File photo of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari
The 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Wednesday approved—with 28 votes in favor—a Pakistan-backed resolution on countering religious hatred following the burning of a copy of the holy Quran in Sweden earlier this month.
During the vote, seven countries abstained, while 12, including major Western powers such as the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany, rejected the measure, arguing that it was in conflict with their views on fundamental human rights and freedom of expression.
A day earlier, Pakistan had moved a resolution, “countering religious hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence,” over an Iraqi immigrant burning a copy of the Quran in Stockholm on the first day of Eidul Azha. The incident had triggered mass condemnations from the Muslim world, with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation calling for measures to prevent such actions from reoccurring.
The resolution passed by the UNHRC condemns all manifestations of religious hatred, including “public and premeditated acts of desecration of the holy Quran,” and emphasizes the need to hold any people responsible to account. It also urges states to adopt laws to “address, prevent and prosecute acts and advocacy of religious hatred that constitute incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.” Further, it has sought a report from the U.N. rights chief to identify gaps in countries’ laws to prevent such inciting incidents.
In an address delivered via video-link to the UNHRC on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari urged the world to unite against hatred, discrimination, and intolerance, while promoting mutual respect, understanding and tolerance. Lamenting that the deliberate desecration of the holy Quran had occurred under government sanction and with impunity, he said: “We must see this incitement to hatred, discrimination and attempts to provoke violence. We must join hands to condemn it. We must isolate those who stoke hatred.”
Emphasizing the importance of understanding the “deep hurt” felt by Muslims over such public and premeditated acts, he described it as an attack on the Muslim faith, adding that the resolution’s call for accountability was reasonable and necessary. He said hate speech and free speech must not be conflated, noting that no Muslim country in the world allows the desecration of any holy book. “It is forbidden by faith, by culture and by law,” he added.
The minister’s remarks were echoed by other Muslim nations, including Iran, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, with the latter calling for an end to the “abuse” of freedom of expression. On the opposite end, Germany’s ambassador condemned the burning of the Quran, but said “freedom of speech sometimes also means to bear opinions that may seem almost unbearable.” The French envoy, similarly, said human rights were aimed at protecting people, not religions and their symbols.