Durban Review Conference - Membership of Greece to the PrepCom Bureau

From August 31st through September 8, 2001, the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR), organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, was held in Durban, South Africa, with the attendance of numerous government representatives and delegates from NGOs and other organizations.

At its 61st Session, in its resolution 61/149 the UN General Assembly decided to convene in 2009 a Review Conference on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action to be conducted within the framework of the General Assembly.

At its third Session, the Human Rights Council in its resolution 3/2 decided that the Human Rights Council will act as the Preparatory Committee of the Review Conference, which shall be open to the participation of all Member States of the United Nations and members of the specialized agencies and also to the participation of observers in accordance with the established practice of the General Assembly.

After deliberations among regional groups it was decided that the Prep Com bureau should consist of twenty members i.e. four from each of the five regional groups. Greece is one of the four countries put forward and endorsed by the Western Group to be on the bureau, which, under the guidance of the chair-elect of the Libyan Ambassador in Geneva is working at an accelerated pace towards the preparation of the first organizational session of the PrepComm.