Last year's resolution on "Combating defamation of religions" requested the UN Special Rapporteur "to examine the situation of Muslim and Arab peoples in various parts of the world." The UN Special Rapporteur on Racism [Maurice Glele-Ahanhanzo, 1998 – 2002] avoided any reference for five years in his reports on Racism to the ongoing plague of Judeophobic antisemitism in the Arab/Muslim world. While such documentation in Reports on Racism remains sparse even after 2002, accusations of "blasphemy" and "defamation of Islam" are frequently heard at UN bodies.

The struggle to combat racism in all its forms – including antisemitism – through serious scholarship and freedom of thought, opinion, and expression should not be curtailed at the United Nations by selfcensorship, as a result of doctrinal accusations of "blasphemy," whose demands are legion.

The last blatant example occurred at the 56th session of the Sub-Commission on Human Rights, in August 2004. The inclusion in our written statement of a recent teaching example from an al-Azhar religious textbook of 2002, used in Egyptian 11th grade schools, of the ritual cutting off of infidel heads was considered "blasphemous" by Sudan's observer. Although the member from Egypt remained silent, Pakistan's member [Abdul Sattar] complained on a 'point of order,' asking the Chairman [Soli Sorabjee of India] in vain to prevent our oral statement. Pakistan's observer [Faisal Niaz Tirizi] then delivered an indignant 'right of reply' condemning the NGO/27 text, which he called a "defamation of Islam." He also announced that Pakistan would take steps to protect UN organs such as the Sub-Commission from being thus abused. This fatwa-like declaration was repeated by Pakistan's observer in an unusual statement at the final meeting 3 days later, when he spoke for the 56 members of the OIC countries.

Such fatwa-like calumnies – involving terms like : "Blasphemy"/ "defamation of Islam" – intended to intimidate or to be used to oust an NGO – or anyone else – or to impose censorship on all & sundry should be ruled "out of order" at all UN bodies.

Spinoza's words come to mind: "That it is impossible to deprive men of the liberty of saying what they think." And "that every man should think what he likes and say what he thinks."3 This fundamental "human right," enshrined in article 19 of the UDHR should apply "without interference" here - and elsewhere at the UN.

This is the edited text of a statement by David Littman on behalf of Association for World Education at the 61st Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights under Agenda item 6: Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and all forms of discrimination.