The State of Qatar has reiterated its condemnation in strongest terms over incidences of burning of copies of the Holy Qu'ran which intentionally transpired in several European countries recently, affirming that all sane independent observers, when seeing these incidences, and run a background check on their perpetrators and the nature of their general rhetoric, will definitely see agendas lurking behind them that intentionally plant hatred and fuel seditions among Muslims and their communities' people, in addition to provoking the belief of billions of human beings worldwide.
This came in a recorded remark delivered by HE Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater on Tuesday during the urgent 53rd session of Human Rights Council in Geneva on "the alarming rise in premeditated and public acts of religious hatred as manifested by recurrent desecration of the Holy Quran in some European and other countries".
Regarding the positions of some European governments towards facilitating and enabling the recurrence of such incidences on legal claims related to freedom of speech and individuals' rights, Her Excellency said that it has become perplexed as such incidences accumulated for all people coming from far and near that such a standard is not purely selective since all these countries strictly prohibit any antisemitic legislative, speech and acts to name a few.
She outlined that many of these countries operate a magnifying glass on religious minorities in the predominant Muslims states and through this glass they inflate everything that afflicts every single individual from those valued ones, hold the governments of these states responsible and demand them to make change even if it is not a systematic act approved by governments.
Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in the context of the justification and facilitation of the act of hate speech by some governments towards Muslims in their countries, Islamic states and communities cannot reciprocate, not because they fear the attack that would have been launched by those governments on them, but because of Islamic states' compliance with their conviction and laws after the Islamic values that prohibit them from provoking others or hurting them in their beliefs.
She outlined that the State of Qatar considers promotion of human rights, fundamental freedoms and repudiation of hate speech and discrimination among people based on religion a responsibility of states and international institutions concerned with human rights spearheaded by this esteemed council, pointing out that the State of Qatar stresses the importance of taking a clear position by the council and its mechanisms to condemn all forms of racism, hate speech against religions and their followers, as well as prevent their recurrence.
In this context, HE Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater reaffirmed the State of Qatar's call on the governments of states to uphold their obligations under the United Nations charter that calls for developing cordial relations among nations based on respect for the principle that advocates for settlement of rights among nations and respect for human rights and fundamental rights of all people, in addition to the State of Qatar's call on states, where these practices have been committed, to take national measures to counter them, hold their perpetrators accountable and prevent their future recurrence.
Her Excellency said such a vital session is an opportunity to highlight a major problem besetting religious minorities worldwide and is not confined to a certain area, but just for the sake of equity and objectivity, adding that there are many laudable practices and legislations towards racial diversity in the aforementioned European countries, along with Muslims whether they are citizens, or migrants in those countries. However, there is a deeper, more violent and ferocious problem that besets Muslim minority in some countries of the Far East and around it represented in discrimination in religious and civil practices and rights where racism blends with religion whose maximum demonstrations culminate in incarceration, torture, forced eviction and taking innocents lives.
HE Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the State of Qatar's welcome to the unanimous approval of member states in Human Rights Council to hold this urgent debate which addresses a vital topic within the council's terms of reference to counter religious hatred that conspicuously started to infiltrate creating a fertile ground that justifies hostility, discrimination and violence in the east and west towards followers of certain religions.