CSW denounces agenda at UN conference

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is today expressing grave concern for the future of individual freedoms, as a number of states at the UN Durban Review Conference push an agenda which seeks to protect religions and governments, at the expense of individuals and their rights.

The week-long conference, the official theme of which is tackling racism, is widely held by human rights NGOs to have been hijacked by a number of states advocating measures for ‘combating defamation of religion’ instead.

On Sunday, CSW attended the Geneva Summit, an unofficial preliminary summit for human rights NGOs, during which many of the participants expressed their dismay over the Durban Review Conference’s preliminary texts and the agenda of a handful of the states that will be attending. A number of states have boycotted the conference for a variety of reasons and more walked out yesterday following the speech by President Ahmadinejad of Iran.

Although last minute diplomatic wrangling has resulted in the conference having a “draft outcome document” that is considerably less controversial than previous versions, nevertheless, many Summit participants suggested that states like Pakistan and Iran would almost certainly ensure that “combating defamation of religion” played a substantial part in the agenda once the conference was properly underway.

CSW Advocacy Director, Tina Lambert said: “It is scandalous that a UN Conference on Racism has been hijacked by states who are pursuing an altogether different agenda threatening the very idea of individual rights. In seeking to protect ‘religion’ from defamation it is clear that existing international human rights protections will be undermined, specifically freedom of religion and freedom of expression. CSW calls on all remaining conference participants to honour their obligations to protect human rights and their responsibility to secure freedom of religion and freedom of expression for all people”.