Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen reiterated OIC’s concern over the continued rise of religious intolerance and hate speech, which continues to seriously jeopardize the lives of innocent people of different religious backgrounds, recent manifestations of which are the deadly incidents in New Zealand and Sri Lanka
Jeddah (Pakistan Point News - 20th Nov, 2019) Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen reiterated OIC’s concern over the continued rise of religious intolerance and hate speech, which continues to seriously jeopardize the lives of innocent people of different religious backgrounds, recent manifestations of which are the deadly incidents in New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
In his written statement to the 7th Meeting of Istanbul Process held in The Hague, The Netherlands on 18-19 November 2019, the OIC Secretary welcomed the convening of the 7th Meeting after a gap of 3 years and highlighted its importance for combating the threat of incitement to hatred based on religion.
Dr. Othaimeen, underlined the crucial importance of collective efforts at international level to confront the maleficent phenomena, through multiple tools including the Istanbul Process, which draws upon the landmark UN HRC Resolution 16/18, which provides a comprehensive action plan to combat the unruly phenomena of incitement to hatred, discrimination and violence based on religion, faced globally by all States.
The Secretary General also welcomed the announcement by Pakistan to host the 8th meeting of Istanbul Process as an effort to contribute to the global efforts in raising awareness, sharing best practices and discussing best options on how to combat this global concern.
The Meeting, hosted by the Netherlands, was held under the theme ‘Combating Religious Intolerance: Building inclusive and resilient societies, and pushing back against incitement to hatred and violence’, and witnessed the participation of States from all regions, civil society, relevant UN Officials and Experts, religious leaders, business representatives and journalists.
