March 27, 2009 – New York – AJC expressed outrage at the UN Human Rights Council’s passage yesterday of a resolution calling on states to combat the “defamation of religions,” especially Islam.

“Respect for all religions has always been one of our guiding principles, but the very notion of the ‘defamation of religions’ is a sham,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “This is a thinly veiled attempt to outlaw legitimate criticism and trample on the freedom of speech, a core democratic value.”

The resolution, engineered by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), asserts that Islam, in particular, has been the subject of “deliberate stereotyping” and “targeting,” and calls upon states to undertake “legal strategies” to limit this speech.

The OIC has persistently attempted to introduce the same subject into the Outcome Document of the Durban Review Conference, to be held next month in Geneva, undermining the preparations for this global event intended to combat racism.

Harris continued, “The OIC, with its many member states that routinely trample on human rights, has turned the UN Human Rights Council into a rubber stamp for its anti-democratic political agenda. This resolution is yet another reminder of the Council’s tragic failure to live up to its important mandate and to deliver on the promise of reform.”

AJC commended the eleven member states, including Canada and all of the Council’s European members, who voted against the resolution.