Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the adoption of the resolution by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Promotion of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace (A/75/L.36/Rev.1), published 1 December, and (2) the reference by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, in his address relating to that resolution to the 75th Session of the UNGA on 25 September, to Islamophobic incidents in Europe of Muslims being targeted; and what assessment they have made of (a) that reference in view of Article 7 of the former version of that resolution (A/75/L.25), published on 4 December 2019, which “condemns any advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, whether it involves the use of print, audiovisual or electronic media, social media or any other means", and (a) whether that reference may be used to create an offence of blasphemy against Islam.

Promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities is a longstanding priority for the UK Government. We believe that one of the most effective ways to tackle injustices and advocate for respect amongst different religious groups is to encourage countries to uphold their human rights obligations, particularly through international institutions such as the UN. While the UK supported the underlying theme of A/75/L.36/Rev.1 at the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly, Her Majesty's Government abstained in the voting on the resolution because there were elements of the text which the UK, along with others, were unable to support.

The UK's views on the Resolution are clear. While the UK and Pakistan do have differences in approach to FoRB and Freedom of Expression, the large bulk of operative paragraph 7 of the previous version of the Resolution is a verbatim copy of Article 20.2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which the UK ratified in 1976. In the ongoing academic and legal debate about whether this reference can be used domestically to justify blasphemy legislation, the longstanding UK position is that this provision does not require that. We remain deeply concerned by the misuse of blasphemy laws. These laws generally limit Freedom of Expression and are only compatible with international human rights law in narrow circumstances. We regularly raise at a senior level the issue of blasphemy laws with the authorities in Pakistan and elsewhere. We believe that people must be allowed to discuss and debate issues freely, including exercising their right to Freedom of Expression, to invoke, peacefully, discussions about thought, conscience and religion.