These news reports pointed out, "The Washington-based ambassadors, representing several continents, are expected to meet in Foggy Bottom with Marc Grossman, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, and Undersecretary of State Paula J. Dobriansky. They intend to tell the ambassadors that the United States needs their help to build support for striking the two topics."

This turn of events is not surprising for those of us in the African Liberation Movement who have been organizing to attend and participate in the historic United Nations World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) that will be held in Durban, South Africa Aug. 31 through Sept. 7, 2001. More than 200 hundred African people from the United States will be delegates to the conference representing the December 12th Movement International Secretariat, the International Association Against Torture, the North South XXI, and the National Black United Front.

As Atty. Roger Wareham of the December 12th Movement recently revealed in an article circulated on the Internet earlier this year, "Since 1997, when the UN agreed to hold this World Conference, the United States, Canada, and western Europe (the WEO Group of countries) have done all they can to prevent it from succeeding."

In the spring of 1998, at the Africa Group meeting during the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, a resolution was drafted identifying the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade as a Crime Against Humanity. The United States, using all of its influence, succeeded in blocking the resolution. However, this did not stop the momentum throughout the African world to push for this resolution to become an official position of WCAR.

At the African Regional Preparatory Conference for WCAR held in Dakar, Senegal (January 22-24, 2001), the African Ministers developed what is called the "Dakar Declaration." In their deliberations, they affirmed, in part, the following:

" Affirm that the slave trade is a unique tragedy in the history of humanity, particularly against Africans- a crime against humanity which is unparalleled, not only in its abhorrent barbaric feature, but also, in terms of its enormous magnitude, its institutionalized nature, its transnational dimensions and especially its negation of the human nature of the victims.

"Further affirm that the consequences of this tragedy, accentuated by those of colonialism and apartheid, have resulted in substantial and lasting economic, political and cultural damage caused to the descendants of the victims, the perpetuation of the prejudice against Africans on the continent and people of African descent in the Diaspora.

"Strongly reaffirm that States which pursued racist policies or acts of racial discrimination, such as slavery, colonialism, and apartheid, should assume their full responsibilities and provide adequate reparations to those States, communities and individuals who were victims of such racist policies or acts, regardless of when or by whom they were committed."

Some news reports are suggesting, "The absence of the United States [at the WCAR] would be a severe blow to the convention which is being billed as the most important international meeting on racism." This view of the United States threatening not to attend WCAR if Zionism is equated with racism and reparations for slavery, colonialism and apartheid are on the agenda fundamentally seeps of arrogance and white supremacy. We take the position that if the United States refuses to participate in the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, it is an admission of guilt!

The United States must recognize that international law supports the position that the enslavement of Africans was a crime against humanity. The Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal defined crimes against humanity as: "Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian populationwhether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetuated."

African people and all freedom loving people are clear that the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Slavery were Crimes Against Humanity. There is no debate on this issue! If the United States attends or does not attend the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, it does not make a difference. They have been exposed to the world and they know it!