Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman has welcomed the decision of the United Nations General Assembly to take international measures to combat the phenomenon of hatred of Islam and Muslims and to appoint a special international envoy to the United Nations concerned with combating Islamophobia, the foreign ministry said.
The Foreign Ministry affirmed the position of the Sultanate of Oman calling for the importance of establishing the values of peaceful coexistence and tolerance between members of different religions, and the importance of criminalizing all acts that incite hatred and conflict between religions and and cultures and offend them.
Top UN officials condemned the scourge on Friday as the General Assembly adopted a resolution to push back against it during commemorations marking the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
The new resolution, tabled by Pakistan, called for, among other things, concerted action to fight ongoing violence against Muslims and requested the UN Secretary-General to appoint a special envoy to combat Islamophobia.
The world body created the International Day through a resolution adopted following attacks on two mosques Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 51 people dead on this day in 2019.
Before adopting the new resolution, by a vote of 113 in favor to none against, with 44 abstentions, a divided Assembly rejected by a close margin two amendments proposed by a group of European nations.
The proposals would have replaced key language in the resolution, including calling for a focal point instead of a UN special envoy and removing references to the desecration of the Holy Quran.
The UN chief on Friday said “Divisive rhetoric and misrepresentation are stigmatizing communities” and everyone must unite to combat intolerance, stereotypes and bias.
“Online hate speech is fuelling real-life violence,” Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement, emphasizing that digital platforms must moderate hateful content and protect users from harassment.
Institutional discrimination and other barriers are violating the human rights and dignity of Muslims, and much of this disturbing trend is part of a wider pattern of attacks against religious groups and vulnerable populations, he added.
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