Roy W. Brown, IHEU representative in Geneva, provides history and context to this issue in "The Slow Death of Freedom of expression" at Index of censorship.
Partial vote talley from a UN Watch press release;. list of member nations obtained from Wikipedia. I was only able to obtain the No votes and three abstentions. This table tells us who our friends are: the elleven in the middle column. We should reconsider alliance with and aid to the others listed.
| For or Abstain | Against | Abstain |
|---|---|---|
| Angola | Canada | Bosnia |
| Argentina | Chile | Brazil |
| Azerbaijan | France | Mexico. |
| Bahrain | Germany | |
| Bangladesh | Netherlands | |
| Bolivia | Slovakia | |
| Burkina Faso | Slovenia | |
| Cameroon | Ukraine | |
| China | Switzerland | |
| Cuba | United Kingdom | |
| Djibouti | Italy | |
| Egypt | ||
| Gabon | ||
| Ghana | ||
| India | ||
| Indonesia | ||
| Japan | ||
| Jordan | ||
| Madagascar | ||
| Malaysia | ||
| Mauritius | ||
| Nicaragua | ||
| Nigeria | ||
| Pakistan | ||
| Philippines | ||
| Qatar | ||
| Republic of Korea | ||
| Russian Federation | ||
| Saudi Arabia | ||
| Senegal | ||
| South Africa | ||
| Uruguay | ||
| Zambia | ||
| 23 | 11 | 13 |
Those UNHRC members listed in the first column failed to vote against the resolution which contains these and other egregious statements.
4. Expresses deep concern at the continued serious instances of deliberate stereotyping of religions, their adherents and sacred persons in the media, as well as programmes and agendas pursued by extremist organizations and groups aimed at creating and perpetuating stereotypes about certain religions, in particular when condoned by Governments;5. Notes with deep concern the intensification of the overall campaign of defamation of religions and incitement to religious hatred in general, including the ethnic and religious profiling of Muslim minorities in the aftermath of the tragic events of 11 September 2001;
6. Recognizes that, in the context of the fight against terrorism, defamation of religions and incitement to religious hatred in general have become aggravating factors that contribute to the denial of fundamental rights and freedoms of members of target groups, as well as to their economic and social exclusion;
7. Expresses deep concern in this respect that Islam is frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and terrorism and, in this regard, regrets the laws or administrative measures specifically designed to control and monitor Muslim minorities, thereby stigmatizing them and legitimizing the discrimination they experience;
13. Urges all States to provide, within their respective legal and constitutional systems, adequate protection against acts of hatred, discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting from defamation of religions and incitement to religious hatred in general, and to take all possible measures to promote tolerance and respect for all religions and beliefs;
14. Underscores the need to combat defamation of religions and incitement to religious hatred in general by strategizing and harmonizing actions at the local, national, regional and international levels through education and awareness‑building;
15. Calls upon all States to make the utmost effort, in accordance with their national legislation and in conformity with international human rights and humanitarian law, to ensure that religious places, sites, shrines and symbols are fully respected and protected, and to take additional measures in cases where they are vulnerable to desecration or destruction;
Since Council members are elected on a regional basis, its membership will always be dominated by Islamic nations and those sympathetic to them. It is therefore impossible for justice, reason or common sense to prevail in the UNHRC. There is no nothing to be gained by seeking membership in that body. I will therefore urge President Obama and my Senators to abandon plans to seek election to the UNHRC and urge them to reject it and its resolutions.We should take no part it its deliberations or its financing.
Readers are urged to use the email form provided by http://www.congress.org/ to send emails to President Obama and their Senators and to include therein this html code which will create therein a link to this blog post.
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