Italy pulls out of UN racism conference

Italy stated that it was pulling out of a UN conference on racism, a blow seen by many Western governments as marred by Muslim attempts to attack Israel and shield Islam from criticism.

Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini also decided to postpone a trip to Iran in protest over remarks by Tehran’s leadership against Israel and the US administration.

Concerning the Durban II summit, Frattini commented that the withdrawal was due to “aggressive and anti-Semitic statements on the draft of the event’s final document. There are expression of anti-Semitism. Until the document is modified we will not have a part in it.” The Durban II conference on racism is expected to take place between April 20-25, and is designed to review progress in fighting racism since the inaugural summit on racism in South Africa, in 2001.

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