Pakistan calls for UN action to combat Islamophobia, hate speech

New York (Agencies): Pakistan has called for new United Nations (UN) Strategy and Plan of Action to combat Islamophobia and hate speech, Radio Pakistan reported.

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Dr Meleeha Lodhi said this at a special meeting in New York.

She said an inevitable consequence is to fan the flames of bigotry, intolerance, anti-Muslim hatred and xenophobia.

Maleeha Lodhi said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has recently called for urgent action to counter Islamophobia which is today the most prevalent expression of racism and hatred against ‘the other’.

At UN , responding to UNSG’s Strategy & Plan of Action on Hate Speech, unveiled today. Reiterated Prime Minister Imran Khan’s call for urgent action to counter anti-Muslim hatred or Islamophobia. I called Islamophobia the most prevalent expression of racism & religious hatred pic.twitter.com/K8qZqdQIeC

— Maleeha Lodhi (@LodhiMaleeha) June 18, 2019

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the occasion said the UN Strategy and Plan of Action provides a system-wide programme with the overriding objective of identifying, preventing and confronting hate speech.