UN Human Rights Council condemns facts of Quran burning

The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) condemned the acts of burning the Quran, despite the fact that Western countries opposed it.

According to Anadolu, a draft resolution condemning acts of desecration of the Quran was discussed at the 53rd session of the HRC in Geneva at a special session held at the initiative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. 47 countries took part in the voting.

28 countries voted for the adopted document, 12 were against, and seven abstained.

Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cameroon, China, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam voted in favour of the resolution.

Belgium, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Romania, the UK and the US voted against.

Paraguay, Nepal, Mexico, Honduras, Georgia, Benin and Chile abstained.

Turkey does not have the right to vote, as it has an observer status in the UN Human Rights Council.

“A resolution was adopted, submitted to the UN Human Rights Council by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, condemning attacks on the Quran. We thank all the countries that supported this decision,” the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the UN Geneva Office said on Twitter.

Decisions made by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council are not binding. However, the opinion of the HRC influences the possible decisions to be taken by the national parliaments. In addition, these decisions are important from the point of view of shaping international public opinion.