ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday opened a special high-level meeting at the United Nations to commemorate International Day to Combat Islamophobia, with a fervent call to everyone to stand together in the fight against hatred, bigotry and intolerance, Pakistani state media reported.
The meeting was co-convened by the office of the UN General Assembly president and Pakistan, in its capacity as the chair of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers. The 193-member assembly last year adopted a resolution to designate March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
Apart from Casaba Korosi, the assembly’s president, present at the meeting, among others, were UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and High Representative of the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Miguel Moratinos.
“The observance of this day serves to reinforce our shared commitment to raise awareness about the insidious phenomenon of Islamophobia, advance mutual respect and understanding, and develop concrete measures to eradicate this contemporary plague,” FM Bhutto-Zardari was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s state-run APP news agency.
In his opening remarks, the foreign minister said that animosity and institutional suspicion of Muslims and Islam across the world escalated to “epidemic proportions” after the 9/11 attacks in the United States. “Despite protestations to the contrary, Islam and Muslims are routinely linked to terrorism,” he lamented.
In this regard, he urged the UN secretary-general to formulate an “action plan,” in coordination with the OIC countries, to halt and reverse Islamophobia, according to the APP report.
Bhutto-Zardari said this plan could include appointment of a UN special envoy, adoption of measures to protect Holy Sites, adoption of laws against hate speech, desecration of the Holy Qur’an and violence against Muslims and other communities, provision of legal assistance and appropriate compensation to those subjected to Islamophobic acts, and the establishment of national and international judicial mechanisms and laws to hold those responsible for acts of Islamophobia accountable.
In his address, Secretary-General Guterres thanked the OIC and Pakistan for focusing attention and calling for action to stamp out Islamophobia, saying that “discrimination diminishes us all.”
“We must never be bystanders to bigotry. We must strengthen our defenses. This means pushing for policies that fully respect human rights and protect religious and cultural identities, particularly of minorities,” Guterres said.
“We must recognize diversity not as a threat, but as richness. This means ramping up political, cultural, and economic investments in social cohesion. And we must confront bigotry wherever and whenever it rears its ugly head.”
