Webdesk: The United Nations passed a resolution called “Promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue. As well as tolerance in countering hate speech.” Pakistan was one of the countries that supported the resolution.
In the statement, the whole world asked to fight against all kinds of hate speech. At the UN offices in New York, 44 countries voted for it, 62 countries voted against it. 24 countries didn’t vote.
“It also recognises with deep concern the overall rise in discrimination, intolerance, and violence, regardless of who doing it. Including cases motivated by Islamophobia in PP18, a proposal put forward by Pakistan and later supported by Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia,” said a statement from Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN.
Pakistan, the statement said, worked with Malaysia and Egypt on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries. To include language in the text that said the Assembly strongly condemned all acts of violence against people. Because of their religion or belief, as well as any such acts against their religious symbols, holy books, places of worship, religious sites, and shrines that went against international law. This made the fiqh (Islamic law) a binding international agreement.
Pakistan Mission Counsellor Bilal Chaudhry, speaking for the mission, said that everyone very happy that the resolution passed.
He said that the approved text similar to a resolution on religious hatred. Thats recently passed at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. This resolution presented by Pakistan on behalf of the OIC group.
The Human Rights Council’s historic resolution condemned “all advocacy and manifestations of religious hatred, including recent public and planned acts that have desecrated the Koran.” The resolution also asked countries to pass laws that would make it possible to bring those responsible for such acts to justice, the counsellor said.
Chaudhry said that Islamophobia getting worse
“These actions are not just a way to hurt the feelings of more than two billion Muslims around the world; they are also a way to work against peace and harmony between religions,” he said.
He said that these kinds of incidents are also a sign of racial hatred and xenophobia, and that the lack of preventative law measures, inaction, and reluctance to speak out encourages more hatred and violence.
The adviser also said that the text that was passed by the UN “does not try to limit the right to free speech.” Instead, it tries to emphasise the “special duties and responsibilities” of the international community to protect peace and harmony between different religions.
