UK, US reject condemning burning of Quran at UN Human Rights Council
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This comes after Pakistan and other Muslim nations pushed for a debate around religious hatred and acts of Quran desecration in Europe.
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UN Human Rights Council (AP)
During an emergency meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, the United Kingdom, the United States, and certain European Union member countries resisted denouncing the burning of the Quran.
The United Nations Human Rights Council held an emergency meeting Tuesday to discuss recent Quran-burning events.
Pakistan and other Organization of Islamic Cooperation nations pushed for a debate around "the alarming rise in premeditated and public acts of religious hatred as manifested by the recurrent desecration of the Holy Koran in some European and other countries."
The OIC called on the countries to condemn the attacks targeting the Quran, describing them as "acts of religious hatred."
Following the Quran burnings, certain EU member states, as well as the United States and the United Kingdom, declared that they would vote against a draught resolution against religious hate.
After certain nations' statements, the Council resolved to reconvene on Wednesday and vote on the OIC's censure measure.
In a video message, Turkey's deputy foreign minister, Yasin Ekrem Serim, expressed deep condemnation of recent Quran burnings, which he described as disrespectful and against the values of tolerance, social harmony, and human dignity.
Serim stated that "freedom of expression is a cornerstone of society, but it cannot be misused to spread hatred. It is unacceptable to allow these acts on the grounds of freedom of expression. We call on all authorities to take necessary action against perpetrators of these acts and to prevent the recurrence of such incidents."
On June 28, a man named Salwan Momika, 37, burned a copy of the Muslim Holy book outside the Stockholm Central Mosque. He was granted a permit from Swedish authorities before carrying out his act.
The incident coincided with the beginning of the Eid Al-Adha celebration and the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, inciting outrage throughout the Muslim world.
Reliable information indicates that Salwan Momika was born in Iraq in 1986 and started working for the Israeli Mossad in 2019, a statement from the Iranian Ministry of Security said.
