'Defamation of Religion' Raised at UN Racism Discussion

(CNSNews.com) - The specter of "defamation of religion" reared its head at the United Nations again Wednesday, as member states discussed progress in preparations for a global conference on racism, planned for 2009.

U.N. racism expert Doudou Diene told a General Assembly committee meeting that among the "significant trends in contemporary forms of racism" was "the general increase in the defamation of religions and incitement to racial and religious hatred."

He referred to a resurgence of "anti-Semitism and Christianophobia" but cited, in particular, "Islamophobia."

In a report to the committee, Diene warned that there was a decline in the determination to combat racism since the U.N. hosted the World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, in 2001.

That decline, he said, was "an alarming feature of a new ideological landscape characterized by discrimination that is more complex in nature owing to the conflation of race, culture and religion."

The Durban conference was a stormy affair, characterized by attempts to equate Israel with apartheid South Africa. The U.S. delegation was recalled in protest.

Just days later, the controversy was overshadowed when al-Qaeda attacked the U.S. on September 11.

Many Muslims around the world since then have accused America and its allies of targeting Islam in their response to 9/11. They have cited the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and episodes including the publication of cartoons caricaturing Mohammed and comments by Pope Benedict XVI about Islam.

With the U.N. planning to hold a conference in 2009 to review the implementation of a program of action drawn up at the Durban meeting, many governments affiliated with the 56-nation Organization for the Islamic Conference want the religion issue to feature strongly.

Addressing the General Assembly committee on Wednesday, Pakistan representative Razina Alam decried attempts to link Islam and terrorism and referred to "new forms of discrimination and xenophobia against Muslims and Arab peoples."

Alam, speaking on behalf of 130 developing nations and China, said the world had "witnessed religious intolerance masquerading as freedom of expression and an assault on human rights."

The international community should make every effort "to combat all forms of defamation of religions," and the exercise of free expression should not infringe on the rights of others, she said.

Other participants who brought up the defamation of religion issue included the Bangladeshi envoy, who warned of "a dangerous slide towards a clash of civilization and religion."

Libya's representative, in an apparent reference to the Mohammed cartoons, said freedom of speech should not threaten or touch upon religious figures and related beliefs.

But Portuguese delegate Joao Queiros, speaking on behalf of the European Union, cautioned against efforts to broaden the discussion beyond the Durban program of action.

"There is a strong universal consensus on the abhorrence of the phenomena of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the urgent need to eliminate them," he said.

"To dilute this concept with other issues and to weaken its strength and consensual basis by mixing it with controversial questions not related to the heart of the fight against racism would, we fear, distract the international community of our common endeavor to eliminate racism from our societies."

A U.S. representative went further, saying the concept of "defamation of religion" was flawed and could have a "chilling effect" of stopping public comment or dissent against political figures.

It was now also being promoted at the international level to promote and justify blasphemy laws, he said.

The committee also heard from Najat Al Hajjaji, the Libyan diplomat who heads a preparatory committee for the 2009 racism conference.

"A review conference will unite the global community in a determined struggle
against this social evil," she said. "It ... offers an opportunity for all stakeholders to reflect on the reasons why, in spite of all the efforts made, we have not overcome all the manifestations of racism."

Al Hajjaji said the venue for the conference had yet to be decided, but that it would be held sometime in the first half of the year.

See also:
Libya, Iran, Cuba Among Nations Tasked to Prepare for UN Racism Conference (Aug. 23, 2007)
Muslim Leaders Want UN to Outlaw 'Defamation' (Feb. 21, 2006)
Accusations Fly As US, Israel Walk Out Of 'Bizarre' UN Conference (Sept. 04, 2001)

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