UN body adopts resolution on religious hatred and bigotry
GENEVA – The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Wednesday adopted a resolution on religious hatred and bigotry.
The motion was opposed by the U.S. and the European Union. They said the resolution contradicted their positions on human rights and freedom of expression.
The resolution was triggered by an incident in Sweden in which a Quran was burned, leading to protests across the Muslim world.
The incident occurred last month outside Stockholm’s main mosque when an Iraqi immigrant desecrated the Quran on the Eid al-Adha vacation.
Pakistan and other countries in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation had asked for an emergency debate Tuesday in the top legal body of the U.N.
They called for a resolution to condemn Quran burning and urge countries to prevent and prosecute acts and advocacy of religious hatred.
“We must see this clearly for what it is: incitement to religious hatred, discrimination and attempts to provoke violence,” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told the session via video link.
He said such acts occurred under “government sanction and with the sense of impunity”.
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told countries to break silence on the issue and do not take cover behind freedom of expression.
“Stop abusing freedom of expression…Silence means complicity,” he said.
UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk said the acts of incitement against Muslims, as well as against other religions or minorities, are “offensive, irresponsible and wrong.”
The Swedish government condemned the Quran burning as “Islamophobic.”
However, it added that the country has a “constitutionally protected right to freedom of assembly, expression and demonstration.”
France’s Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont noted that human rights “protect people – not religions, doctrines, beliefs or their symbols.”
He said it is not for the U.N. or states to define what is sacred.
UNHRC resolutions are not legally binding, but are seen by states as strong political commitments.
Of the 47 members of the UNHRC, 28 voted in favor of the resolution, while 12 voted against. Seven countries abstained from voting.
Voted in favor:
Algeria; Argentina; Bangladesh; Bolivia; Cameroon; China; Cuba; Eritrea; Gabon; Gambia; India; Ivory Coast; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Malawi; Malaysia; Maldives; Morocco; Pakistan; Qatar; Senegal; Somalia; South Africa; Sudan; Ukraine; UAE; Uzbekistan; Vietnam
Voted against:
Belgium; Costa Rica; Czech Republic; Finland; France; Germany; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Montenegro; Romania; UK; US
Abstained:
Benin; Chile; Georgia; Honduras; Mexico; Nepal; Paraguay
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