UN Rights Body Denounces "Defamation" Of Religions

3/30/2007
6:28:00 PM GMT
IslamOnline

The United Nations top human rights body passed a resolution on Friday denouncing the “defamation” of religion, and stressing that press freedom has its limits, an apparent reference to the publication of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) offensive cartoons.

The resolution was presented by Arab and Muslim states to the 47-state Human Rights Council and was backed by China, Russia and Cuba.

24 member states voted in favor of the resolution, 14 against and 9 abstained.

The resolution expresses grave concern at the “negative stereotyping" of religions and "attempts to identify Islam with terrorism."

"The resolution is tabled in the expectation that it will compel the international community to acknowledge and address the disturbing phenomena of the defamation of religions, especially Islam," said Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Western states that voted against the resolution claim that it mainly focused on the Islamic religion and that the Council was formed to deal with human rights not religions.

“The European Union does not see the concept of defamation of religion as a valid one in a human rights discourse," a spokeswoman for the delegation of Germany, which holds the EU presidency, told the Council.

“Respect For Religions”

The adopted resolution demands countries to ensure that their laws protect against acts of "hatred, discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting from defamation of religions."

Although every individual has the right to freedom of expression, this right should be exercised according to limitations of the law and respect for others, including respect for religions and beliefs, it stated.

The offensive caricatures satirizing Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) originally appeared in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005.

It was later reprinted in several European newspapers, angering Muslims all over the world.

Islam bans any depiction of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) or Allah (SWT).

Muslim leaders denounced the publication of the blasphemous cartoons as part of an organized plan of provocation aimed against the Islamic world.

But the newspapers that published the images said that Muslims have no right to limit what they call “freedom of speech”.

AJP and Agencies