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08/08/2001
- Controversy is brewing prior to the "World Conference
against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and
Related Intolerance," to be held in Durban, South Africa,
at the end of August. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
is under great political pressure regarding the shape
of the agenda, and the Secretary-General had to address
the issue during a gathering of the Urban Development
League in Washington. The US is already threatening to
boycott the conference on political grounds. Initially
the expense was financial -it is the most expensive UN
conference thus far; and the cost may extend from finances
to politics as usual.
- A much overlooked Year of Dialogue Among Cultures will
suddenly be revived in a meeting in Salzburg, Austria
on August 25th. It is an Austrian initiative to be attended
by a number of international dignitaries, including former
Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali in his Francophone capacity,
as well as his successor Kofi Annan. Austrian experts
in the social art of "Gemutlichkeit," which translates
into something like "relaxation," claim that August is
the best time to visit the year-round resort town of Salzburg.
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