New York (Web Desk): The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has urged the international community to outlaw all willful provocations and incitement to hate and violence.
In a statement read at a high-level UN meeting on countering hate speech, the OIC also expressed grave concern on the “denigration of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)” by officials of India’s ruling Bhartiya Janta Party.
Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram read the statement on OIC’s behalf. The OIC demanded that all “willful provocations and incitement to hate and violence must be universally outlawed.”
Ambassador Akram reminded the international community that the OIC “remains concerned about willful provocations and defamation of Islamic holy personalities and religious symbols.”
On Saturday, June 18, the OIC joined the international community in commemorating the first ever international day for countering hate speech in pursuance of a General Assembly resolution passed recently.
The resolution for observing this day was presented by the Kingdom of Morocco, and the OIC described it “as an important milestone in advancing global efforts to address and counter hate speech.”
The OIC argued that observing this day would promote inter-religious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speech and would underline the need to counter all kinds of discrimination and xenophobia.
In his message to the high-level meeting, UN Secretary General António Guterres said that “hate speech is in itself an attack on tolerance, inclusion, diversity and the very essence of our human rights norms and principles.”
“Hate speech,” he added, “undermines social cohesion, erodes shared values and can lay the foundation for violence, setting back the cause of peace, stability, sustainable development and the fulfillment of human rights for all”.