Just over 3 weeks ago, IRIS cited a report about Muslims demanding a
UN resolution which would criminalize opinions that differ with the Islamic faith.
A week after the demand for a UN resolution was put forward, IRIS also cited Islam for taking absurd offense over the Starbucks Cafe chain's logo claiming it was a depiction of
"Queen Esther... the Queen of the Jews" [sic].
Now Fox News has cited an AP report that the UN's top human-rights body approved
a proposal by Muslims nations urging that laws be passed around the world to protect religion from criticism:
The proposal put forward by Pakistan on behalf of Islamic countries, with the backing of Belarus and Venezuela, had drawn strong criticism from free-speech campaigners and liberal democracies.
A simple majority of 23 members of the 47-nation Human Rights Council voted in favor of the resolution. Eleven nations, mostly Western, opposed the resolution, and 13 countries abstained.
The resolution urges states to provide "protection against acts of hatred, discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting from defamation of religions and incitement to religious hatred in general"...
Muslim nations have argued that religions, in particular Islam, must be shielded from criticism in the media and other areas of public life. They cited cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad as an example of unacceptable free speech.
"Islam is frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and terrorism," the resolution said.
[If the shoe fits, wear it...]
Opponents of the resolution included Canada, all European Union countries, Switzerland, Ukraine and Chile.
"It is individuals who have rights and not religions," Canadian diplomat Terry Cormier said.
India, which normally votes along with the council's majority of developing nations, abstained in protest at the fact that Islam was the only religion specifically named as deserving protection...
The council is dominated by Muslim and African countries. Its resolutions are not binding, but are meant to act as recommendations for U.N. member states on issues of human rights.
Earlier, a coalition of more than 100 secular and faith groups had called on governments to oppose the resolution, warning that it could lead to accusations of defamation among different faiths.
The United States did not vote on the resolution because it is not a member of the council. The Bush administration announced it was virtually giving up on the body and would participate in debates only if absolutely necessary because of the Geneva body's anti-Israel statements and its failure to act on abuses in Sudan and elsewhere.
U.S. diplomats resumed their observer role in the council after President Barack Obama took office, though it is unclear whether Washington will stand for one of the 18 council seats up for election in May.
Esther Brimmer, Obama's nominee for the job of Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizational Affairs, told a Senate hearing Tuesday that the council was a "major disappointment, diverted from its mission by states with some of the worst human rights records."
