Speak Out for Freedom

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights contains the following statement, listed as Article 18:

'Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance’ (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18).

This has been a foundational piece of International Law for decades, and is especially important for individuals, families and communities in states where they form part of a religious minority. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the standard by which both extreme 'theocratic' (or perhaps just cleric-o-cratic) states and atheist dictatorships are held to account. Furthermore it is a document which claims support from around the world, from Christians, Muslims, Jews and Atheists amongst others.

Today, Article 18 of the Declaration is under attack. The 57 States who form the OIC (Organisation of the Islamic Conference) will seek to pass a "Defamation of Religion" resolution through the United Nations. This resolution effectively undermines the freedom of religion by giving states the power to define acceptable opinions within their boundaries. The "common statement" against this resolution, signed by people of all faiths and secularists states the dangers in the following terms:

United Nations resolutions on the `defamation of religions’ are incompatible with the fundamental freedoms of individuals to freely exercise and peacefully express their thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. Unlike traditional defamation laws, which punish false statements of fact that harm individual persons, measures prohibiting the `defamation of religions’ punish the peaceful criticism of ideas. Additionally, the concept of `defamation of religions’ is fundamentally inconsistent with the universal principles outlined in the United Nations’ founding documents, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which affirms the protection of the rights of individuals, rather than ideas. Such resolutions provide international support for domestic laws against blasphemy and “injury to religious feelings”, which are often abused by governments to punish the peaceful expression of disfavored political or religious beliefs and ideas. Moreover, existing international legal instruments already address discrimination, personal defamation, and incitement in ways that are more carefully focused to confront those specific problems without unduly threatening the rights of freedom of expression and the freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

In many countries religious minorities, such as Christians in the Middle East, face either state-sponsored, or state-permitted persecution. At the present time, such activities are clearly a breach of International Law. If the 'defamation of religion' resolution was to be passed, it would by default provide a legal basis for persecution. As such it must be fought.

Organisations can sign up to the "Common Statement", alongside the signatories from the major world faiths, human rights groups, humanist and secular-societies, here. Individuals can sign any of the petitions which oppose this resolution, such as this one here.