CAIRO: The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted with consensus a draft resolution on freedom of religion and belief as part the background of the efforts and pressures exerted by Egypt on the European Union in order to include paragraphs dealing with new phenomena, particularly in Europe in which Egypt calls “discrimination against Muslims in addition to the restrictions on the manifestations of public expression for religious beliefs and lack of respect for places of worship.” Hisham Badr, Egypt's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva said in a statement to the official Egyptian news agency MENA that “the Council adopted the draft resolution after responses to the amendments to the Islamic Group on the draft resolution, after lengthy consultations with the European side in order to develop an objective framework specific to the work of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of religion or belief, where this framework would be committed to providing reports to the Council on those unsettling phenomena.” He pointed out that the decision of the Council condemns any claims of religious hatred, which constitutes incitement to discrimination and violence, whether through the use of print media or Audio, video or through any other means, and calls upon countries to adopt measures and policies to promote respect for places of worship and religious sites. “The resolution expresses concern at the persistence of religious intolerance and the obstacles growing to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion, which include cases of religious hatred and discrimination,” he added, “which emerge from the stereotyping and stigmatization of persons on the basis of religion, and the attack on the religious places, which is a violation of international law.” Badr continued in the statement to say the Egyptian delegation was “keen to make a statement to the adoption of Human Rights Council to the draft resolution on the freedom of religion or belief in which it condemned the negative increasing trend of religious stereotyping and religious hatred actions that constitutes incitement to violence and discrimination, hostility and impede the exercise of religious freedoms.” He stressed the need for the Council's role in attracting the attention of the international community to these negative phenomena and coordinated international action to address them by taking appropriate steps on National levels to “provide protection for members and followers of religions from hatred, violence and discrimination, as well as to take all possible steps to promote tolerance and respect for all religions.” BM
