JBI Human Rights

JBI: Draft “Vilification of Religions” Proposal at UN Threatens Freedom of Expression, Religion

The Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI) expressed concern today that the most recent draft of a proposed resolution on “Combating Religious Hatred and Vilification of Religions” under consideration at the UN General Assembly, if adopted, would serve as a justification for and even endorse harmful “anti-blasphemy” laws already in force in many States.  JBI called on UN Member States to oppose any draft resolution that similarly threatens the rights to freedom of expression and religion.

The unofficial draft resolution, submitted on November 12 by Morocco on behalf of the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC), an inter-governmental organization consisting of 57 Member States, contains a number of textual changes that differentiate it from the resolutions on “Combating Defamation of Religions,” adopted in past years by the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council.  The most significant of these changes is the substitution of the concept of “vilification of religions” in place of the concept of “defamation of religions.”

As JBI has noted in the past, including at an expert discussion convened on October 6, 2010, past resolutions that have been adopted by UN bodies on “defamation of religions” threaten to give rise to very serious negative consequences for human rights.  The proposed draft resolution on “vilification of religions” suffers from nearly all of the same shortcomings, and proposes similarly unacceptable restrictions on the fundamental human rights, particularly the right to freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief.

To see the proposed draft resolution, see here: Download OIC proposal

To see JBI’s analysis of the proposed draft resolution, see here: Download Memo_on_Vilification_of_Religions_Proposal

Engaging China on Human Rights at the UN

JBI Director Felice Gaer recently gave an extensive interview on engaging China on human rights at the UN to Human Rights in China.  In the interview, Gaer shares her personal views, derived from her years of practice in the human rights field, on issues including China’s tactics and use of “smart” power at the UN, the UN Human Rights Council and its Universal Periodic Review process, and strategies for future engagement with China.

The full text of the interview is available here: China Rights Forum interview with Felice Gaer

JBI Calls for US Ratification of Women's Rights Treaty

On November 18, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law will hold a hearing on the importance of US ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).  It will be the first time in eight years that the Senate has held such a hearing on the women's rights treaty, which the US signed in 1980 but has never ratified, and on which the Senate has never held a full floor vote.

Today, JBI Director Felice Gaer submitted a statement in support of US ratification of the CEDAW for inclusion in the congressional record.  Drawing upon JBI's long history of support for US ratification of the CEDAW and on her perspective as the first American member of the Committee against Torture, the monitoring committee for a parallel UN treaty, Gaer urged all US senators to vote in favor of US ratification of the CEDAW, stating, "The United States has long accepted the principle that women's rights are human rights; it is time for the Senate to act on that principle and to approve US ratification of the international treaty that does the most to make this principle a reality." 

The letter argued that the CEDAW has been uniquely important to women worldwide struggling for non-discrimination and to exercise basic human rights, particularly because those States that ratify the CEDAW are required to report regularly to a monitoring committee composed of independent experts from 24 countries.  Those experts then examine the reports submitted by State parties and offer comments and suggestions concerning compliance in an inter-active dialogue. 

Gaer stated that the CEDAW Committee, like the Committee against Torture, on which she has served since 2000, offers the US an opportunity to engage directly with rogue regimes and violator countries on the advancement of women's rights.  CEDAW ratification would allow the United States not only to vote for the members of the CEDAW Committee but  to itself seek election to the Committee.  The letter noted that many of the members of the CEDAW Committee have called for US ratification of CEDAW, arguing that if it were to become a member of the Committee, it would strengthen the Committee's scrutiny of violator countries.

The letter noted that CEDAW ratification is consistent with the "principled engagement" strategy that the US government presently pursues in its relations with other UN bodies.  Conversely, the US's current status as one of only seven countries worldwide that have failed to ratify the CEDAW--a distinction it shares with Iran, Sudan, and Somalia--is an embarrassment, given the leadership that the US has shown in advancing women's rights and equality at home and abroad.  It also stated that US ratification of the CEDAW would result in few costs to the Unites States, because as a result of its longtime commitment to women's rights and equality, the US is already substantially in compliance with the treaty. 

The full statement is available here: Download JBI CEDAW statement

More information about the Senate's Nov. 18 hearing on CEDAW ratification and a link to the webcast is available here: Senate CEDAW hearing.