PRESS RELEASE
Geneva, December 18, 2008 — In response to today’s UN General Assembly vote on the Islamic “defamation of religions” resolution (86-53, 42 absentions), Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based human rights group UN Watch, issued the following statement:
“Defenders of free speech take some consolation in the increased votes for our cause compared to last year’s vote, but the adoption of yet another totalitarian text is a stark reminder that human rights at the UN is under assault.”
“The most dire threat is coming from Geneva where an Algerian-chaired sub-committee of the UN’s upcoming ‘Durban 2’ racism conference has this week been seeking to amend international human rights treaty law to ban “defamation of religion”, especially Islam. Eleanor Roosevelt, whose universal declaration we celebrate this month on its 60th anniversary, must be turning in her grave.”
