U.N. Opposition Grows to Dangerous Islamic-Led Resolution

It's an important follow-up to an issue we reported on last month.  Now, in a vote at the United Nations General Assembly, opposition to a dangerous Islamic-led Defamation of Religions resolution continues to grow. 

As you may recall, this resolution is being pushed by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) a bloc a 57 Islamic nations at the U.N. and is nothing more than an effort to achieve special protections for Islam  a move to stifle religious speech.  The resolution has been approved in some form every year since 1999.

However, as we reported last month, opposition to this dangerous resolution continues to climb as we educate more nations about the discriminatory and dangerous ramifications of it.  Yesterday, in yet another boost to this momentum, the U.N. General Assembly achieved yet another new high in votes against this measure, as 67 countries voted in opposition.  The resolution again passed the General Assembly by a vote of 79-67, with 40 nations voting present.  However, 67 no votes is an all-time high, and the 12-vote margin is an all-time low (the margin was over 60 just a few years ago).

This continued momentum is very good news, and a clear sign that our education efforts are paying off.  We continue to meet with more and more delegations at the U.N. and provide them with the facts on why this resolution is a dangerous threat to religious freedom.

You can read more about the U.N. vote and what it means here.
 
With this latest vote, the fact is that defeat of this troubling resolution is now within range underscoring the need for us to stay engaged in this issue.  We will.

Until it is defeated, this resolution is just one more way that the rights of Christians around the world are violated especially for Christians living in Islamic countries.  For some, the mere proclamation of their belief in the Gospel is enough to warrant the death penalty for blasphemy.

I have instructed our legal and legislative teams throughout our offices around the world to stay engaged at the U.N.  This remains a critical issue of the utmost importance.  This latest vote at the U.N. clearly is another step in the right direction.