Jeddah, 15th March 2024: In commemorating the ‘International Day to Combat Islamophobia 2024’, the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) highlighted the crucial need for a collective international action to address growing acts of religious hatred and hate speech worldwide, including Islamophobia. In particular, the Commission expressed grave concerns that the Israeli genocide against innocent Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has become the primary factor inflaming Islamophobia globally. Since October 7th, 2023, there has been a growing wave of hate across many Western countries against people who are supporting “Palestinians right to live, support their right to be free from occupation and not live under apartheid,”[1]the Commission added.

The Commission voiced its utmost concerns that, while the people of Gaza continue to be subjected to war crimes by the Israeli occupation, anti-Palestinian racism, which includes prejudice, collective hatred, and discrimination directed at the Palestinian people and those who support the Palestinian cause are on the rise in many countries across the world. This factor that is driving Islamophobic hate speech recently is another urgent reminder that much more needs to be done to address the contemporary forms of racism, which includes Islamophobia.
The Commission expressed concerns that efforts to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance are encountering several serious challenges, which are manifested through official policies, such as the imposition of bans on hijab, mosques and minarets, mob attacks against mosques, online hate speech and acts of desecration of Holy Quran. The Commission is appalled at the Islamophobic discrimination encountered by Muslim women, which is prejudicial to fundamental freedoms and violates the right of everyone to be free from any discrimination and coercion as guaranteed under international human rights law. Such an atmosphere of social exclusion has created a detrimental context characterized by intolerance, indifference, connivance, and even acceptance of racism, especially in connection with issues relating to migration, asylum, and terrorism.
The Commission considers that international human rights instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), enshrines the principles of freedom of religion or belief, non-discrimination, and the right to dignity for all individuals. These instruments do recognize the right to freedom of expression but also emphasize that this right comes with responsibilities, including the obligation to respect the rights and dignity of others. The hate speech motivated by racism, xenophobia, and intolerance, coupled with impunity for perpetrators, creates a climate of fear for the targeted persons and groups, which is anathema to the ideals of pluralism and inclusiveness. Hence, there is a need for responsible use of freedom of expression to ensure the protection of the rights of others, in line with the parameters outlined in Articles 19 & 20 of ICCPR, and the protection of the rights of minorities to enjoy their own culture, and practice their own religion under Article 27 of ICCPR[2]. In this regard, the Commission highlights the complementarity, balances, and limitations meticulously established by the relevant international human rights instruments, including Article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)[3] and corresponding General Comment No. XV, which dwells on the importance of combating and proscribing hate speech.
The Commission considers that religions play a vital role to ensure respect and reconciliation among all human beings. It extends its full support to all international and regional initiatives, including full and effective implementation of UN Resolution 16/18 to promote and protect the respect for diversity of faiths and religions, mutual understanding, and inter-faith dialogue.
The Commission calls on the international community to address the root causes of Islamophobia, which inter-alia include foreign occupation that impinge upon all human rights of the affected population. It also supports: (i) adoption of a legally binding international instrument to prevent the growing acts of religious intolerance, hatred, and discrimination and to foster the culture of peace and coexistence; (ii) criminalize certain manifestations of hate speech such as incitement to hatred and violence as provided in the article 5-f of the UN HRC Res.16/18, (iii) build the capacity of national authorities, security officials and media to prevent acts of incitement to hatred; (iv) establish an observatory within UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to monitor and report on incidents of hate speech and incitement to religious hatred including in the print and social media as an early warning mechanism; (v) mainstream human rights education in national curricula with emphasis on tolerance and respect for cultural sensitivities.