Yesterday the Human Rights Council of the UN made important decision, an Egyptian-led initiative in which countries from different regional groups participate. They will transpire in a panel discussion on issues of xenophobia and discrimination in multicultural societies on the twentieth session of the Council in June 2012. Representative of Egypt to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Hisham Badr, will launch this unprecedented decision in his role of awareness in Egypt the urgency to open the debate on an international level. It will work in the framework of the UN system, in particular on the phenomenon of xenophobia and discrimination against minorities and non-tolerance. These phenomena usually exist in many Western societies, with a recent increase, especially against people Arab, Muslim and African communities. Badr says there is a need to for an urgent international action to address this phenomenon and call for effective measures, with the activation of agreements and international conventions governing this topic. The panel will exchange ideas in this regard and put forward proposals to effectively deal with this phenomenon through serious and practical measures. Badr said the Egyptian delegation to the Human Rights Council is in contact and holding meetings with various parties within the Council to secure issuing this decision, which resulted in the adoption of resolution by a large majority. This resulted in a vote all Member States of the Council adopted, including a number of important European countries including Italy, Spain and Norway. The U.S. was the only state that objected to the building, with the reservations of some member states in the European Union on the resolution.
