Countries That Voted against the Resolution Banning the Burning of the Holy Quran
A deeply divided United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a controversial resolution urging countries to address, prevent and prosecute acts and advocacy of religious hatred, after several copies of the Koran. burned in Sweden and other European countries.
This resolution was widely opposed by the United States, the European Union and other Western countries, who argued that it was against the laws of freedom of speech. On Wednesday, the resolution was passed, and 28 countries voted for it, 12 countries rejected it, and 7 abstained.
Last month, a man from Iraq sparked outrage across the Muslim world after he tore up pages of the Holy Quran and burned some on his shoes outside a mosque. in Stockholm during Eid al-Adha.
The Swedish embassy in Baghdad was briefly attacked, Iran stopped sending a new ambassador to Stockholm, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned the Swedish authorities, and asked the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva to discuss this.
Turkey also expressed its anger, arguing that “ugly acts against the holy book” that happened in Sweden was one of the reasons why it refused to approve the Scandinavian country’s request to join Nato. On Monday, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, agreed to set aside the veto and support the request.
Several similar protests have already taken place in Stockholm and Malmö. Swedish police have received additional requests from individuals who want to burn religious texts including the Koran, the Bible and the Torah.
Speaking to the UN Council last week, Pakistan’s foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, said such actions were “incitement to religious hatred, discrimination and violence”. The ministers of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have repeated this view.
However, while strongly condemning the burning of the Qur’an, Western countries have defended freedom of speech. The German ambassador called the move “a terrible provocation” but said that free speech also means “listening to ideas”. The French envoy said that the meaning of human rights is the protection of people, not religions and symbols.
After the resolution’s vote, the US envoy to the council, Michèle Taylor, said that with more time and an open debate, a consensus would have been reached.
“Unfortunately, our concerns were not taken seriously,” she said. “I am truly sorry that this House was not able to come together today to condemn what we all agree are terrible acts of hatred against Muslims, while also respecting freedom of speech.”
Pakistan’s envoy to the United Nations in Geneva, Khalil Hashmi, said that the resolution is not intended to curb freedom of speech but instead aims to balance it. “It is unfortunate that some countries have chosen to abdicate their responsibility to prevent the scourge of religious hatred,” he said.