Stéphane Bussard/Le Temps – It’s a small victory for the defenders of free expression. The concept of defamation of religion promoted by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and some African countries did not find favor in the Human Rights Council. It was this theme that concerned all member states this Spring and remains an issue that threatens the follow-up conference on racism (Durban II) which will be held in Geneva next April. If the Council cedes this point, warn certain Western nations ‘it is the end of the Council’s credibility’. On Thursday, Githu Muigai, the Special Rapporteur for contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance, found it was not necessary to promote the sociological concept of defamation of religion but rather to adhere to juridical norms when it comes to inciting racial or religious hatred.

In his report presented yesterday, Githu Muigai repeated the conclusions of his predecessor, Doudou Diène, France’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva. Speaking for the European Union, Jean-Baptiste Mattéi also applauded the reversal. ‘It is fundamental to make a distinction between criticizing religions and inciting religious hatred. Only the latter … should be banned.’ For France’s Ambassador, freedom of expression is an essential element for democracies. ‘One does not reduce tensions by preventing ideas about religion and belief.’

Speaking for Switzerland at the Council, Roberto Balzaretti also gave his support for this distinction. He referred to the report by Doudou Diène which compared a popular initiative against minarets to xenophobia. ‘The initiative in question reflected the position of a group of citizens and not that of Swiss authorities.’ The Ambassador stressed that Bern recommended defeating the initiative.

Several Western and Latin American countries supported the refusal to create a new norm for defamation of religion. But some states with a Muslim majority have nevertheless did not give up. Algeria’s Ambassador to the UN, Idriss Jazaïry, rebelled against this vision of free expression. “Islamophobia has taken the place of anti-Semitism which has become politically incorrect in many rich nations. Freedom of expression must not allow the creation of a new form of anti-Semitism. [ed: Arabic is also a Semitic language] against Arabs and Muslims.’

The Syrian representative to the UN, Abdulmonem Annan, deplores the fact that ‘nations and institutions continue to interpret freedom of expression in an abusive manner to humiliate certain religious groups. He added that ‘it is surprising that freedom of expression doesn’t apply when one speaks of the siege of Gaza.’ At the end of the brief debate in the Council, the issue of defamation of religion was buried but there is no guarantee it won’t be resurrected.

Translation from French by Pamela Taylor