Pakistan applauds UN call for member states to implement policy actions against Islamophobia

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday welcomed the United Nations decision to ask its member states to take legislative and policy measures to prevent discrimination, religious intolerance, negative stereotyping and violence against Muslims around the world after a resolution against Islamophobia was adopted by the General Assembly with overwhelming majority.
The resolution, advocating for necessary actions to counter Islamophobia, was introduced by Pakistan’s representative at the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram, on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
This was in continuation to a previous resolution that established March 15 as International Day to Combat Islamophobia, marking the anniversary of the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand, where 51 worshippers were killed during Friday prayers.
“The General Assembly has condemned the incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence against Muslims as manifested in the increasing number of incidents of desecration of the Holy Qur’an, attacks on mosques, sites and shrines and other acts of religious intolerance, negative stereotyping, hatred and violence against Muslims,” the foreign office said in an official statement.
“The General assembly has also called upon the Member States to take legislative and policy measures to combat religious intolerance, negative stereotyping, hatred, incitement to violence and violence against Muslims,” it continued.
The foreign office said Pakistan welcomed the General Assembly’s call for the appointment of a UN special envoy to deal with the rampant issue of anti-Muslim bias around the world.
“This historic appointment will be the first of its kind, exclusively dedicated to combating the scourge of Islamophobia,” the statement added.
Ambassador Akram told the General Assembly during his speech that Muslims were discriminated against in the immigration policies of various countries and faced travel bans around the world.
He noted that they faced hateful acts like the desecration of their scripture, pointing out that seven such incidents had been recorded in last year alone.
“For those who adhere to the principles of inter-religious and inter-cultural harmony, it is entirely evident that bold and decisive actions are needed to counter and combat Islamophobia,” he said while calling the world body to appoint a special envoy to address the problem of Islamophobia.
“This is also the purpose of the draft resolution,” he added.