Defamation of religion and the United Nations
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Defamation of religion is an issue that was repeatedly addressed by some member states of the
United Nations (UN) from 1999 until 2010. Several non-binding resolutions were voted on and accepted by the UN condemning "defamation of religion". The motions, sponsored on behalf of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference (
OIC), now known as the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation,
[1] sought to prohibit expression that would "fuel discrimination, extremism and misperception leading to polarization and fragmentation with dangerous unintended and unforeseen consequences". Religious groups, human rights activists, free-speech activists, and several countries in the West condemned the resolutions arguing they amounted to an international
blasphemy law.
[2] Critics of the resolutions including human rights groups argue that they are used to politically strengthen domestic anti-blasphemy and religious defamation laws, which are used to imprison journalists, students and other peaceful political dissidents.
[3][4]
From
2001 to 2010 there was a clear split, with the Islamic bloc and much of the
developing world supporting the resolutions, and mostly
Western democracies opposing. Support waned in more recent years, due to increased opposition from the West, along with lobbying by religious, free-speech, and human rights advocacy groups. Some countries in Africa, the Pacific, and Latin America switched from supporting to abstaining, or from abstaining to opposing.
[1] The final "defamation of religions" resolution in 2010, which also condemned "the ban on the construction of minarets of mosques"
[5] four months after
a Swiss referendum introduced such a ban, passed with only 20 supporting, 17 opposing, and 8 abstaining.
[6]
In 2011, with falling support for the defamation of religion approach, the OIC introduced a resolution on "Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief" that received unanimous support.