Jeddah (UNA) – The Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) renewed its commitment to combating Islamophobia in all its forms and manifestations.
On the occasion of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, which falls on March 15 of each year, the Commission also called for renewed international focus on addressing the growing rise in religious hatred, discrimination, hate speech, and incitement to hatred and violence, through a coordinated diplomatic, legal, social, cultural, civilizational, and institutional approach based on established human rights standards and mechanisms.
The Commission expressed its deep concern about the continued rise of the extreme right in the political arena, fueling Islamophobia and its dangerous manifestations around the world. It noted that glaring examples of Islamophobia include attempts to undermine freedom of expression in support of Palestinians in many Western universities, and the suppression of voices calling for the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and human rights based on biased perceptions of Islam and its followers.
The Commission emphasized that political dehumanization, the ideological and democratic legitimization, and the institutionalization of Islamophobia and religious hatred, particularly against Muslim women and immigrants, have created an environment of fear and social exclusion, which is inconsistent with the principles of pluralism, the rule of law, and a rights-based social order.
The Commission explained that international human rights law and its advanced mechanisms, based on promoting universality and supporting human dignity, equality, non-discrimination, and freedom of religion, as stipulated in key legal instruments, provide a normative framework for confronting Islamophobia and its various manifestations. It indicated that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantee the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, while prohibiting discrimination on the basis of religion or belief.
The Commission urged the UN Secretary-General to expedite the appointment of a UN Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia, in accordance with the relevant UN General Assembly resolution.
The Commission emphasized that states remain primarily responsible for combating Islamophobia, as they possess the legal, political, and social tools necessary to create inclusive and just societies.
The Commission also urged states to adopt international normative frameworks, including the development of complementary standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to initiate negotiations on a draft additional protocol to the Convention criminalizing acts of a racist and xenophobic nature, such as Islamophobia, in addition to enacting and implementing comprehensive national legislation that specifically addresses and criminalizes hate crimes and discrimination against Muslims, and establishing monitoring and reporting mechanisms within the United Nations, including the establishment of an Islamophobia observatory, to collect accurate data and achieve transparency in monitoring and reporting incidents of Islamophobia and inflammatory speech, both online and offline.
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