Previous posts at normblog have registered the question of whether the new UN Human Rights Council would be a step forward from the old UN Commission on Human Rights. The early signs haven't been good. Now the Council has passed a resolution 'urging a global prohibition on the public defamation of religion'. It was carried by 24 votes to 14. So far as one can tell from excerpts from it quoted in this report, the resolution conflates ideas that are aimed at a religion with racism and xenophobia; it runs together respect for the rights of people with 'respect for religions and beliefs'. Human Rights Watch has criticized it for this reason, saying the resolution 'could endanger the basic rights of individuals'.
Indeed. Article 19 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights reads:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.Being barred from defaming a religion, any religion, is certainly an interference with freedom of opinion. What's next for the Council's attention? Article 21 (1) perhaps:
Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.This could be dealt with by a resolution urging a global restriction of the franchise, to exclude... oh... atheists, women, other odd groups of people. (Via B&W.)