Blog from the Capital

It sounds like a nice enough idea on its face: to respect religions by aiming to limit their "defamation". But in reality, a resolution being urged in the UN has been used to stamp out dissent, according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. Today's Washington Times reports on US efforts to push back against such "anti-defamation" codes.

U.S. officials working on human rights said the resolutions are being used to justify harsh blasphemy laws in countries such as Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Afghanistan.
...
"This [language] destabilizes the whole human rights system," said Angela Wu, international law director for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a public interest law firm in Washington. "It empowers the state rather than individual, and protects ideas rather than the person who holds them."

The European Centre for Law and Justice has submitted a report (pdf) for the UN arguing against the "Combating Defamation of Religion" resolution. The Becket Fund also filed a brief (pdf) in June.