WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that attempts by mainly Islamic nations to ban statements defaming religion restrict free speech and that the United States rejects them.
Presenting the State Department’s annual international survey of religious freedom, Clinton said US will oppose efforts at the United Nations to condemn the defamation of religion even if they are intended to protect society.
"Some people propose that to protect religious freedom, we must ban speech that is critical or offensive," she said. "We do not agree. The United States joins in all nations coming together to condemn hateful speech. But we do not support the banning of that speech."
The Organization of the Islamic Conference, which represents 56 Muslim countries, again is pushing a resolution condemning religious defamation after winning approval at the UN Human Rights Council. Last year, the General Assembly adopted the resolution despite objections from the U.S. and other western nations.
The effort is widely seen as a response to the publication in Europe of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed and to anti-Muslim stereotyping.
Clinton said the pending resolution hurts religious freedom and denies societies the benefits of diverse views, opinions and faiths.
"Attempts to stifle them or drive them underground, even when it is in the name of and with the intention of protecting society, have the opposite effect," she said. "Societies in which the freedom of religion and speech flourish are more resilient, more stable, more peaceful and more productive."
In its report on international religious freedom for the last year, the US State Department said that respect for religious freedom deteriorated in Afghanistan and Iran while China and Indonesia earned mixed scorecards.
The report also raised sharp complaints about Myanmar and North Korea as well as US allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia. –Agencies
