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Thank you, Mr President
We welcome the report by the High Commissioner
and in particular her emphasis on discrimination against minorities.
We regret however that she made no specific mention
of discrimination based on religion or belief.
We therefore welcome the statement made
on behalf of the OIC in this regard,
particularly in view of reports we have seen in recent months
of Muslims burning churches
and of Christians being burned to death
in their homes in Pakistan
with the authorities doing little or nothing to prevent it.
From Somalia we hear reports of four Christians being beheaded
simply for converting to Christianity;
from Nigeria of a priest being beheaded
for refusing to convert to Islam.
From Iran we hear continuing reports of discrimination
against Bahais and from Egypt against Coptic Christians.
In many OIC States non-believers and apostates
face discrimination, imprisonment and even death.
But of course it is not only in the Islamic States that
religious minorities face discrimination and violence.
In India the issue of the massacre of Muslims in Gujerat remains unresolved
and we have more recent reports of churches being burned in Orissa,
while in China earlier this year
we saw wanton violence directed against the Muslim Uighurs.
We also see non-violent discrimination suffered by religious minorities
in many Western countries through the privileges accorded to state churches,
and through concordats with the Holy See which privilege the Catholic Church,
leading to discrimination against non-Catholics.
Mr President, is it not time that the Council took far more seriously
the issue of discrimination based on religion or belief?
And is it really necessary, yet again, to remind States
that it is individuals - believers and non-believers -
that have human rights, not their religions or beliefs.