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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2001

Secretary of State Colin Powell in January planned to personally attend the World Conference Against Racism. Between now and then, a number of forces made him change his mind.

Among them was Condoleeza Rice, President Bush's foreign policy adviser who is also African-American. She became concerned early on about the language being proposed for the conference's declaration.

The objections to slavery reparations and Zionism as racism contributed to Powell's decision not to attend. The failure of a mid-level delegation to get rid of the Zionism language from the conference's declaration led to their walkout on Monday.

Get the Story:
At Race Talks, Delegates Cite Early Mistrust (The New York Times 9/5)
How Powell Decided to Shun Racism Conference (The New York Times 9/5)
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Relevant Links:
Human Rights Issues, State Department - http://www.state.gov/g/drl/hr
World Conference Against Racism, UN - http://www.un.org/WCAR

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