U.N. Racism Conference

US to boycott UN racism conference Agence France Press — The Obama administration said Friday that the United States will boycott an upcoming U.N. conference on racism unless its final document is changed to drop all references to Israel and the defamation of religion. At the same time, it said the U.S. would participate as an observer in meetings of the U.N. Human Rights Council, a body that was shunned by the Bush administration for anti-Israel statements and failing to act on abuses in Sudan and other states. click to read complete article

U.S. joins Canada in boycotting UN racism conference Canwest News Service — The United States signalled Friday it will follow Canada's lead in boycotting a major United Nations conference on racism that critics say will be a forum to attack Israel and the West. The gathering known as ``Durban II'' is a follow to the 2001 conference in the South African city that collapsed into Arab- and Muslim-led condemnations of Israel, and African-led calls for the West to pay huge reparations for slavery. click to read complete article

Israel applauds US boycott of UN racism conference Agence France Presse — Israel on Saturday applauded Washington's decision to boycott a UN conference on racism that it considers anti-Semitic. "Under the fig leaf of combatting racism, this conference is blatantly anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli," Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said. "The decision of the United States should be an example to other countries that share our values," she added in a statement from her office. click to read complete article