US will not join UN Confernce on Racism

The United States has refused to join the UN conference on racism starting Monday in Geneva because its final declaration still includes language the US "is unable to support,"the State Department said.

"Unfortunately, it now seems certain these remaining concerns will not be addressed in the document to be adopted by the conference next week. Therefore, with regret, the United States will not join the review conference," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said in a statement.

The United States, along with Israel, walked out of the World Conference on Racism in Durban, South Africa in 2001 after a row with some Muslim states about Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and anti-Semitism.

US doubts have persisted through preparations in recent months for the Durban Review Conference in Geneva, which is meant to take stock of international progress in fighting against racism and xenophobia since 2001.

The anti-racism conference's success is also in doubt after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced he would attend, sparking renewed fears the meeting could end in acrimony like the original anti-racism conference in Durban in 2001.

Ahmadinejad, who has stirred outrage by repeatedly calling the Holocaust a "myth" and with anti-Israel comments, is the only prominent head of state so far scheduled to attend the Geneva conference which could also be termed as one of the causes of US refusal.