The Becket Fund Speaks for the Voiceless at UN Human Rights CouncilMar 25, 2008 GENEVA – During the 7th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty gave testimony in four sessions – mostly addressing the issue of religious defamation.
“Government restrictions of speech, even offensive speech, are often used as a pretext for the persecution of religious minorities,” said Bennett Graham, who represented the Becket Fund, a non-governmental organization (NGO) with consultative status at the United Nations, in Geneva.
Since 1999, Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has proposed resolutions which would condemn the defamation of religions, usually with a focus on Islam. While a religious defamation resolution may seem benign, it will stifle the free expression of ideas and beliefs, and ultimately provide an international precedent for domestic anti-blasphemy legislation, said Mr. Graham.
With support from Egypt, the African Group, and the OIC, the religious defamation issue has gained a foothold in the Human Rights Council. Egypt and Pakistan made proposals to add the religious defamation issue to the area of concern for the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion, and also to the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance.
Standing before the UN’s human rights body, Mr. Graham defended the freedom of expression.
“The right to disagree and to express dissent peacefully is a fundamental aspect of the freedom of thought,” he said. (Video/Text of Speech)
Later in the session, Mr. Graham addressed the fundamental differences between racism and religious discrimination.
“We respectfully request that this Council recognize the distinction between race, which is immutable, and religion, which, though often exercised and expressed communally, requires and cannot exist without choice guided by conscience,’ he said. (Video/Text of Speech)
While in Geneva, Mr. Graham participated in an intercultural dialogue at the Human Rights Council, during which he called for “true civility – an arena that allows for fervent debate about the most important aspects of life.”
He spoke of the need for public debate in which conflicting truth claims can interact through non-violent intercultural and inter-religious dialogue. (Video/Text of Speech)
Mr. Graham drew attention to human rights violations in Sudan, Burma/Myanmar, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Mr. Graham briefly highlighted continuing trends of surveillance and persecution in all three countries and called on the UN to hold the governments responsible for their action and inaction. (Video/Text of Speech)
“It’s important for the Becket Fund to stand for the voiceless at the United Nations, especially at a time in which the Human Rights Council is dominated by countries that have actively ignored and even participated in some the greatest human rights crises we have ever known,” said Angela C. Wu, International Director at the Becket Fund. “The rights of religious believers of all stripes are affected by what happens in Geneva.” Resources & Documents
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