Freedom Of Religion In The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights And In The Cairo Declaration On Human Rights In Islam

By: ICLA Admin
ICLA

The following can also be found on the OSCE website.

OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting

Working Session 6

Specifically selected topic: Freedom of religion or belief

Warsaw, September 26, 2013

Intervention on behalf of the Gustav Stresemann Stiftung e.V.

Freedom of religion in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam

When we speak of freedom of religion in particular and human rights in general here at the OSCE and in the United

Nations, we think that all participating states are doing this in the sense of the “Universal Declaration of Human

Rights.” But that is not the case, for several OSCE participating states are also members of the “Organisation of Islamic Cooperation” (OIC). In 1990, the OIC passed its own human rights declaration, the “Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam.”

In the Cairo Declaration all rights are subject to compatibility with Sharia, Islam law: There is no equality of man and woman. There is no equality of Muslims and non-Muslims. There is no freedom of expression. There is no freedom of religion and no right to declare apostasy from Islam.

In other words, the Cairo Declaration is nothing more than Sharia law in modern-speak.

Recommendations

Because the UN human rights declaration and the Cairo Declaration are diametrically opposed, the STRESEMANN FOUNDATION recommends to the OSCE:

1) To require of participating states who are members of OIC, a clear statement of what human rights they mean when they speak of human rights.

2) To reject all statements on human rights by OIC member countries which refer to the “Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam.”

Complete contents to be located at: http://www.islamdebatte.de/konfliktfelder/menschenrechte-im-islam.

Felix Strüning

Managing Director