NZ joins anti-racism conference boycott

New Zealand is joining the boycott on the UN's anti-racism conference in Geneva. It follows similar moves by a number of other governments including the United States, Australia, Israel and the Netherlands. They pulled out over fears the conference will be used as a platform for criticism of Israel. The meeting is aimed at healing wounds from the last summit in 2001, where Arab states sought to define Zionism as racist. Foreign Minister Murray McCully says wording emerging from preparatory discussions suggest this conference could descend into the same kind of rancorous and unproductive debate.

Source..