On Friday, the United Nations General Assembly hosted a high-level event to combat Islamophobia, where participants called for policies that respect all human rights.
The event was held at the headquarters of the international organization in New York to commemorate the first International Day to Combat Islamophobia - Islamophobia - corresponding to March 15, under the direction of Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in his country's capacity as head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The event aims to call on the international community to consider ways to combat intolerance and incitement to violence and hatred against followers of religions and beliefs, including Muslims, and to promote collective action to combat xenophobia, intolerance and incitement to violence on the basis of any religion or belief.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that Muslims around the world often face intolerance and prejudice for no reason other than their faith.
Guterres emphasized during the event that Islamophobia takes many forms such as structural and institutional discrimination, personal attacks, hateful rhetoric and stereotyping.
Guterres called on member states and technology companies to put in place policies that fully respect human rights.
For his part, Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called for combating Islamophobia through practical measures, and urged the Secretary-General of the United Nations to formulate an action plan in coordination with the Organization of Islamic Countries to stop and correct the phenomenon.
He suggested that Guterres appoint a special UN envoy to combat Islamophobia.
In turn, the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Chaba Koroshi, said that the unanimous adoption of the decision to allocate an International Day to Combat Islamophobia last year clearly shows the need for dialogue at a global level to encourage tolerance and peace.
In the context, the permanent Turkish envoy to the United Nations, Sadat Onal, described the phenomenon of Islamophobia in the world as a real and growing threat.
Onal said that Muslims face various manifestations of Islamophobic and hate crimes despite their increasing social and economic contributions all over the world.
Unal noted that this goes hand in hand with the populism and polarization that are increasingly dominating political discourse in many countries.
He stressed that anti-Islam fuels racist tendencies and xenophobia, and that it has become a major threat to democracy, and pointed to the escalation of attacks on the Holy Quran and mosques around the world.
The event was attended by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Hussein Ibrahim Taha, the High Representative of the Alliance of Civilizations, Miguel Angel Moratinos, and academics from various member states of the United Nations.
And the General Assembly had adopted, in March 2022, a resolution to adopt the date of the 15th of the same month as an international day to combat Islamophobia.