Czech EU presidency criticize UN racism conference declaration

The Czech EU presidency has criticized the draft of the final declaration of a UN conference on racism, the DPA news agency reported on Thursday. Czech officials expressed discontent over the use of the terms “religion” and “occupied territories” in the final declaration of the conference which will start in Geneva on Monday. Several Muslim countries have attempted to modify the final declaration so that it condemns Israel. The EU had previously threatened to boycott the event while the US, Canada, Israel and Italy have already pulled out.