GENEVA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States will boycott a United Nations conference on racism next week, the US State Department said yesterday, citing objectionable language in the meeting’s draft declaration.

The United Nations organized the forum in Geneva to help heal the wounds from the last such meeting, in Durban, South Africa. The United States and Israel walked out of that 2001 conference when Arab states tried to define Zionism as racist.

The Obama administration, which kept its distance from preparations for the “Durban II” meeting, has come under strong pressure from Israel not to attend.

“With regret, the United States will not join the review conference,” said State Department spokesman Robert Wood, ending weeks of deliberations inside the Obama administration over whether to attend.
Wood said significant improvements were made to the conference document, but the text still reaffirmed “in toto” a declaration that emerged from the Durban conference which the United States had opposed.

“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,” he added.

The announced boycott came about three months after President Barack Obama became the first African-American to lead the United States.