The commemorative event in New York this month will mark ten years since the adoption of the declaration at the World Conference Against Racism.
Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said New Zealand was fully committed to combating racism, but, in the end, the text was not one New Zealand could support.
"We remain concerned that the commemoration of the 2001 Durban Declaration could re-open the offensive and anti-Semitic debates which undermined the original World Conference. For these reasons, we have decided not to participate.''
Britain, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Israel and the USA have also indicated they will not participate in the event.
New Zealand did not participate in the Durban Review Conference held in 2009.
