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Freedom of speech under a global attack.
One of the most worrying developments in the world at the moment is the initiative by the Islamic countries of making "defamation of religion" a universal crime in the future.
This is one of the scariest things going on at the moment as passing of this resolution could lead to a world where atheists are routinely silenced and even jailed, as critisizing any religion would be a universal crime.
All thinking people around the world should now raise their voices against this dangerous new development and make their own governments aware of the inherent dangers in making one form of ideology immune to any criticism.
The jewish daily Forward is one of the many publications that have aired strong concerns about this issue recently. The story was titled:
Freedom From Speech
The whole story is here:
http://www.forward.com/articles/14624
Highligts from the story:
"The United Nations saw another shred of its tattered dignity stripped away November 24, when a committee of the General Assembly approved what amounts to a direct assault on Western liberal democracy. In an 85-50 vote, with 42 abstaining, the so-called Third Committee adopted a resolution, submitted by a caucus of Islamic nations, to criminalize expressions deemed to be “defamation of religion,” with special concern for Islam.
What makes this year’s resolution different, and more dangerous, is that it is supposed to move on from the General Assembly to another forum, where it might acquire real teeth: the second World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, scheduled to convene next April in Geneva.
Many legal scholars believe that the decisions of international conferences of this sort can be incorporated into international law, putting them under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. Individual nations could not be forced to amend their laws, but they might find Interpol knocking at their doors, serving them extradition requests to hand over their cartoonists and novelists. Stand-up comics and philosophers might find they’re unable to cross international borders for fear of being arrested and remanded for trial in Jordan or Malaysia."
from: http://atheistnews.blogs.fi
This is one of the scariest things going on at the moment as passing of this resolution could lead to a world where atheists are routinely silenced and even jailed, as critisizing any religion would be a universal crime.
All thinking people around the world should now raise their voices against this dangerous new development and make their own governments aware of the inherent dangers in making one form of ideology immune to any criticism.
The jewish daily Forward is one of the many publications that have aired strong concerns about this issue recently. The story was titled:
Freedom From Speech
The whole story is here:
http://www.forward.com/articles/14624
Highligts from the story:
"The United Nations saw another shred of its tattered dignity stripped away November 24, when a committee of the General Assembly approved what amounts to a direct assault on Western liberal democracy. In an 85-50 vote, with 42 abstaining, the so-called Third Committee adopted a resolution, submitted by a caucus of Islamic nations, to criminalize expressions deemed to be “defamation of religion,” with special concern for Islam.
What makes this year’s resolution different, and more dangerous, is that it is supposed to move on from the General Assembly to another forum, where it might acquire real teeth: the second World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, scheduled to convene next April in Geneva.
Many legal scholars believe that the decisions of international conferences of this sort can be incorporated into international law, putting them under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. Individual nations could not be forced to amend their laws, but they might find Interpol knocking at their doors, serving them extradition requests to hand over their cartoonists and novelists. Stand-up comics and philosophers might find they’re unable to cross international borders for fear of being arrested and remanded for trial in Jordan or Malaysia."
from: http://atheistnews.blogs.fi
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