U.N. racism follow-up conference set for April 2009

GENEVA, May 27 (Reuters) - A major United Nations conference on racism and xenophobia, a follow-up to an acrimonious 2001 summit on the same subjects, will be held in Geneva in April 2009, the world body said.

Diplomats resolved their differences on the date, duration and venue of the Durban Review Conference at closed-door talks on Monday, the U.N. said in a statement issued overnight.

Preparatory talks had been marked by difficult negotiations between Western and Islamic countries amid calls by American Jewish groups for the United States to boycott what they fear could be an anti-Israel event, according to diplomats involved.

The conference will be held from April 20 to 24 next year to chart progress in the global fight against racism since a landmark conference seven years ago which laid down a blueprint for addressing the issue.

The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance was marked by wrangling about Middle Eastern and African demands for reparations for slavery, and attempts by Islamic countries to brand Israel as racist.

Canada said earlier this year it would not take part in the Durban follow-up forum because it was likely to descend into "regrettable anti-Semitism."

The United States, Israel's main ally, is seeking guarantees it will not become an anti-Israel event, diplomats say. The European Union (EU) took part in Geneva preparatory talks and has signalled it will decide later this year whether to attend the follow-up conference.

Israel and the United States walked out of the 2001 Durban conference in protest over draft conference texts branding Israel as a racist and apartheid state -- language that was later dropped.

Diplomats have agreed a range of issues, including which non-governmental organisations may be accredited to take part in the follow-up meeting, and have begun drafting the review conference's final document, the U.N. statement said.

Further preparatory talks are slated for October, before which regional sessions will be held. Brazil will host a Latin American session set for mid-June, and Nigeria has offered to host the African session.

South Africa -- currently wracked by violent attacks on immigrants which have killed 56 people in the last fortnight -- backed away this month from hosting the follow-up conference. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Matthew Jones)