ISLAMABAD – United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has saidthat countering anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia is his “top priority”and he “fully agrees” with the assessment that it could pose a threat tointernational peace and security.
The UN Chief gave the statement recently at the virtual meeting ofOrganization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states at the UnitedNations (UN) in response to the comments from Pakistan’s Ambassador to theUN, Munir Akram, who drew his attention to the rising cases of anti-Muslimviolence and Islamophobia in India and urged him to adopt a more focusedand consistent system-wise approach to fully tackle the menace.
Speaking at the meeting organized by OIC on the theme of “COVID-19Solidarity: Promoting Co-Existence and Shared Responsibility”, Guterresvoiced his concern over the rise of Islamophobia and called for fightingthis phenomenon collectively, the informed sources said.
In his remarks, Ambassador Akram raised concerns about the alarming rise inIslamophobia and stigmatization of Muslims in India in the wake of thecoronavirus pandemic.
He also highlighted the oppressive measures imposed in Indian OccupiedJammu and Kashmir since August 5, last year when New Delhi annexed thedisputed region in violation of UN resolutions.
While terming these developments a matter of “grave concern”, AmbassadorAkram noted that such vitriolic hate speech, state-sponsored Islamophobiaand deliberate targeting of Muslims in India was not only a human rightschallenge but could also endangered peace and security in the region.
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Earlier, the Permanent Representative of the OIC Observer Mission in NewYork, Agshin Mehdiyev, also noted the exploitation of COVID19-related fearswhere the public discourse had been weaponzied against Muslims by stokingIslamophobia.
In this regard, he made reference to the OIC’s latest statements urging theGovernment of India to take immediate steps to end discriminatory treatmentof Muslims.
Earlier this week, Pakistan had proposed the establishment of a dedicatedOIC Working Group on Islamophobia. Several OIC countries including SaudiArabia, Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Malaysia and Egypt welcomedPakistan’s proposal and need for a concerted OIC position on Islamophobiaat the United Nations.
The remarks made by the UN Secretary-General indicate that the OIC willpursue Pakistan’s proposal for collective action to counter Islamophobia.As a Pakistani diplomat remarked, no Indian puppet can prevent OICcountries from condemning the rising Islamophobia of India’s Hinduextremists.
