Post from Hi, I'm Joe.:
The UN Human Rights Commission Does Something Useful!
Bad? Brilliant?
You can rate this post.
Register or login now and
tell us what you think.

...Or not.

Some days, I'm really, really thankful that the UN is just an ineffectual paper tiger.  Imagine if this actually had some weight behind it:

GENEVA (AP) - Islamic countries pushed through a resolution at the U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday urging a global prohibition on the public defamation of religion—a response largely to the furor last year over caricatures published in a Danish newspaper of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.

It makes no mention of any other religion besides Islam, but urges countries "to take resolute action to prohibit the dissemination of racist and xenophobic ideas and material aimed at any religion or its followers that constitute incitement and religious hatred, hostility, or violence."

The resolution was adopted by a 24-14 vote with nine abstentions. Canada, Japan and South Korea joined European countries in opposition, primarily citing its excessive focus on Islam and incompatibility with fundamental rights such as the freedoms of speech and thought.

 

Now a Council of Liberal Democracies, on the other hand, I'd be bullish on... 


Reader Comments

Comments are closed for this post.

  
Perhaps it's my skeptical nature
By jr Mar 31st 2007 at 2:18 pm EDT
but considering the aggressive nature of democratic states in general (think Mansfield & Snyder--1996, I believe), I worry about the prospect for world peace if we put a bunch of heavily armed democratic states together in a room with no non-democratic states and let them start writing global policy.
  
Agreed.
By Liberaltarian Apr 2nd 2007 at 11:28 am EDT
There are very few things (if any) that should ever be off the table of freedom of speech, open dialog, debate, and criticism. Religion certainly isn't one of them. Both my libertarian and atheist Spidey-senses went off when I read about this.
Re: Agreed.
By jr Apr 2nd 2007 at 2:42 pm EDT
Wanna piece of this delicious chocolate Jesus?

Link
  
Campus Progress

Please remember that Campus Progress' terms of use do not allow promoting or endorsing any particular political party or candidate for office. Posts or comments that do this will be deleted.

Campus Progress