In a landmark development The United Nations adopted by a resolution introduced by Pakistan declaring March 15 as International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
The resolution was sponsored by 57 members of the OIC, and eight other countries, including China and Russia.
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Several member states hailed the document, but the representatives of India, France and the European Union expressed reservations, saying that while religious intolerance was prevalent all over the world, the resolution singled out only Islam and excluded others.
Under its terms, the resolution strongly deplores all acts of violence against persons on the basis of their religion or belief and such acts directed against their places of worship, as well as all attacks on and in religious places, sites and shrines that are in violation of international law.
At the UNGA session today, Ambassador Munir Akram, who is the permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said, “Islamophobia is a reality.”
Akram highlighted that Prime Minister Imran Khan was the first to raise the issue of Islamophobia at the UN in his “historic” 2019 address to the General Assembly, and had repeatedly called for international attention and efforts to address it.
The ambassador also outline the objectives that he said the draft resolution served to achieve. The objectives are as follows:
- Raise international awareness about the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred
- Send a clear message that the world opposes all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, negative stereotyping and stigmatisation
- To promote the message of tolerance, peaceful co-existence and interfaith and cultural harmony among all religions, races and nations
- To demonstrate by commemorating on this day unfettered solidarity with all humanity, convey a strong message of respect for human dignity, and reiterate common commitment to unity in diversity