UN approves anti-Islamophobia resolution backed by Pakistan with resounding majority

With a resounding majority, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution proposed by Pakistan on International Day to Combat Islamophobia, which calls for coordinated action among other things to stop the current violence against Muslims.

The resolution calls for the appointment of a special envoy by the UN secretary-general to address Islamophobia.

Before passing the new resolution, “Measures to Combat Islamophobia,” the 193-member Assembly rejected two amendments put up by a group of European countries by a vote of 113 in favor to 0 against and 44 abstentions. India refrained from voting on the resolution, as did the majority of European governments.

The resolution’s main text, which called for a focal point rather than a UN special envoy and eliminated any mention of the destruction of the Holy Quran, would have been substituted by the suggestions.

A resolution passed by the UN on March 15, 2019, in response to assaults on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, which claimed 51 lives, established the International Day.

Under the rules of a resolution that Pakistan and other like-minded Member States sponsored, the General Assembly designated March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia two years ago.

The permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram, introduced the resolution and stated that, in spite of it and other measures, as well as efforts by leaders to foster interreligious and intercommunal harmony, incidents of Islamophobia—discrimination, prejudice, and violence against Muslims—have increased dramatically on both a societal and state level.

“These are demonstrated by the heinous acts of desecration of the Holy Quran, of which there were seven instances last year alone,” he declared.

The lynching of Muslims by ‘cow vigilantes’ is exemplified by the pervasive hate speech directed at Muslims, both online and offline, as well as the prejudice they face in the workplace and in schools.

When women who wear the hijab are attacked. in the devastation and vandalism of churches and other places of worship. in profiling based on race and religion. Hatred and racism are being fostered and nurtured in the media. The Pakistani ambassador said, “In the calls for genocide against Muslim minorities who go unpunished.”

However, he claimed that most governments are reluctant to enact laws and regulations that would stop and penalize acts of Islamophobia and incitement to violence due to the fictitious justification of the right to “freedom of expression.”

However, he said, “if the Holocaust is denied, this freedom ends.” If you are advocating for Palestinian rights or opposing Israel’s “plausible genocide” in Gaza, you are no longer free.

“What is worse is that an increasing number of states and political figures in the democracies not only tolerate but actively promote Islamophobia.” The growth of right-wing and fascist allies in the most recent elections, according to Ambassador Akram, validates and strengthens the current Islamophobic trend.

An interregional anti-Muslim “coalition of the killing” might result from this. The Pakistani ambassador stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “gleefully consecrates a Hindu temple on the ruins of a historic 500-year-old mosque” without mentioning the Prime Minister by name.

According to him, a citizenship rule is being adopted that will make 200 million Muslims either stateless or second-class citizens by denying them asylum on their own.

“Amit Shah, the home minister, chastises the police for being ‘too lenient’ toward protesters who support Palestine and are against Israel’s violent campaign in Gaza.

“Muslims are purposefully excluded by immigration rules. There are governmental bans on the hijab. Some jurisdictions have banned Muslims from calling for prayer, and absurd regulations have been implemented in the “largest democracy” to stop so-called “love jihad.” Cities are renaming themselves with Islamic names. The heritage of Islam is to be destroyed.

“The killing of over 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the majority of whom were women and children, and the calls for their genocide have been justified by referring to them as ‘human animals,'” he continued. The foreign occupation, repression of Muslims abroad, and numerous foreign interventions in Muslim nations have all resulted from the same mentality.