(Geneva) The burning of a Koran in Sweden is an “offensive” act, but limiting freedom of expression must remain an exception, the UN said on Tuesday during a debate on the subject at the Human Rights Council. of man.
This debate was requested by Pakistan on behalf of several countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) who hope to adopt a resolution on this subject during the day.
But several European countries, including France and Germany, want to continue negotiations to reach a consensus.
“Hate speech of all kinds is increasing everywhere” in the world, warned the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, calling for combating it through dialogue and education.
The draft resolution condemns all manifestations of religious hatred, including acts of desecration of the Koran, and calls on countries to adopt laws to prevent and judge such acts that incite discrimination or violence.
He asks the UN to identify countries that do not have such legislation and to organize a round table of experts to examine the subject.
“Incendiary speeches and acts against Muslims, anti-Semitism, actions and speeches that target Christians – or minority groups […] are manifestations of a total lack of respect”, assured Mr. Türk, describing them as “offensive”.
On June 28, Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee in Sweden, burned a few pages of a copy of the Koran in front of the largest mosque in Stockholm and during the day of Eid al-Adha, a holiday celebrated by Muslims across the world.
Swedish police had authorized the rally during which pages of the Koran were burned, but later opened an investigation for “agitation against an ethnic group”, on the grounds that the burning took place in front of a mosque.
This incident triggered a series of reactions in the Muslim world.
Anti-blasphemy laws
If “the limitation of any type of speech or expression must […] remain an exception,” international law says countries must “prohibit any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred,” Türk said.
But, he said, “any national restriction on the overriding right to freedom of opinion and expression must be framed in such a way that its sole purpose and result is to protect individuals – rather than to remove religious doctrine to criticism”.
Speaking via video conference, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhane said freedom of expression “should spread peaceful coexistence rather than cause a clash of civilizations”.
Speaking on behalf of the OIC, Pakistani Ambassador Khalil Hashmi stressed that public desecration of the Quran has nothing to do with freedom of expression, but is “an affront to human dignity”. .
European countries also condemned the burning of the Koran, but several of them asked for more time to reach consensus on the draft resolution.
“In many of our societies based on respect for human rights, freedom of expression sometimes also means tolerating opinions that can seem almost intolerable,” said German Ambassador Katharina Stasch.
US Representative Rashad Hussain called for combating hate speech through dialogue, stressing that the United States is opposed to anti-blasphemy laws.