Finally, UN General Assembly adopted a resolution against the speech of religious hate after the latest incidents of burning the Holy Quran. The assembly's 193 voted for the resolution that its draft submitted by Morocco.
This historic resolution "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 religious symbols, holy books, homes, businesses, properties, schools, cultural centers or places of worship, as well as all attacks on and in religious places, sites and shrines in violation of international law."
This historic resolution came in a world shrouded in seemingly infinite darkness, invading societies beset by political conflicts, social, religious, and cultural crises. All those factors are surrounded by a global context of absurd and rejected behaviors. Those behaviors restrict and disturb all religious norms, and origins, along with mutual humanitarian principles. In addition, they are against all international community codes as they encourage the speech of hate against Muslims and Islam.
The incident of burning the Holy Quran that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, and followed by the offensive, hate-motivating actions in Stockholm, Sweden are only serving terrorism. The continuity of those actions will not lead to anything except creating a shelter for religious and cultural conflict acceptors. In addition, they will hinder the process of establishing a unified humanitarian family and a strong community.
During the presentation of this resolution before the General Assembly, the intervention of the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations, Mr. Omar Hilal, a distinguished diplomat whom I am honored to know, was noteworthy. He is a principled man with a profound understanding and unwavering commitment to his values and patriotism.
Hilale said that the latest resolution is a continuation of the historical resolution of the resolution (73/328) that was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2019, and the resolution (75/309) of 2021 that declared the International Day for Countering Hate Speech.
In this context, we remember His Majesty King Mohamed VI's Royal Message at the opening of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations 9th Global Forum in November 2022, which was attended by the UN Secretary-General.
His Majesty warned: "Never before has our civilization been so exposed; never before has ‘living together’ come under such a threat, on a daily basis; Rarely has the Other been perceived with such a level of suspicion, or used to stir up fear and foment hatred; Radical positions are permeating the debate and cancelling out moderate voices; religions are too often manipulated, when they are not simply stigmatized;
Populism is rocking societies and inventing questions without answering them, except to brandish migration as a scarecrow or an electoral weapon, and to turn migrants into scapegoats; Continents that had turned away from war are going back to arms and violence - all forms of violence; Terrorism feeds on separatism.”
This defining and correct description asserts the necessity of establishing strong, bold, society-constructive initiatives and tolerance supporting not destructive and dividing. In addition, those initiatives should enhance the collective commitment to support the culture of peace, aestheticism, acceptance, love, and good for humankind.
This resolution is credited for noting with deep concerns about the increase in discrimination, intolerance, and violence against several religious acts, particularly those motivated by Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and Christianophobia, as well as acts of violence motivated by discrimination against people of religious minorities.
During his presentation of the Moroccan draft, Hilale mentioned three procedures for multi-party commitment for countering hate speech. It included the necessity of setting a unified and credited definition for hate speech which would help in resisting it based on the principles of international law, alongside, organizing a global governmental conference in 2025 for countering hate speech.
He also pointed out the necessity of inviting all member states and social media corporations to support effective criteria to restrict the speech of hate, and calling for supporting users with working report options for countering the speech of hate.
In a nutshell, the process of approving the resolution witnessed various attempts by the European Union to remove any sentences related to provoking the international law for any acts against the religious books, and symbols. It would weaken the impact of the resolution, but all those European adjustments were rejected by the majority of members, thanks to the determination of Hilale.
It led to the approval of the resolution by the European Union to be on the same page with the rest of the UN General Assembly members.
Contributed by: Rana Atef
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