May 12, 2009

Combating Defamation of Religions

Tomorrow, the ECLJ will be submitting a report on “Combating Defamation of Religions” to the UN Office of the High Commissioner.  The report shows how the concept of defamation of religion is antithetical to international norms of freedom of religion and speech and leads to increased violence towards religious believers, especially religious minorities in Muslim countries. 

In order to illustrate more clearly how defamation of religion laws are already being enforced in most Islamic and some Western countries, and to show the inherent danger in internationalizing this issue, the ECLJ has compiled an appendix of international cases and incidents involving claims of defamation of religion to be included with the submission to the UN.  The sampling of cases involve prosecution or legal action for alleged defamation of religions (nearly always Islam), and not defamation of individuals.  Many of the Islamic countries with the worst anti-blasphemy laws are included, such as Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Egypt, and Sudan.  Alarmingly, there are also many cases being brought in Western countries under the concept of defamation of Islam, including in Canada, the UK, Denmark, and the US. 
  
World Magazine Story

The ECLJ and Terry McKeegan are quoted in the World Magazine feature titled “Toward a New European Union,” which describes the efforts of a coalition of pro-life Members of the European Parliament to debunk calls from the European Union and international groups that there is a fundamental right to abortion.  The ECLJ was also interviewed extensively on the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.  Click here to read the full story. 

Durban II Conference

The ECLJ is closely following the preparations for the the Durban Review Conference, a follow-up to the highly controversial and anti-Semitic UN Durban Conference on racism of 2001.  This review conference, which is now set for next April in Geneva, will be, according to UN Watch:

a highly visible, amply funded, well-advertised and attended gathering that will focus the world’s attention on the West’s defamation of Islam and racial discrimination against its adherents, as well as on Israel’s racist persecution of Palestinians. That was the goal expressed by Islamic states and their allies at a UN Human Rights Council debate this Tuesday.

The US, Canada, and a few European countries have threatened not to participate in the conference because of its disdain for Israel and linking of discrimination against Islam to racism.