According to Guenther Nooke, a former CDU MP who now serves as the German foreign ministry's Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, there is "a very high probability" that Berlin will boycott the Durban II UN Anti-Racism Conference which is set to open in Geneva on Monday. In an interview this week with Der Spiegel, Nooke pointed to the gathering's potential for anti-Semitic / anti-Israeli attacks and the scheduled appearance of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the key reasons for why Berlin would be willing to boycott an official UN conference for the first time ever. In this context, Nooke also called on all other EU member states to collectively stay away from Durban II.