Statement by Mr. Marghoob Saleem Butt, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Pakistan , on behalf of the OIC on the report of the High Commissioner on “correlation between defamation of religions and upsurge in incitement, intolerance and hatred”  under agenda item 2, during 13th Session of HRC, Geneva 5th March 2010

Mr. President,
I am making this statement on behalf of the Member States of the OIC.
At the outset, we regret the late submission of the High Commissioner’s report on defamation of religions to the Council.
Many of the submissions cited in the report reaffirm that negative portrayal, stereotyping and stigmatization of religions including incitement to ethnic and religious hatred by some political parties and media lead to targeting of concerned individuals and communities. Both the Special Rapporteur on Racism and the OIC too have indicated the need to squarely address the growing phenomenon of defamation of religions.
We reiterate the High Commissioner’s views that certain religious minorities have been frequent targets of abusive, violent and repetitive criticism, often as a result of entrenched stereotypical attitudes which deepens discrimination against them. Such discriminatory and stigmatizing measures, if unchecked, affect the rights of entire communities and lead to their further marginalization. 
Reports from European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) and EU testify that the prevailing negative environment, which is fuelled by the media and increased use of racist and xenophobic arguments in the political discourse, play a key role in the prevalence and manifestation of religious intolerance and discrimination. The report clearly states that negative portrayal of Muslims in the media continues to be one of the main obstacles to their integration and 
Islamophobia is manifested through prejudice and stereotypes. This obviously leads to acts of discrimination, intolerance and violence against them. 
The OIC would like to reiterate its belief that combating defamation of religions cannot be equated to granting rights to religions. On the contrary, it is aimed at addressing the root cause that leads to stereotyping, discrimination and incitement to hatred and violence against individuals and communities. Similarly, fears of curbs on freedom of expression are unfounded as deliberately malicious negative stereotyping or stigmatization has no link to a decent, informed and constructive criticism or debate. International law and instruments clearly establish the parameters within which freedom of expression ought to be exercised. Indeed, in our view, recent acts such as bans on construction of minarets or on the use of the veil impinge on the freedoms of expression, choice and religion. 
The OIC would like to express its willingness to work on evolving an objective definition of the concept of defamation of religions but regrets to state that hiding behind the issue of definition or denial of the need to address the causes of defamation would only accentuate the phenomenon of discrimination. 
I thank you Mr. President.
Short comment on High Commissioner’s Report on Composition of OHCHR Staff
As regard the report of the composition of the OHCHR staff, we recognize the High Commissioner’s contribution in promoting the equitable geographical representation. Nevertheless, the situation remains grim and there remains marginal improvement in the les represented countries both in the permanent and non permanent categories. A closer look at the actual denomination of the staff reveals that countries from specific regions continue to overwhelmingly occupy majority of the seats in all categories. There even is an imbalance within these regions. This trend has to reverse. We support High Commissioner's efforts in this regard and would like her to exercise her independence to make her office more representative of the real geographical diversity.  
I thank you Mr. President,