Western Boycott of Race Conference

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A UN conference on racism has opened in Geneva amid controversy over a boycott by a number of Western countries prompted by fears that Iran's president would use an address there to launch a verbal attack on Israel.

Washington announced "with regret" on April 18 that it would boycott the Durban Review Conference, which already has seen much of the bickering and political infighting that marred the previous conference in South Africa in 2001.

The five-day gathering is the UN's first global racism conference in eight years.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned at its outset that racism is one of the most pressing issue facing humanity.

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