Austria has joined the anti-Durban group of ecountries, including Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Italy, Israel, and the United States.
A spokesman for Austria's Foreign Ministry said his nation will 'walk away' from the so-called Durban III anti-racism conference, slated to take place on September 22, in New York City.
"We have no intention of participating in Durban III in September," Alexander Schallenberg of Austria's Foreign Ministry told reporters.
Schallenberg explained Austria has” doubts about the content and direction of the conference” and that is the reason for Austria's decision to skip the event.
The September 22 Durban III event commemorates the 10th anniversary of the infamous Durban I conference, which took place in Durban, South Africa. Widely denounced as an anti-Semitic, the UN-sponsored singled out Jews and Israel in order to attack them, including calls to destroy Israel.
Austria participated in Durban I in 2001 and the 2009 Durban II conference in Geneva, Switzerland - but Austria is now the first German-speaking country to join the anti-Durban camp.