UN rights chief slams critics of Durban II
High Commissioner Navi Pillay says there was a 'highly organized and widespread campaign of disinformation' to undermine global body's second racism meeting
The United Nations' top human rights official says there was a "highly organized and widespread campaign of disinformation" to undermine the global body's second racism meeting.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, says critics who described the meeting as hate-filled used "hyperbole." She declined to identify these critics.
The week-long conference in Geneva, Switzerland, started on a sour note Monday when Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the West of using the Holocaust as a "pretext" to harm the Palestinians. This prompted protests from Jewish groups and a walkout by 23 European countries.
Pillay told reporters Friday that critics of the conference had caused supportive countries such as Germany to drop out at the last minute.
