U.S. Will Not Attend U.N. Conference On Racism

`We will not attend,` the official said.

The United States will not attend a U.N. conference on racism that critics say will be a forum to criticize Israel and will no longer participate in planning sessions for it, a U.S. official said on Friday.

"We will not attend," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The decision to drop U.S. involvement comes one day before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves on her first trip to the Middle East in her new job, including stops in Israel.

A U.S. delegation took part in negotiations this month on the World Conference Against Racism, scheduled for April in Geneva, Switzerland, although Israel has called for a boycott and Canada has said it will not attend.

But the United States has decided the final document that will be produced by the conference is "not salvageable," another official said.

Critics of the April conference, dubbed "Durban 2," say Arab nations will use it as a forum to bash Israel and charge that the draft document will limit freedom of religion and speech.

The United States and Israel walked out of the first U.N. conference on racism in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, just days before the Sept. 11 attacks, to protest efforts to pass a resolution comparing Zionism to racism.

U.S. participation in the talks, which drew criticism from Jewish groups, was a reversal of the Bush administration's stance. President Barack Obama has promised a more engaged diplomatic approach and more cooperation with the United Nations.

The State Department was expected to announce the decision later on Friday.