UN Secretary-General António Guterres has reaffirmed that blasphemy laws are incompatible with human rights in a report on combating intolerance, discrimination, incitement to violence, and violence against persons based on religion or belief. Humanists UK has long campaigned for the repeal of blasphemy laws worldwide as a member of the End Blasphemy Laws campaign. It welcomes the report.
Blasphemy laws are an affront to human rights
Human rights protect people from discrimination, violence, and other forms of harm. They do not protect ideas or objects, nor do they protect people from feeling insulted when their ideas – including their religion or beliefs – are challenged. However, blasphemy laws do just that. They stifle not only the right to freedom of expression but the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) itself. FoRB doesn’t only protect those who hold religious beliefs. It protects humanists and atheists to hold and express their beliefs too.
Humanists worldwide risk lengthy prison sentences and even the death penalty, just for openly denying the existence of gods. They risk mob violence as the very existence of blasphemy laws legitimates vigilante justice against so-called ‘apostates’, ‘non-believers’ and ‘blasphemers’. Blasphemy and ‘apostasy’ is a capital offence in 12 countries. 89 countries have blasphemy laws on the books, which is over 45% of UN member states. Humanists UK has repeatedly called on UN states to repeal blasphemy laws in line with human rights law.
Humanists UK also promotes the Rabat Plan of Action as a tool to combat incitement of hatred on grounds of religion or belief. The Plan recommends that ‘States that have blasphemy laws should repeal them, as such laws have a stifling impact on the enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief, and healthy dialogue and debate about religion’.
The UN Secretary-General’s report reflects Humanists UK’s position by endorsing the Rabat Plan of Action, and reaffirming that blasphemy laws are incompatible with human rights. It concludes that:
‘Any national restrictions to freedom of expression must be formulated with the sole purpose and outcome of protecting individuals, rather than to shield religious doctrine from critical review.’
Humanists UK’s Director of Public Affairs and Policy Richy Thompson commented:
‘We welcome the UN Secretary-General’s report on combating intolerance, discrimination, and violence on the grounds of religion or belief, particularly his reaffirmation that blasphemy laws are incompatible with human rights. We are extremely worried that some UN member states are attempting to justify blasphemy laws as a tool to combat intolerance, hatred, and violence. In fact, the exact opposite is true. Blasphemy laws stifle open dialogue which is critical for a tolerant society to prevail. The Secretary-General’s conclusion goes some way to countering that argument.
‘We will continue to use our platform at the UN Human Rights Council to raise blasphemy cases, and to call on all UN states to repeal these laws and to release those imprisoned under them.’