THE South African government is on a mission to rescue the UN Conference Against Racism, to be held in Durban next month, by pushing for a compromise that will keep slavery on the agenda but shelve the contentious question of reparations. The US has insisted that slavery and reparations be removed from the conference declaration or it will downgrade its delegation. Africa, on the other hand, has insisted that slavery be recognised as "a crime against humanity that is unparalleled", that the former colonial powers apologise and that reparations be paid by governments and businesses that benefited.