Bush announced on July 26 that he would not send delegates to the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, unless conference organizers removed two issues from the agenda: a discussion of Zionism as a form of racism, and the question of reparations for slavery and colonialism.

In mid-August, the Bush administration yanked Secretary of State Powell from the head of the delegation because of wording in the draft singling out Israel for its treatment of the Palestinians. Powell was pressured by Abraham Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League, in boycotting the conference. Then the White House announced that it would send a low-level team to work behind the scenes. Michael Southwick, the deputy assistant secretary of state for international organizations who led the delegation, never took his seat at the conference. The official seat was occupied by John Blaney, the chargé d'affaires at the American Embassy in Pretoria, and Craig Kuehl, the consul general in Durban.

Southwick was instructed to attempt to persuade other delegations to delete "offensive language" in the draft declaration that included language that compared Zionism to racism. The delegation's orders were to watch and listen, but not to take part, according to the State Department. The American team made no speeches and did not participate in public debates at the conference on any issue. (Washington Post, August 30, 2001)

The atmosphere became more tense with each day, as Israel and numerous Arab governments gave harsh, defiant speeches on the conference floor. At a non-governmental forum, a final statement condemned Israel as a genocidal, "apartheid" state, a pointed reference to the former separatist, white-ruled policies of South Africa. United Nations officials and a number of countries, led by Norway, Canada, and South Africa, tried with limited success to broker compromise language in the final document. During one open meeting this morning, an American delegate decried the conference process as "shameful." Norway offered a new proposal backed by Israel, but it was rejected outright by Arab states. In a separate meeting, African states suddenly proposed much more demanding language on slavery reparations. (Washington Post, September 4, 2001)

Later that day, the American delegates began expressing deep pessimism about the chances of salvaging the conference, and by early evening, the United States team had given up. Both the American and Israeli delegations pulled out of Durban, charging that the meeting had been "hijacked" by Arab nations and converted into a forum for extremist diatribes against Israel and Jews. With a historic opportunity to address universal problems of discrimination, the conference instead foundered on the single, bitter issue of Israeli-Palestinian relations and became virtually doomed to irrelevance. (New York Times, September 4, 2001)

Powell said that he had instructed the United States delegation to return home, citing "hateful language" proposed for the final conference statement. He said that he was convinced that a successful conference "will not be possible." Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres made a similar announcement, saying that the conference had become a "bizarre show" and "an unbelievable attempt to smear Israel." (New York Times, September 4, 2001)

The South African government responded by stopping just short of calling Bush a racist, but it did say he was not an anti-racist. Other pro-Western African countries such as Nigeria were the most embittered by the Bush's decision to walk out. Those countries believed that the Bush administration treated the criticism of Israel as if it were the only issue at the conference. Nigerian President Thabo Mbeki's top administrator, Essop Pahad, said, "It's a matter of great regret. There are millions upon millions of citizens of the United States who will not be happy with this decision; committed people against racism." (The Guardian, September 4, 2001)

Arab leaders joined into the criticism of the United States. They charged that the United States and Israel were to blame for allowing the conference to be sidetracked by Middle East politics. Some also suggested the United States was using the issue as a pretext to avoid dealing with others at the conference, such as African demands for reparations for slavery. Amr Moussa, a senior Egyptian diplomat who is secretary general of the Arab League, said the United States' decision to leave was "very negative and unfortunate" and that he "tried to be accommodating and make the conference a success, but not at the expense of our principles." Another senior Arab diplomat said that he believed the United States had been looking for an excuse to abandon the conference because it was reluctant about dealing with African demands for financial reparations for slavery. (Washington Post, September 4, 2001)

Numerous other world powers objected to the decision by the Bush administration to boycott the conference. Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said he was disappointed at the United States pullout, saying he expected the United States "to play a role of moderation." Japan, Canada, and the European Union said they would stay in Durban. EU spokesman Gunnar Wiegand said the views of the 15 EU governments were "very similar" to those of the United States. He added, "We do not perceive it will be very helpful to the conference if a withdrawal takes place." (Los Angeles Times, September 4, 2001)

Canada's chief delegate, Hedy Fry, expressed understanding for the American decision but said it will "undoubtedly make the work being undertaken in Durban that much more difficult. We will continue the dialogue unless it becomes clear to us that a satisfactory outcome is impossible. The conference still has time to run." In Berlin, German officials said they believed the conference was worthwhile even though the EU opposed linking Zionism with racism. A German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said, "Together with our EU partners, Germany will work for bridging the gaps and making the conference a success." Sweden's chief delegate at Durban, Deputy Industry Minister Mona Sahlin, said the United States "left the conference far too early, before the negotiations were concluded." She added that the Europeans would "try to get the discussion to focus on racism in the world today." In Malaysia the country's biggest opposition group condemned the United States pullout. Hatta Ramli, spokesman for the fundamentalist Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, said, "It is a gross mistake." And Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Wang Guangya said that the conference showed the Palestinians "are still deprived of their legitimate rights and interests." (Los Angeles Times, September 4, 2001)