GENEVA: The United States will soon introduce its first draft resolution since its election to the UN Human Rights Council, a text on freedom of speech being prepared with Egypt, diplomats said Tuesday.
US and Egyptian diplomats were on Tuesday putting the finishing touches on the draft text which would be presented on Friday to the council s secretariat, diplomats told AFP.
It s a good thing that the United States and Egypt are working together on one of the most difficult subjects that would be treated by the Human Rights Council, a European diplomat said.
Diplomats believe that the draft, which AFP has seen, would gain approval from the 47-member council.
Notably, the draft text condemns … all national, racial or religious hatred without referring to the concept of defamation of religions .
The Islamic world had sought to introduce this controversial concept into previous resolutions on the subject, but western states have opposed it as they say blasphemy could be used as a reason to justify suppression of free speech.
The draft resolution also reaffirms the need for information from multiple sources. As such, it opposes media monopolies, and it stresses the necessity of respecting press freedom and protecting journalists and their sources.
It is highly symbolic that this first draft put forward by the United States was co-authored by Egypt, a western diplomat said.
In June, US President Barack Obama delivered a speech to the Muslim world during a visit to Cairo, in which he called for a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world.
One based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition, he added.
Meanwhile, in August, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak urged the United States to move to final status talks between Israel and the Palestinians on the key issues blocking a comprehensive peace deal.
The United States was elected in May to a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, a body shunned by former president George W. Bush s administration for harboring notorious rights violators and showing a perceived anti-Israel bias. -AFP
