World Conference Against Racism (10th Anniversary)
(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)
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The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr William Hague)
The Government will not attend the high-level meeting to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2001 World Conference against Racism on 22 September at the United Nations in New York.
The Government remain fully committed to the international fight against racism. The recent examination of the UK by the UN Committee for Elimination of Racial Discrimination demonstrated that we remain committed to tackling racism at home and abroad. The committee welcomed the notable efforts the UK has taken to tackle racial discrimination and inequality and the important progress we have made.
However the Government do not want to be associated with the commemoration of an event which was tainted by anti-Semitism and intolerance. We join a number of other countries in not participating in the September meeting, including the United States, Canada, Israel, Australia and Germany.