it might make sense to let Bob Rae take the point on this one too.

In any case, it's good to see first the NDP, and now the Liberal Party, come onside and give the Conservatives credit for having shown the leadership to take the decision to dump this particular UN exercise in institutionalized anti-Semitism and West-bashing.

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