On International Day to Combat Islamophobia, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution tabled by Pakistan with a large majority, calling for concerted action to combat ongoing violence against Muslims and requesting that the UN Secretary-General appoint a special envoy to combat Islamophobia.
Prior to passing the new resolution, titled ‘Measures to Combat Islamophobia’, the 193-member Assembly rejected two amendments made by a group of European states by a vote of 113 in favor to none against, with 44 abstentions. India, along with the majority of European states, abstained on the resolution.
The ideas would have replaced important language in the resolution, such as calling for a focal point instead of a UN special envoy and deleting references to sacrilege.
The International Day was established by the United Nations through a resolution passed on March 15, 2019, following attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand that killed 51 people.
Two years ago, the General Assembly established March 15 as International Day to Combat Islamophobia, after a resolution presented by Pakistan and sponsored by the OIC and other like-minded Member States.
Introducing the resolution, Ambassador Munir Akram, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, stated that, despite the resolution and other actions, as well as efforts by leaders to promote inter-religious and inter-communal harmony, incidents of Islamophobia—discrimination, prejudice, and violence against Muslims—have increased exponentially at both the societal and state levels.
