Pakistan Blasphemy Laws “a Source of Victimization and Persecution of Minorities”
(PRWEB) April 17, 2003
PakistanÂ?s blasphemy laws, whose violators are virtually condemned to death, have been
cited by the World Council of Churches as examples of unacceptable religious intolerance.
The Council made the point in an oral intervention submitted with other organizations April 11 to the 59th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
“In some countries,” the intervention stated, “religious discrimination is inscribed in laws and imbedded in societal structures.”
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws 295 B and C, for example, punish violators severely, sometimes with death. “This has resulted over the years in religious intolerance and violence against Christians, Hindus and members of the Ahmadiye community, the imposition of discriminatory and repressive laws against religious minorities and extremist attacks against religious minorities, especially Christians,” the intervention said.
The laws in their present form are “a source of victimization and persecution of the minorities in Pakistan” who are often falsely accused, the intervention said. Even though vaguely defined, blasphemy carries a mandatory death sentence when against the Prophet Mohammed.
As a result, “many of the accused are killed, in some cases even before they are brought to trial.Â? Furthermore, “it has become virtually impossible to get a fair hearing” for those charged under theselaws in the prevalent environment of intolerance and of pressure exercised on the judiciary, the intervention said.
The intervention calls on the government of Pakistan to “repeal all discriminatory laws, including the blasphemy laws;Â? “ratify the human rights treaties that it has not yet ratified;Â? “invite the [UN] special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief to visit Pakistan;Â? and “take even stronger measures to protect the lives, property, respect and honor of minorities.Â?
The full text of the intervention is available on delivery on our website at:
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/pakistan-03.html
For further information, please contact the Media Relations Office,
tel: +41 (0)22 791 64 21 / 61 53
_________
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly, which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.