UN rights body ready to clash over Quran desecration motion

GENEVA, July 11 (SABAH): The Human Rights Council is set to debate a
contentious draft proposal on religious hatred in the wake of a Quran
desecration in Sweden, an initiative that has highlighted rifts in the UN body
and challenged practices in human rights protection.

In a draft resolution presented by Pakistan on behalf of the 57-nation
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the group described the
desecration of the Holy Quran in Stockholm last month as offensive,
disrespectful and a clear act of provocation that incites hatred and
constitutes a human rights violation.

The draft which condemned recurring acts of public burning of the Holy
Quran in some European and other countries has stoked opposition from
Western diplomats who argue it aims to safeguard religious symbols rather
than human rights.

"We don't like the text," one Western diplomat said of the draft, which will
be presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday. "Human
rights are supposed to be attached to individuals, not to religions."

The OIC initiative also stokes tensions between Western states and the
Islamic organisation at a time when the group has unprecedented clout in
the council, the only body made up of governments to protect human rights
worldwide.

Nineteen OIC countries are voting members of the 47-member council, and
other states such as China have aligned with their draft resolution.

It remains to be seen whether Pakistan will succeed in rallying all OIC
countries behind it. A Saudi-led effort to end a Yemen war crimes probe
prevailed in 2021.

"If the resolution passes, as seems likely, it will strengthen the impression
the council is flipping and the West is losing ground on key debates such as
the boundary between free speech and hate speech, and whether religions
have rights," said Marc Limon, director of the Geneva-based Universal Rights
Group.

"This could make the council explode in acrimony." The European Union has
urged parties to reach a consensus on the issue. "Defamation of religions
has been a difficult topic for decades within the UN," an EU diplomat said in
negotiations last week.

"The question where to draw the line between freedom of expression and
incitement to hatred is indeed a very complicated one."