UN Human Rights Council Calls for Restricting Free Speech
Oh, those wacky guys on the UN "Human Rights" Council. They are now looking to Saudi Arabia as a model for protection of individual rights:
The top U.N. rights body on Thursday passed a resolution proposed by
Islamic countries saying it is deeply concerned about the defamation of
religions and urging governments to prohibit it.The European Union said the text was one-sided because it primarily focused on Islam.
The U.N. Human Rights Council, which is dominated by Arab and other
Muslim countries, adopted the resolution on a 21-10 vote over the
opposition of Europe and Canada....The resolution "urges states to take actions to prohibit the
dissemination ... of racist and xenophobic ideas" and material that
would incite to religious hatred. It also urges states to adopt laws
that would protect against hatred and discrimination stemming from
religious defamation.Saudi Arabia said, "Maybe Islam is one of the most obvious victims of aggressions under the pretext of freedom of expression."
"It is regrettable that there are false translations and
interpretations of the freedom of expression," the Saudi delegation
told the council, adding that no culture should incite to religious
hatred by attacking sacred teachings.
Hat tip: Yet another Weird SF Fan
Update: I am kind of amazed the irony is lost on some folks, so I guess I need to be more explicit: I found it depressing that the UN Human Rights Council is calling for limits on speech.
