ECLJ Defends Religious Freedom as OIC Pushes Dangerous Resolution

I wanted to bring you up to speed on the latest developments at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.  Of most significant note, the Organization for Islamic Conference (OIC), led by Pakistan, has again introduced their Defamation of Religions resolution at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.  That happened on Thursday.  This is the resolution that prohibits criticism of religions, and specifically Islam.  In effect, this means that proclamation of the Gospel will not be allowed in many parts of the world.  You can read the resolution here.

Not only is this blatantly anti-Christian, but it also flies in the face of decades of international human rights law.  Both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) specifically grant every individual the right to believe as they see fit.  The Defamation of Religions resolution would turn this right upside-down by instead protecting government-favored religions.  The result would be discrimination and persecution of Christians living in many parts of the world.

At the same time, the OIC desires to eventually convert this resolution into a mandatory measure that would be binding on every member of the United Nations - including the United States.  This change to make it binding around the world will likely occur sometime later this year.  This makes it even more important that we continue to build opposition to this resolution among member states now before the next step takes place making this an even stronger resolution.

At this development was taking place, ECLJ representative Gregor Puppinck delivered a powerful statement supporting religious freedom before the Human Rights Council.  He spoke out against the Defamation of Religions resolution and urged the body to protect Christians - who are often the religious minorities in many of these countries.  He also underscored the fact that Christians are frequently the targets of violence in the Middle East and singled out for discrimination frequently.

You can read the ECLJ statement here.

With respect to a vote on the Defamation of Religions resolution, that will likely occur shortly before the Human Rights Council finishes its session on March 27th.   I want to thank the thousands who already signed on to our petition opposing the 2009 Defamation of Religions resolution.  You can add your name here. 

Of course, we'll bring you the latest as it develops here on our website and on our daily radio broadcast, Jay Sekulow Live!