UNHRC approves of resolution on religious hatred by Pakistan

• The resolution was rejected by the US, EU, and UK.
• The resolution condemns the burning of the Holy Quran.
• The resolution calls on states to pass legislation to address religious hatred.

Following the burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden, the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Wednesday endorsed a resolution on religious hate supported by Pakistan.

The resolution was rejected by the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, three major Western nations, on the grounds that it went against their principles of human rights and freedom of speech.

Pakistan had introduced the resolution against “countering religious hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence” after a Swedish man burnt pages from the Quran, sparking diplomatic tensions around the Muslim world.

Up to 28 nations, including China, India, South Africa, and Ukraine, voted in favor, while 12 nations abstained and seven nations cast no votes.

Belgium, Costa Rica, Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monte Negro, and Romania were among the nations other than the UK and the US to vote against the resolution.

The resolution from Pakistan highlights the need to hold those accountable and denounces any forms of religious intolerance, including “public and premeditated acts of desecration of the Holy Quran”.

It calls on states to pass legislation to “address, prevent and prosecute acts and advocacy of religious hatred that constitute incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence”.

Volker Turk, the UN’s human rights chief, is also asked to find legal loopholes in other nations’ laws in light of the controversy surrounding Quran burning.

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