Source: The Peninsula
UNITED NATIONS - Pakistan has urged the UN General Assembly and the newly created Human Rights Council to work towards stopping religious defamation manifested in instances of 'Islamophobia' so as to foster a culture of peace.
Speaking in the 192-member Assembly, Pakistan's delegate Senator Akram Zaki stressed that the two UN bodies condemn religious intolerance and the defamation of religions, particularly in the terms of linking Islam with violence and terrorism.
"The United Nations, in its endeavour to promote religious multiculturalism, should appeal to the larger membership to deter and discourage antagonism and discrimination against Islam and Muslim people," he said while participating in a debate on the culture for peace.
This is one of three proposals Akram Zaki presented for ending religious intolerance in many regions of the world.
The other proposals being that the General Assembly hold a high-level event to promote racial and religious tolerance, and, following the recommendations of the special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, that member states develop a global strategy to address the issue of religious intolerance and introduce a legal instrument that would combat the defamation of religion.
In this context, Zaki said, Pakistan in collaboration with the Philippines had introduced a draft resolution in the assembly to promote respect for the diversity of cultures and religious and he urged all member states to endorse it.