UN advisers fight Islamophobia intolerance
Date
12/15/2015 3:01:54 AM
(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) NEW YORK Dec 15 (KUNA) -- UN officials expressed grave concern at the outpouring of intolerance and hate speeches in public discourse and in the media in recent weeks which has focused particularly on Muslims.The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect Jennifer Welsh said in a joint press release that recently there have been numerous acts of intimidation and violence against Muslims and Muslim sites including vandalism of mosques as well as discriminatory xenophobic and racist statements. Some of these statements have referred to all Muslims - and all refugees and asylum seekers originating from Syria and Iraq - as "terrorists." The UN officials said "we are sickened by blatant manifestations of hatred and intolerance including by public figures in response to terrorist attacks by violent extremists particularly the deliberate and dangerous spread of misinformation and the manipulation of people's fears and concerns for political gain." They strongly and unreservedly condemned all criminal attacks by violent extremists wherever they may take place and underlined the damaging effects of linking such attacks to a specific population based on its identity as doing so has resulted in discrimination and targeting of Muslim populations.In the press release Dieng and Welsh recalled that any "advocacy of national racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination hostility or violence" is prohibited under international human rights law and by the national laws or constitutions of many countries.As demonstrated by Presidential candidate Donald Trump the Advisers referred to calls by politicians for Muslims to be prevented from entering the United States to be registered in a national database or to be forced to carry identification that would highlight their religion. Therefore they noted calls for governments to refrain from accepting refugees from Syria and Iraq.On their behalf they said that this is "unacceptable." Refugees from Syria and Iraq they added are fleeing precisely the kind of violence that "we" in the West also fear. To turn them away when they are seeking refuge is an affront to our common humanity they said.At a time the world is facing complex challenges including confronting extremist violent groups and individuals the officials urgently called on Governments and other leading actors to act responsibly and with respect for both international and national laws.The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide acts as a catalyst to raise awareness of the causes and dynamics of genocide to alert relevant actors where there is a risk of genocide and to advocate and mobilize for appropriate action. As the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect leads the conceptual political institutional and operational development of the Responsibility to Protect.(end) mao.tg
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