UN and Islam accused of squelching free speech

The United Nations Human Rights Council has been accused by some Western nations on the body and also by non-governmental groups of being used as an instrument by some Islamic nations to seek to restrict freedom of speech.

Critics said Islamic countries were turning a resolution intended to renew the mandate of the UN's special rapporteur on freedom of expression into an order to report on defamation of religion.

"All of the council's decisions are nowadays determined by the interests of Muslim countries or powerful states such as China or Russia that know how to surround themselves with allies," the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders advocacy group stated.

The amended resolution was adopted on 28 March in Geneva by 32 votes in favour, mainly Islamic states, with support from China, Cuba and Russia. There were no votes against, but 15 abstentions.

A statement issued by the Canadian delegation to the UN council said, "Instead of promoting freedom of expression the special rapporteur would be policing its exercise."

Shortly before the vote, 40 civil society organizations called on the Human Rights Council to protect the mandate of the special rapporteur by rejecting the amendment to the mandate proposed by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

Most of the civil society groups came from the Islamic conference's member states. The mandate of the special rapporteur is the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

They said, "While international law permits certain restrictions on speech to protect reputation of individuals, these restrictions are not extended to cover religions per se. International law does not entirely rule out restrictions on speech to protect religion but circumscribes the precise scope of such restrictions. Religious believers have a right
not to be discriminated against on the basis of their beliefs, but religion itself cannot be set free from criticism."

The India and Britain-based International Humanist and Ethical Union said the UN council "stands exposed as no longer capable of fulfilling its central role: the promotion and protection of human rights".

The UN council, during its sitting which ended on 28 March, did not take any action regarding current protests such as China's dealing with recent demonstrations by monks and other residents in Tibet, although some Western countries raised the issue.

Some Western and Latin American Council members who first helped draft the freedom of expression resolution, including its main sponsor Canada, withdrew support when it came to a vote, saying it had been completely changed by amendments.

One of the amendments, from Pakistan for the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference, decreed the investigator must "report on instances in which the abuse of the right of freedom of expression constitutes an act of racial or religious discrimination".

The Reuters news agency reported on 31 March that the amendment - supported by Russia, Cuba, China and African states on the Council - clearly targeted media cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad and a Dutch film, released on the Internet at the weekend, that linked Islam with terrorism. The film was accused of being provocative by both Christian and Islamic groups.

The coalition of NGOs - from countries such as Egypt, Bahrain, Sudan and Syria - said the amendment would undermine free expression "when it most needs protection and strengthening". The NGOs declared that the UN investigator's role was not to examine the abuse of free expression, but to monitor abuses of human rights which were used to limit freedom of expression.