Reason 4,598 why the UN is laughable Posted by: McQ
on Thursday, April 03, 2008
Eugene Volokh points us to a very recent resolution from the so-called "UN Human Rights Commission". They might as easily be called the "Human Rights Suppression Commission" if this resolution is any indication:
The Human Rights Council ...
8. Urges States to take actions to prohibit the dissemination, including through political institutions and organizations, of racist and xenophobic ideas and material aimed at any religion or its followers that constitute incitement to racial and religious hatred, hostility or violence;
9. Also urges States to provide, within their respective legal and constitutional systems, adequate protection against acts of hatred, discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting from the defamation of any religion, to take all possible measures to promote tolerance and respect for all religions and their value systems and to complement legal systems with intellectual and moral strategies to combat religious hatred and intolerance;
10. Emphasizes that respect of religions and their protection from contempt is an essential element conducive for the exercise by all of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; ...
13. Reaffirms that general comment No. 15 of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in which the Committee stipulates that the prohibition of the dissemination of all ideas based upon racial superiority or hatred is compatible with the freedom of opinion and expression, is equally applicable to the question of incitement to religious hatred; ...
Volokh points to the Orwellian contradictions in this absurd resolution:
So prohibiting dissemination of ideas based upon religious superiority "is compatible with the freedom of opinion and expression"; I suppose that would include claims that Islam, Christianity, or whatever else is the one true religion that is correct while others are false. And states are supposed to "prohibit the dissemination ... of ... xenophobic ideas and material aimed at any religion or its followers that constitute incitement to racial and religious ... hostility"; I suppose that would include, for instance, condemnation of Scientology as fraud, or of Catholicism as oppressive, or for that matter of all religion as folly. And here I thought that freedom of thought, conscience and religion included the freedom to think and comment about all ideologies, including religious ones.
The resolution passed. One of those countries voting for it was Saudi Arabia.
Anyone, do you expect them to actually abide by this?
Also urges States to provide, within their respective legal and constitutional systems, adequate protection against acts of hatred, discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting from the defamation of any religion ...
They did vote for that language.
Or do you believe they will use such a resolution as a basis to become even more draconian in their suppression of other religions using "material aimed at any religion or its followers that constitute incitement to racial and religious hatred, hostility or violence" as an excuse for banning all other religion, their materials and their practice from the kingdom?
The resolution passed. One of those countries voting for it was Saudi Arabia.
Quite simply, this resolution should be called the "Islam protection resolution" which is exactly what this is aimed at- codifying the voluntary suppression that was practiced by all too many during the Mohammad Cartoons incident.
Because I’m suuuuuuuuuuuuure that Saudi Arabia would never disseminate textbooks or cartoons promoting the Blood Libel, or any other sort of anti-Jew, anti-Israel commentary...
How many of these guys signed this knowing they had no intention of implementing it at home, but would relish the social and political possibilities as other countries who took it seriously attempted to implement it themselves.
Christianity and Judaism are not real religions. They are perversions of the original monotheistic faith founded by Abraham - Islam. So when Saudis prohibit the construction of churches or synagogues, and ban all proselytizing of Christianity or Judaism ( or Pagan religions for that matter) they are, in fact, enforcing the resolution that was passed, because those "religions" exist only as a provocation or hostile defamation to Islam.
Well, nobody’s ever expected to abide by such resolutions - note "urged", not "required".
The UN is a bad joke and horrible theatre, at least below the level of Security Council resolutions, which have at least been enforced by guns and bombs more than once.
