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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| US boycotts UN racism conference | US boycotts UN racism conference |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Washington has confirmed it will boycott a UN forum on racism in Geneva next week because of differences over Israel and the right to free speech. | Washington has confirmed it will boycott a UN forum on racism in Geneva next week because of differences over Israel and the right to free speech. |
| The state department said the proposed text of the conference's guiding document remained unacceptable despite having been amended significantly. | The state department said the proposed text of the conference's guiding document remained unacceptable despite having been amended significantly. |
| The US and Israel quit a similar forum in Durban in 2001 when its draft document likened Zionism to racism. | The US and Israel quit a similar forum in Durban in 2001 when its draft document likened Zionism to racism. |
| Current language about "incitement to religious hatred" also alarms the US. | Current language about "incitement to religious hatred" also alarms the US. |
| The five-day Durban Review Conference is due to open on Monday. | The five-day Durban Review Conference is due to open on Monday. |
| EU diplomats were still consulting on Saturday on whether to attend the conference. | EU diplomats were still consulting on Saturday on whether to attend the conference. |
| Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has stirred outrage by repeatedly calling the Holocaust of the Jews a "myth", is the only prominent head of state so far scheduled to attend. | Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has stirred outrage by repeatedly calling the Holocaust of the Jews a "myth", is the only prominent head of state so far scheduled to attend. |
| 'Serious concerns' | |
| The state department said it was "with regret" that the US had decided to boycott the conference. | |
| "The text still contains language that reaffirms in toto the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action [DDPA] from 2001, which the United States has long said it is unable to support," it said in a statement. | |
| "Its inclusion in the review conference document has the same effect as inserting that original text into the current document and re-adopting it. | |
| "The DDPA singles out one particular conflict and prejudges key issues that can only be resolved in negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. | |
| "The United States also has serious concerns with relatively new additions to the text regarding 'incitement', that run counter to the US commitment to unfettered free speech." | |
| Internal debate has raged in the US for weeks on whether to attend, the Associated Press news agency reports from Washington. | |
| Pro-Israel groups vehemently opposed participation while human rights advocates and organisations like TransAfrica and members of the Congressional Black Caucus thought it was important to attend. | |
| Just hours before Saturday's announcement, Human Rights Watch appealed for the US to go, saying it "should stand with the victims of racism". |