UN adopts Pakistan-led OIC resolution calling for special envoy to combat global Islamophobia
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on Friday, presented by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), calling for measures to combat Islamophobia that it said regularly manifests itself at both societal and state levels.
The resolution, advocating for the appointment of a special envoy to address the issue, coincided with International Day to Combat Islamophobia, observed on March 15. This date commemorates the anniversary of the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand, where 51 worshippers were killed during Friday prayers.
The initiative to establish a day against Islamophobia was also spearheaded by Pakistan for the OIC and unanimously approved by the 193-member world body in 2022, with support from 55 predominantly Muslim countries.
Pakistan’s chief diplomat at the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram, introduced the follow-up resolution, emphasizing that Muslims globally continued to encounter significant discrimination, despite international acknowledgment of Islamophobia’s prevalence.
“Islamophobia is as old as Islam itself,” he said while addressing the world body. “It was generated by atavistic fears and prejudice. It was manifested by the racist colonization and brutalization of much of the Islamic world in the past few centuries.”
Akram noted the problem became more pronounced after the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington.