Humor

Campaigns & Petitions

UN Bans "Defamation of Religion" in Islamic Bid to Curb Free Speech

Scoop, New Zealand November 25 2008

Geneva. By a vote of 85 to 50, with 42 abstaining, the UN General Assembly today adopted a draft resolution calling on all countries to alter their legal and constitutional systems to prevent "defamation of religions," asserting that "Islam is frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and terrorism."

The decision, sponsored by Islamic states with the support of Venezuela and Belarus, drew immediate protests from human rights activists and legal experts.

"This is just the latest shot in an intensifying campaign of UN resolutions that dangerously seek to import Islamic anti-blasphemy prohibitions into the discourse of international human rights law," said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, an indpendent human rights monitoring group in Geneva.

"Human rights were designed to protect individuals -- to guarantee every person free speech and free exercise of religion -- but most certainly not to shield any set of beliefs, religion included."

"These resolutions legitimize the criminalization of free speech in countries like Sudan, Egypt, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia," said Neuer. "Muslim moderates, bloggers, women seeking basic freedoms -- all of these will be the first to suffer from the worsening climate of state repression in the name of state-supported Islamic orthodoxy."

"No less is today's enactment aimed at the Western world, to intimidate anyone from criticizing radical Islam and those who commit violence in its name," said Neuer.

Proponents of free speech celebrated one small victory, however.

Successful campaigning by an international human rights coalition, including the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and UN Watch, led to a decline in support for the resolution compared to last year's vote, which had garnered 108 in support, 51 against, and 25 abstentions.

The proposed draft declaration for the UN's April 2009 "Durban II" conference on racism includes numerous provisions on the "defamation" of Islam. Denmark has threatened to walk out if they are included.

---- SIGN Appeal “Boycott Durban II” ---
Against the Durban Review Conference of the UN!

• Informations on the petition “Boycott Durban 2!” • Signatures • Background • Feedback • Banners for blogs and websites •

Video Playlist: Durban II - The UN Conference to Promote Antisemitism

A Muslim-Programmed Inhuman Rights Council? Why the UN's Durban Review Conference Must Be Boycotted
Durban reloaded
Israel will not participate in the Durban 2 Conference
Durban II: An Early Test

Durban II – a new battlefront opens
The Pathology of Durban II
Denmark threatens boycott of Durban II
Danish foreign minister threatens Western boycott of Durban II

• UN Human Rights Council banned Discussion of religious questions
• Incredulous UN Bans Criticism of Islam

Islamic states draw new battle lines over Freedom of Expression
Petition for defence of individual rights at the UN Human Rights Council
Growing opposition to the concept of "defamation of religion"

The UN must not give in to Islamic criticism
In the name of Islamophobia, will the OIC soon ‘Rule the Waves’ at the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council?
Religion and Freedom of Expression in the Human Rights Council

Criticism of religion is not blasphemy
An Islamic Blasphemy Law? Let’s Call Their Bluff
Islamic states draw new battle lines over Freedom of Expression

Creeping Dhimmitude at the United Nations
World’s Press Criticises UN Human Rights Council
IHEU "ambushed" at Human Rights Council

• Universal Human Rights and "Human Rights in Islam"
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Islamic Law vs Human Rights
• Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam - Diverges from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in key respects

Why Europeans Should Support Israel

1948, Israel, and the Palestinians - The True Story
The Hamas Charter - The Covenant of the Hamas 1988
New translation of Hamas charter contains anti-semitism
Arab anti-Semitism is strategic threat, says study

Islam’s Jew-Hating Hadith Matter Today
Antisemitism in the Qur’an: Motifs and Historical Manifestations
The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism
Hitler's Legacy: Islamic Antisemitism in the Middle East