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OIC team meets UN commissioner

GENEVA: A 14-member delegation of Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) met the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour to state the Muslim world’s concerns over the publication of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten and their reprinting in other European newspapers.

Ambassador Masood Khan, the OIC’s coordinator on human rights and humanitarian issues in Geneva, led the delegation. The ambassadors urged the UN high commissioner to help Muslim countries redress legal deficits regarding respect for religions and also mobilise the human rights machinery to prevent any recurrence. Such deliberate acts are disruptive and counterproductive to world unity, they said. The publication such caricatures and their reprinting cannot be justified in the name of freedom of expression, they added. “It was a deliberate act of provocation and not an act of negligence.”

The delegation asked Arbour to make concrete measures to promote respect for all religions and their prophets. The measures can include sending a fact-finding mission and asking UN special rapporteurs to carry out legal analysis of the questions surrounding the cartoon issue, they said.

OIC ambassadors also urged the commissioner to host a dialogue to discuss freedom of expression and respect for religion. Intercultural and religious talks will make useful contributions in promoting peace, harmony and understanding, they added.

Arbour assured the ambassadors about her commitment to combating defamation of religions and building a culture of tolerance. She said that her office was trying to raise awareness in this area through information campaigns, seminars and conferences. When freedom of expression hurts dignity and religious sensitivities, laws alone cannot address the situation, she added. “The viable course is to effectively combat this trend and promote tolerance and sound political judgment.” APP

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