United Nations
United NationsIsrael news photo: UN.org

The United Nation’s Durban III “anti-racism” conference has accredited a Libyan NGO close to Muammar Qaddafi but barred the pro-Israel “UN Watch” group.

Next week’s conference in New York marks the 10th anniversary of the first Durban conference in Africa, where virtually the entire session was dedicated to condemning Israel while ignoring atrocities in Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria and other countries marked by human rights violations.

At least a dozen countries have said they will boycott Durban II because of its one-sided anti-Israel agenda, which was clear by the list of NGOs it accepted to attend.

One of them is the Geneva-based North-South 21 organization, funded by Qaddafi in the late 1980s for the “Al-Qaddafi International Prize for Human Rights.” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugh Chavez and a Holocaust denier are among its awardees, according to Christina News Service (CNS).

The North-South 21 NGO was part of an NGO forum at Durban I and participated in Durban II, which was held two years ago in Geneva.

However, for the first time ever, the United Nations is barring UN Watch, whose executive director Hillel Neuer told CNS he does not know of any reason for its application being turned down.

The refusal, accompanied by the acceptance of the pro-Qaddafi NGO, “is an embarrassment for the U.N.” he said.

U.N. Watch has directly challenged United Nations Human Rights Commission allegations against Israel and has featured guests, such as the former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, who defended Israel’s counterterrorist Operation Cast Lead against Hamas terror nearly three years ago.