Council of Europe: Presentation of Findings from the Islamophobia Report

25/3/2021

Honourable Chair, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Let me begin by expressing my appreciation for the kind invitation extended to me by the President of the Ministers Deputies to address this Informal Meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on my recent work on countering Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hatred to promote freedom of religion or belief.

As UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, the range of tools that I have at my disposal include sending urgent appeals and other communications to specific governments to raise concern about impending rights violations or to seek remedy for those that have already occurred;  making country visits with the country’s consent to undertake a detailed on-the-ground assessment of the situation;  engaging with civil society and  other stakeholders;  and presenting thematic reports to the UN on global trends and challenges. My thematic reports highlight emerging or existing challenges that require normative clarification and include recommendations for states and other stakeholders, in line with international human rights law. Within this broad remit, I have prioritised addressing issues of intersectionality to advance the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief for all, and to expand the engagement of the mandate with actors who may not have previously considered my mandate as either relevant to them or supportive of their human rights claims.

Accordingly, my reports have examined the relevance of gender equality and non-discrimination for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief; the importance of freedom of religion or belief for  attaining the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda; the intersection between national security and freedom of religion or belief; and the overlap between freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief. I have also begun the examination of a series of under explored topics by my mandate and this has already included a report on antisemitism as a human rights challenge; and the report on anti-Muslim hatred.  My next two reports will cover what freedom of thought including what freedom from religion means, as well as the religious freedom rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Today, I have been requested to share the findings of my report on Islamophobia, which I delivered before the Human Rights Council earlier this month. Everything in the Islamophobia report applies not just to contexts in which Muslims live as minorities, but also to Muslim majority states. And indeed, as the internet has become a global public forum, many of the findings apply to those situations where there might not be a Muslim population.

My reports findings were drawn from 12 roundtable consultations, 15 bilateral meetings and 106 written submissions from stakeholders representing all five geographical regions of the UN. I benefited from submissions from a number of states of the Council of Europe as well as from a range of intergovernmental bodies in the European space. I am grateful for their contribution and I look forward to continuing this constructive dialogue with stakeholders across Europe.  I would particularly like to express my gratitude to Mr Daniel Holtgen for his cooperation with my mandate throughout this period as his appointment came shortly after I began my preparatory work for this report.

Now let me turn to the key findings in the report.

Discrimination, hostility and violence motivated by anti-Muslim bias are serious obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief. While the dangers of Islamophobia have been vividly manifested through heinous and violent attacks against Muslims across the globe that have captured media headlines and international attention, the majority of the human rights violations and abuses engendered by Islamophobia often gain little attention, and, by some estimates, largely go unreported. Members of Muslim communities also recount alarming tolerance or indifference to their experiences of anti-Muslim bias, violence and discrimination.

Islamophobia is part of a family of xenophobic, racist and religious bigotry and hate, with gendered and intersectional impacts as in all these cases. In Muslim minority states, Muslims are frequently targeted based on visible ‘Muslim’ characteristics, such as their names, skin colour and clothing, including religious attire, such as the headscarf.

Rising numbers of hate crimes committed against religious or belief minorities worldwide, including Muslims, are often incited and aggravated by online hate speech. My report confirms the alarming increase of right-wing extremist groups that peddle misinformation and conspiracy theories about Muslims and who increasingly transcend borders by propagating hate online, particularly amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the dissemination of Islamophobic narratives is not confined to fringe extremist groups. Harmful stereotypes and tropes about Muslims and their beliefs also are widely reinforced by mainstream media, politicians and other public figures and in academic discourse. Muslim men are frequently cast as violent, disloyal, illiberal ‘others’, while dominant stereotypes about Muslim women oscillate between them being victims in need of rescue and terrorists hidden behind the veil. It is also important to note that surges in online hate speech are often catalysed by offline “trigger-events,” such as terror attacks (including attacks on Muslims), comments from public figures, or political events such as elections or referenda.

While States should take issues of “violent extremism” and national security seriously, their responses must comply with international human rights standards. In many jurisdictions, counter-terrorism measures have cultivated a climate of exclusion and marked an entire religion and its followers as “suspect”. This atmosphere pervades all aspects of Muslims’ everyday lives, whether in participating in civil and political life, or accessing essential goods and services - such as healthcare and education - or being subject to the scrutiny of the State’s securitization apparatus simply for practicing their religion. This makes it difficult for a Muslim to be a Muslim. Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed and deepened underlying structural inequalities in almost all aspects of life. There appears to be a vicious circle the feeds rotates from essentialised and homogenised views of Muslims and their beliefs and practices held by members of the public and state structures that legitimate such views, often seen in relation to the national structures to combat violent extremism.

While many special rapporteurs have called for the dismantling or review of such discriminatory security-related structures, and which I reiterate in my report, I also assert that addressing Islamophobia does not require creating new tools or frameworks. It requires a diligent implementation of existing international tools and frameworks, reviewing (and where necessary, repealing) domestic laws and policies to ensure their compliance with this framework. I refer to a number of tools developed by the United Nations system or with its support, especially in areas related to addressing incitement to violence, or to building societal cohesion. Of particular relevance is the Rabat Plan of Action on responding to hate speech in ways consistent with human rights standards; the action plan of Istanbul Process developed 10 years ago to strengthen societal resilience against hatred and  promote inclusion; and a range of educational tools developed by UNESCO and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Effective implementation of these tools will of course require developing an inclusive and context-specific definition of the phenomenon. The processes of identifying and defining the problem must be done in ways that respect all human rights including freedom of expression, gender equality, non-discrimination and freedom of religion or belief.

In my report I use the term Islamophobia to highlight both the private and institutional aspects of the problem, and to recognise the lived realities of victims. It is also the term most widely used by those who endure the human rights abuses caused by the phenomenon and points to the processes that fuel this harm. But I do so with a note of caution, as with all such labelling of social phenomena.

While I highlight the need to define “Islamophobia” as a non-binding educational tool, nothing in my report suggests that the high threshold to impose limits on free speech should be lowered. Critiques of Islam should never be conflated with Islamophobia, recalling that international human rights law protects individuals, not religions. The criticism of the ideas, leaders, symbols or practices of Islam is not Islamophobic per se; unless it is accompanied by hatred or bias towards Muslims in general.

In order to operationalise States’ obligations under international law in regard to freedom of religion or belief and non-discrimination, my report offers several practical recommendations to States, civil society, the media and internet companies, employers and the UN system, to work with Muslims, rather than on Muslims, to address and mitigate the impacts of Islamophobia.

Many Governments have taken steps to combat Islamophobia and pledged to strengthen their efforts. For example, the Council of Europe (through ECRI) and some EU member states have adopted policy recommendations or action plans for combating intolerance and discrimination against Muslims. I also note Council of Europe’s appointment of a Special Representative on anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes and all forms of religious intolerance, and the office of the European Commission’s coordinator on combating anti-Muslim hatred.

However, much work remains. I strongly encourage the Council of Europe and its member states to take all necessary measures to combat direct and indirect forms of discrimination against Muslims and prohibit any advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to violence. States may exchange ideas for best practice in monitoring Islamophobia, coordinate on joint advocacy on behalf of affected communities and commit to dispelling myths about Muslim communities.

The international community could increase coordination and collaboration in tackling Islamophobia, as a serious phenomenon that is simultaneously context-specific and that transcends borders, particularly in the digital age. It could also provide resources and enhance coordination with civil society, including Muslim CSOs and faith-based actors who are working to address Islamophobia and other forms of intolerance and discrimination.

Conclusion

To conclude, I should say that I am encouraged by the attention given by the Council of Europe to address anti-Muslim hatred, along with other forms of intolerance and discrimination.  As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserts in its opening lines, the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world is the recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. Infringing upon freedom of religion or belief, and a range of other human rights, Islamophobia undermines the agency and equal participation of Muslims, or those perceived to be Muslim, in societies across the globe. When this happens, we all suffer.

It is my hope that the present report will facilitate constructive discussions on the challenges that Islamophobia poses to freedom of religion or belief and the myriad other rights on which the enjoyment of this right depends, and on best practices for countering this concerning phenomenon. I look forward to continued engagement with the EU, its member states and other relevant regional stakeholders to address Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and all other forms of discrimination and intolerance on the basis of religion or belief.

Thank you.