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Two NGOs appealed today to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louis Arbour on the possible conflict between the 1948 Universal Declaration for Human Rights and the 1990 Cairo Declaration for Human Rights in Islam -- with shari’a law as “the only source of reference” (articles 24 and 25). Their Appeal for a legal ruling was prompted by the message of the Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, posted on the OIC website on Human Rights Day (December 10). It stated that the OIC was “considering the establishment of [an] independent permanent body to promote Human Rights in the [56] Member States in accordance with the provisions of the OIC Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam and to elaborate an OIC Islamic Charter on Human Rights.” Will an Islamic Charter soon prevail over Universal Human Rights?
Report by David G. Littman, in his capacity as representative of the World Union of Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) to the United Nations Office in Geneva: "This letter from two NGOs representing over 6 million members -- the World Union for Progressive Judaism and the International Humanist and Ethical Union -- was faxed to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour on Friday December 21."
December 21, 2007Your Excellency,
Primacy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The message of OIC Secretary-General, Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, on the occasion of Human Rights Day has just come to our attention, and his statement is noteworthy. It reads, in part:
Respect of Human Rights through effective protection and promotion of equality, civil liberties and social justice is a milestone in the OIC Ten Year Plan of Action. In this regard the OIC General Secretariat is considering the establishment of [an] independent permanent body to promote Human Rights in the Member States in accordance with the provisions of the OIC Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam and to elaborate an OIC Charter on Human Rights. The OIC is also committed to encourage its member States to reinforce their national laws and regulations in order to guaranty strict respect for Human Right[s].” [italics and bold type added] (http://www.oic-oci.org/oicnew/topic_print.asp?t_id=708).On Friday, 14 December, I handed to you the two statements we addressed to the Council on 11 December, one concerning Darfur, the other the primacy of the UDHR. We were, however, unable to complete the latter statement because of a procedural ruling by the President, Ambassador Toru Romulus da Costea, but it was officially circulated at the plenum with the Secretariat’s approval. In this statement, we noted:
We were surprised that Pakistan’s Ambassador Masood Khan, speaking yesterday morning on behalf of the OIC, claimed that the Cairo Declaration was “not an alternative competing worldview on human rights”, but failed to mention the shari’a law as “the only source of reference” (articles 24 and 25) in that same Declaration – the shari’a law where there is no equality between Muslim men and women, and between Muslims and non-Muslims.The Final Communiqué of the Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit held in Mecca on 7-8 December 2005 (…) provides a clear message regarding the UN system of human rights:
The Conference called for considering the possibility of establishing an independent permanent body to promote human rights in Member States as well as the possibility in preparing an Islamic Charter on Human Rights in accordance with the provisions of the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam and interact with the United Nations and other relevant international bodies.We seriously question whether such a body would be “complementary” to the Human Rights Council or whether, given the wording of the Cairo Declaration, it will have shari’a law as its “only source of reference” and be seen as an alternative.
On 14 September 2000, in reply to a communication from the Association for World Education as to the “universality” of the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam published in Volume II: Regional Instruments, OHCHR, 1997, pp. 477-84 of, A Compilation of International Instruments), the legal advisor to the then HCHR replied:
The Member States which have acceded to and ratified United Nations Human Rights Conventions remain bound, under all circumstances, by the provisions of those texts as well as the erge omnes obligations under customary international law.We are writing to you today to request an official ruling from your legal advisor as to whether the above official statement on Human Rights Day by the OIC Secretary General -- in regard to the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam and a future “Islamic Charter” based on shari’a law -- would clash with the UDHR and the Universal Instruments (in A Compilation... Volume I, 1993).
Please accept our season’s greetings, and our sincere appreciation for your multifarious effort in holding to the highest standards of human rights and in guiding the international community along that straight and narrow path toward an appreciation of the universality of the UDHR.
Respectfully,
David G. Littman
WUPJ Representative, UN-Geneva
Beith-GIL, 12 Quai du Seujet, 1201 GenevaRoy W. Brown
IHEU Main Representative. UN-Geneva
1 Gower Street, London WC1E 6HD, UK
Posted by Robert at December 21, 2007 5:59 PM
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I DETEST ISLAMISM, ISLAMIZATION backed up by national/international polities, AND ISLAMIC SUPREMACY! O, when, LORD, will our government STOP PLAYING FOOTSIE WITH THE OIC?!
Posted by: John C![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/nav-commenters.gif)
at December 21, 2007 6:22 PM
Only TWO NGOs signed this?
How disgusting! We can see where the world is headed when, to all intents and purposes, the majority of NGOs are silent about Shariah Law becoming the basis for "human rights".
It's just a shame we can't adopt these practices in the west, when terrorists are found guilty!
Posted by: Jerusalem Posts at December 21, 2007 7:37 PM
&otIt's high time for the world to re-draft the UDHR. We clearly need new definitions of "human rights". One proposal I'd like to make is a two tiered system where there's one definition for "human rights" in nations where human rights actually exists, and another definition in Islamic nations where it's all pretend. ;Islamic Human Rights -- separate, not equal", might be a good way to appease the Muslims. They can pretend they have human rights, they can also pretend that Islam is superior, and we'd officially formalize the notion that Muslims are to be held apart and separated from the rest. This might make other subsequent developments easier to implement when the time comes.
Posted by: jsla at December 21, 2007 8:31 PM
Teachers of history, social studies, government should give their students a chance to examine, side by side, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and then the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights, so carefully crafted by Muslim states to appear to offer the same thing, when the second actually vitiates every important individual right enshrined inthe first.
Let the students write papers analyzing the differences. Let them use sources that provide the Islamic texts, and the tenets, that explain why the Cairo Declaration is so very different. A very instructive class could be held. If someone objects, ask that someone why he objects. What could conceivably be the objection to discover in what ways the Universal Declaration, and the Cairo Declaration, of Human Rights differ?
Posted by: Hugh at December 21, 2007 8:52 PM
Ok , everybody get a grip. In answer to the question "Will an Islamic Charter soon prevail over Universal Human Rights?" , the answer is no not unless a whole lot of non-islamic countries wish to adopt a specifically Islamic referenced declaration.I suspect the two NGO's were mischief making.
( And of course if Islam wishes to enshrine inequality between Muslim and non-Muslim then the West should make a mirror declaration with the inequality going the other way. It would solve all the West problems visavis the current Western Islamic populations.)
The Islamic countries are at least up front about the issue of "human rights". The former USSR I think signed the 1948 charter then ignored it ( or perhaps they thought it was 'opposite day' when they signed it).
Posted by: David Xavier at December 21, 2007 10:45 PM
There will never be a ruling on this. The UN will merrily go along, pretending there isn't a problem. Meanwhile the OIC will get away with anything they want, and simply mention something about the UN's failure to reign in Israeli war crimes or something in order to deflect whatever scrutiny might arise.
Posted by: Jimmy the Dhimmi at December 22, 2007 12:34 AM
The UN's human rights comission, or whatever they call it these days, have already displayed their rejection of Universal Human Rights by singling out Israel time and time again, and deferring to Islamic countries and their disgraceful record in human rights. There is no such thing as human rights in any country that observes Sharia law and practices Islam. We all know that.
It goes to show how irrelevant the UN has become thanks to the acquesence of Dhimmi Europe and Communist Russia and China.
All the more reason for Western countries to stop Muslim immigration into our countries. Islam already is overburdening our social, educational and judicial systems with their incessant demands for recognition of their Sharia observances and criminal aspirations in undermining our free societies.
Posted by: CLL1709 at December 22, 2007 9:57 AM
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