Context:
The United Nations General Assembly recently passed a resolution declaring March 15th as International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
- Pakistan presented the resolution on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
- Despite the resolution’s passage at the UNGA, India has raised a number of concerns.
Relevance:
GS II- International Relations
Dimensions of the Article:
- Details of the Resolution
- India’s Stand
Details of the Resolution
- The 193-member world body accepted the resolution by consensus, with 55 countries, mostly Muslim, cosponsoring it.
- All governments, UN bodies, international and regional organisations, civil society, the commercial sector, and faith-based organisations are urged to “organise and support various high-visibility activities aimed at effectively spreading awareness of Islamophobia at all levels.”
- The resolution highlights the right to freedom of religion and belief, recalling a 1981 resolution that called for “the abolition of all kinds of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief.”
India’s Stand
- India raised worry over one religion’s phobia being elevated to the status of a worldwide day, claiming that current forms of religiophobia, particularly anti-Hindu, anti-Buddhist, and anti-Sikh phobias, are on the rise.
- It further stated that the term “pluralism” is absent from the resolution.
- India believes that the adopted resolution “does not set a precedent” that will lead to many resolutions on phobias based on chosen religions, dividing the UN into religious factions.
- In international law, there is no agreed-upon definition of Islamophobia, which is in violation of religious and belief freedom.
