Germany to boycott the Durban Review Conference?

As we reported earlier, the upcoming Durban Review Conference is likely to be boycotted by a number of States due to the fear that the event becomes little more than a forum for anti-semitic opinions. It is now reported in the Spiegel (in german) that Germany is “very likely” to stay away from the conference that is to start on monday. It would be the first time for Germany to boycott a UN conference. The reason, according to Guenter Nooke (the German Foreign Ministry’s top human rights envoy), is not at least that the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has announced that he wants to attend the conference and also give a speech. Since it is wholly unforeseeable what turn the conference will take, Germany, like several other EU nations, “will very likely not be taking part in the conference” according to Nooke. A final decision is expected to be issued tomorrow.