Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization

Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization

This three page draft resolution is dated 03/21/11, considerably post
deadline. The database shows it as being submitted on the 18th, one day
late.

Despite its length and due to the target rich environment it presents,
I reproduce the entire draft resolution, with superscripts linked to my
commentary which follows the text of the draft.    To
read my comments in coordination with the text,
click the superscript and use your back button to return to the text.

Article 19 & CHRS have published a call for member states to vote for this resolution.
The resolution represents a change of tactics, not strategic
objectives. It is designed to deceive human rights activists, and it
appears to be a success.

It is probable that the resolution will be debated
and adopted Thursday or Friday of this week, too soon to mount an
effective opposition. This blog post will stand as a model for rebuttal
when the resolution is repeated next year.  Please follow the
links and take maximum advantage of the information provided.

A/HRC/16/L.38

Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization

of, and discrimination, incitement to violence, and violence

against persons based on religion or belief

Human Rights Council

Sixteenth session

Agenda item 9

Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related

form of intolerance, follow-up and implementation

of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

Pakistan (on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference):
draft resolution 16/…

Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization

of, and discrimination, incitement to violence, and violence

against persons based on religion or belief¹

The Human Rights Council,

Reaffirming the commitment made by all States under the Charter of the
United

Nations to promote and encourage universal respect for and observance
of all human rights

and fundamental freedoms without distinction as to, inter alia,
religion or belief,

Reaffirming also the obligation of States to prohibit discrimination on
the basis of

religion or belief and to implement measures to guarantee the equal and
effective protection

of the law,

Reaffirming further that the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights

provides, inter alia, that everyone shall have the right to freedom of
thought, conscience and

religion or belief, which shall include freedom to have or to adopt a
religion or belief of his

choice², and
freedom, either individually or in community with others
and in public or

private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance,
practice³
and teaching,

Reaffirming the positive role that the exercise of the right to freedom
of opinion and

expression and the full respect for the freedom to seek, receive and
impart information can

play in strengthening democracy and combating religious intolerance,⁴

Deeply concerned about incidents of intolerance⁵,
discrimination⁶
and
violence

against persons based on their religion⁷ or belief in all regions of the
world,

Deploring any advocacy of discrimination or violence on the basis of
religion or

belief,⁸

Strongly deploring all acts of violence against persons on the basis of
their religion

or belief, as well as any such acts directed against their homes,
businesses, properties,

schools, cultural centres or places of worship,⁹

Concerned about actions that willfully exploit tensions or target
individuals on the

basis of their religion or belief,

Noting with deep concern the instances of intolerance, discrimination
and acts of

violence in many parts of the world, including cases motivated by
discrimination against

persons belonging to religious minorities, in addition to the negative
projection of the

followers of religions and the enforcement of measures that
specifically discriminate

against persons on the basis of religion or belief,

Recognizing the valuable contribution of people of all religions or
beliefs to

humanity and the contribution that dialogue among religious groups can
make towards

improved awareness and understanding of the common values shared by all
humankind,

Recognizing also that working together to enhance implementation of
existing legal

regimes that protect individuals against discrimination and hate
crimes, increase interfaith

and intercultural efforts, and to expand human rights education are
important first steps in

combating incidents of intolerance, discrimination and violence against
individuals on the

basis of religion or belief,

 

1. Expresses deep concern at the
continued serious instances of derogatory

stereotyping, negative profiling and stigmatization¹⁰ of
persons based on
their religion or

beliefs, as well as programmes and agendas pursued by extremist
organizations and groups¹¹

aimed at creating and perpetuating negative stereotypes about religious
groups, in particular

when condoned by Governments;

 

2. Expresses its concern that incidents
of religious intolerance, discrimination

and related violence, as well as of negative stereotyping of
individuals on the basis of

religion or belief continue to rise around the world, and condemns, in
this context, any

advocacy of religious hatred against individuals that constitutes
incitement to

discrimination, hostility or violence¹², and urges States to take
effective measures, as set forth

in this resolution, consistent with their obligations under
international human rights law, to

address and combat such incidents;¹³

 

3. Condemns any advocacy of religious
hatred that constitutes incitement to

discrimination, hostility or violence, whether it involves the use of
print, audio-visual or

electronic media or any other means;¹²

 

4. Recognizes that the open public
debate of ideas, as well as interfaith and

intercultural dialogue at the local, national and international levels
can be among the best

protections against religious intolerance, and can play a positive role
in strengthening

democracy and combating religious hatred, and convinced that a
continuing dialogue on

these issues can help overcome existing misperceptions;¹⁴

 

5. Notes the speech given by
Secretary-General of the Organization of the

Islamic Conference, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, at the fifteenth session of
the Human Rights

Council, and draws on his call on States to take the following actions
to foster a domestic

environment of religious tolerance, peace and respect, by:
 

(a) Encouraging the creation of
collaborative networks to build mutual

understanding, promoting dialogue and inspiring constructive action
towards shared policy

goals and the pursuit of tangible outcomes, such as servicing projects
in the fields of

education, health, conflict prevention, employment, integration and
media education;

(b) Creating an appropriate mechanism within the government to, inter
alia,

identify and address potential areas of tension between members of
different religious

communities, and assisting with conflict prevention and mediation;

(c) Encouraging training of government officials in effective outreach
strategies;

(d) Encouraging efforts of leaders to discuss within their communities
causes of

discrimination and evolving strategies to counter these causes;

(e) Speaking out against intolerance, including advocacy of religious
hatred that

constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence;

(f) Adopting measures to criminalize incitement to imminent violence
based on

religion or belief;¹⁵

(g) Understanding the need to combat denigration and negative religious

stereotyping of persons, as well as incitement to religious hatred, by
strategizing and

harmonizing actions at the local, national, regional and international
levels through, inter

alia, education¹⁶
and awareness-building;

(h) Recognizing that the open, constructive and respectful debate of
ideas, as

well as interfaith and intercultural dialogue at the local, national
and international levels,

can play a positive role in combating religious hatred, incitement and
violence;

6. Calls upon all States:

(a) To take effective measures to ensure that public functionaries in
the conduct

of their public duties do not discriminate against an individual on the
basis of religion or

belief;

(b) To foster religious freedom and pluralism by promoting the ability
of

members of all religious communities to manifest their religion, and to
contribute openly

and on an equal footing to the society;

(c) To encourage representation and meaningful participation of
individuals,

irrespective of their religion, in all sectors of society;

(d) To undertake a strong effort to counter religious profiling, which
is

understood to be the invidious use of religion as a criterion in
conducting questionings,

searches and other law enforcement investigative procedures;¹⁷

7. Encourages States to consider providing updates on efforts made in
this

regard as part of ongoing reporting to the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner

for Human Rights;

8. Calls upon States to adopt measures and policies to promote the full
respect

and protection for places of worship and religious sites, cemeteries
and shrines, and to take

measures in cases where they are vulnerable to vandalism or destruction;

9. Calls for strengthened international efforts to foster a global
dialogue for the

promotion of a culture of tolerance and peace at all levels, based on
respect for human

rights and diversity of religions and beliefs, and decides to convene a
panel discussion on

this issue at its seventeenth session within existing resources

---

1. This sentence contains the main change: from combating
   defamation of Islam to Muslims; from the institution to its members.
   That is a change in tactics, not strategic
   objective.  The goal remains unchanged: to erect a legislative
   shield to protect Islam from all questioning and criticism, consistent
   with Shari’ah, which prescribes the death penalty^A for
   ‘reviling’ Allah, Moe & their war cult. ^B
   Muslims are supposed to be stigmatized individually by accurately
   describing the accursed doctrines of the war cult which enslaves them
   to Satan.  Thus, every exposure,questioning & criticism of
   Islamic doctrines will be held to ‘stigmatize’ Muslims, an act to be
   prohibited by law.

   ‘Incitement’ will be defined broadly, as in Ban
   Ki-moon’s condemnation^C
   of Geert Wilders’ short documentary, Fitna, which exposes, but does not
   constitute incitement to violence. The Motoons^D a graphic
   depiction of Islamic jihad-terrorism also exposed incitemenht, but are
   themselves, not an example of incitement.

2. ICCPR,
   Article 18, ¶2
   implies, but does not clearly state, the right to disaffiliate from one
   religion and adopt another. International consensus on that right is
   impossible because Islam prescribes the death penalty for apostasy.
   Refer to the relevant Islamic law.^A
3. Manifestation & practice of Islam is
   problematic because participation in offensive wars of conquest^E is ordained
   for Muslims^F
   and is their essential life mission^G.  Islam is inseverable, Muslims
   are not empowered to select what they like and reject the violent parts.^H It
   is not possible to practice Islam peacefully in the long run.
4. “Combating religious intolerance” is
   assumed to be a good thing. Why should anyone tolerate a ‘religion’
   that asserts a demonic mandate–right & duty to conquer him and
   enslave his widow & orphans^I?
   Why
   should anyone tolerate a ‘religion’ that imputes any step taken to
   “injure” or “raise the anger of” a disbeliever to the believer’s credit
   as a “deed
   of righteousness”^J?

   The citation of the right to freedom of
   expression is deliberately
   deceptive because the intent of this resolution is to criminalize any
   and every expression that questions or criticizes the doctrines &
   practices of Islam.  How, exactly, will freedom of expression
   combat
   intolerance?  The unstated premise of this and all similar
   resolutions,
   including the preceding resolutions “combating defamation of religions”
   is that all questioning & criticism of Islam constitutes
   incitement, intolerance & hate speech.

5. Muslims are so “deeply concerned” about ‘intolerance”
   that its holy scripture declares it intensely intolerant of all rival
   religions so that if anyone chooses another religion, “it will never be
   accepted of him”^K.
6. Muslims are so “deeply concerned” about ‘discrimination’
   that their Shari’ah dictates that conquered Christians living under
   Islamic domination are prohibited from making public processions,
   prayers or funerals, ringing bells, displaying crosses and building
   churches.^L
7. Muslims are so “deeply concerned” about violence
   based on the victim’s religion that their holy scripture , oral
   tradition & Shari’ah mandate & exemplify offensive wars of
   conquest against pagans, Jews, Christians & Zoroastrians.^M
8. How can you be a Muslim while deploring
   Islam? This is the Acme of hypocrisy or cognitive dissonance! ^M
   

9. If you deplore the burning of homes &
   churches and
   the killing of Christians & other minorities in Nigeria,
   Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia & Egypt, why do you remain
   affiliated with the war cult that inculcates hatred and incites those
   acts?
10. Deep concern about “derogatory stereotyping,
    negative profiling and stigmatization”? Are you concerned about your
    own scripture and Shari’ah? ^N
11. They are complaining about the Dutch PVV and
    similar political parties in Austria, Germany Switzerland and
    elsewhere. They want such parties outlawed.
12. They just condemned Islam’s own canon of
    scripture, tradition, biography & jurisprudence!
13. That is a demand for legislation
    outlawing “negative stereotyping’, which translates to all questioning
    and criticism of Islamic doctrines and practices, including this blog
    post informing you about their outrageous arrogant demands.
14. If the interlocutors had sufficient knowledge of Islamic doctrine
    and courage to expose it, such dialogue might disabuse a few people of
    the mis-perception that Islam is the
    “religion of peace”.
15. This is derived from the boilerplate
    demands for criminalization of ‘defamation of Islam’. It encompasses
    all negative expression about Islam. Review the exemplary statement by
    Ban Ki-moon quoted below.^C
16. They demand that we convert our schools into Islamic indoctrination centers, a process that is
    already  underway.
17. Consider the most recent mass casualty
    attacks, both successful and interdicted. What was the affiliation of
    the perpetrators? How many of them were not Muslims?  Islam
    inculcates hatred and incites violence. It promises participants
    admission to a celestial bordello^O and threatens shirkers with
    eternity in Hell^P.
    Muslims are commanded to wage war against us and rewarded for any
    injury they inflict.  Of course it is unreasonable to be
    suspicious of them. Yeah, right.

---

1. Reliance of the Traveller, Book O, Chapter 8, ¶1.
2. ibid, Book O, Chapter 8, ¶7.
3. Reuters quotes U.N. Secretary General Ban
   Ki-moon about Fitna: 

   “There is no justification for
   hate speech or incitement to violence,” Ban said in a statement. “The
   right of free expression is not at stake here.”

4. View the Motoons
5. Reliance of the Traveller, Book O, Chapter 9, ¶0 pg. 617

   ibid, ¶1, pg. 618

   ivid, ¶8, pg. 620

   Al-Hedaya, Volume II, Book IX, Chapter 1, pg. 141

6. Noble Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 216.
7. ibid, Surah
   At-Taubah, ayah 111
8. ibid,Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 85
9. ibid, Surah Surah Al-Ahzab, Ayah 26

   Reliance of the Traveller, Book O, Chapter 9, ¶13

10. Noble Qur’an, Surah At-Taubah, Ayah 120
11. ibid, Surah Al-Imran , Aya 85
12. Reliance of the Traveller, Book O, Chapter 11 , ¶5
13. Noble Qur’an, Surah Al-Anfal, Ayah 39

    ibid, Surah At-Taubah, Ayah 29

    Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 8, Number 387

    Reliance of the Traveller, Book O, Chapter 9, ¶8

14. Noble Qur’an, Surah Al-Baiyyinah, Ayah 6

    Reliance of the Traveller, Book O, Chapter 11, ¶5,
    items 2-7

15. Noble Qur’an, Surah As-Saff, Ayat 10-12

    ibid, Surah Surah An-Naba’ , Ayah 31

16. Ibid, Surah At-Taubah, Ayat 38-39

    ibid, Surah an-Naba’, Ayah 21