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Date: 01/03/2006

Actions taken by the Pakistan Foreign Office following the publication of blasphemous caricatures of the holy Prophet (PBUH)

· Danish Newspaper Jyllands-Posten published offensive cartoons on 30 September 2005.

· The Muslim Ambassadors in Denmark held consultations during the first week of October and decided to make a joint demarche to the Danish Government demanding legal action against the newspaper.

(Because of the earthquake in Pakistan on 8 October, the entire focus of the Government was on rescue and relief operations. Pakistani media had also not focused the publication of sketches).

· On 12 October, our Ambassador in Denmark, along-with six other Ambassadors of OIC countries, in a letter, made a strong demarche to the Danish Prime Minister. On 21 October, the Danish Prime Minister in his response to the letter by Muslim Ambassadors, conveyed inability of the government to take action against the newspaper on the pretext of the freedom of expression.

· On 7 November, and subsequently on 30 January; 6 February; 13 February; and 20 February, press briefings were held to inform the media about the steps being taken by Pakistan in coordination with the OIC Member States. In addition, electronic media was kept informed.

· On 10 November, our Permanent Representative in Geneva, in his capacity as the Chair of the OIC Group on Human Rights addressed a letter to the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, seeking her intervention with Denmark to help stem this outrage against Islam.

· On 10 November, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Ambassador of Denmark in Islamabad to the Ministry to lodge a strong protest and demand immediate action by the Danish Government against the newspaper and prevent the recurrence of such reprehensible acts.

· On 6 December, at Pakistan's initiative, the Extraordinary Summit at Makkah-al-Mukarrammah emphasized the need to counter defamation of Islam in the Joint Communiqué. The OIC Ten-Year Plan of Action also approved proposals for combating Islamophobia.

· On 7 December, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, in response to our Permanent Representative in Geneva's letter stated that she understood the feelings of Muslims and was concerned about caricatures and actions that expressed lack of respect for others' religion and beliefs.

· On 16 December , at Pakistan's initiative, the 60 th Session UN General Assembly adopted resolution 60/150 calling on the international community to combat defamation of all religions and curb the tendency of Islamophobia.

· On 2 February, in the discussion on the proposed Human Rights Council in the UN General Assembly, our Permanent Representative in New York raised the subject condemning the provocation and suggested inclusion of appropriate language in the mandate of the proposed Human Rights Council.

· Subsequently, our Permanent Representative in New York formally proposed that the resolution for the establishment of new Human Rights Council should address the issue of religious intolerance.

· On 3 February, our Permanent Representative in Geneva convened another meeting of the OIC Group and addressed another letter on behalf of the Group, forcefully taking up the matter with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

· On 4 February, after the reprinting of derogatory sketches in Norway France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Holland, Finland, and Czech Republic, t he Envoys of these countries were summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a strong protest was lodged with them over this despicable act by their media.

· On 4 February, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs again issued a statement strongly condemning the publication of offensive cartoons.

· On 6 February our Permanent Representative in Geneva addressed a letter to the OIC Secretary General apprising him of the efforts undertaken by him in his capacity as Chair of the OIC Group on Human Rights.

· On 7 February, at the initiative of the Foreign Minister, the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution condemning this profoundly provocative incidence.

· On 9 February, at the initiative of Pakistan's Permanent Representative in New York, the OIC Ambassadors met to discuss the issue. Following which the Troika of OIC Ambassadors met with the UN Secretary General and stressed the need for UN role in ensuring respect for religious sensibilities.

· On 13 February, our Permanent Missions in New York and Geneva were instructed to revisit the publication of caricature issue from the point of view of international law and provisions of various UN Conventions. Our Missions in EU capitals were instructed to explore the possibility of appropriate legal action against newspapers under local laws.

· On 14 February, an Extraordinary Meeting of the OIC Ambassadors was held in Jeddah which at the recommendation of Pakistan adopted the following decisions:

i. The EU should adopt necessary legislative measures by the European Parliament against Islamophobia.

ii. The EU and OIC may jointly make efforts to adopt UN Resolution on the lines of existing UN Resolution 60/150 (Combating defamation of religions) which should prohibit defamation of all Prophets and faiths.

iii. The European Union should adopt a code of conduct for the European media. The code of conduct should take into account the sensitivities of the Muslims and defamation in any form or manifestation and the core beliefs of the religions including mocking and criticizing Prophets and it should be considered as an ethical offence in the European media code.

iv. The United Nations should adopt International Communication Order to put limits on the freedom of speech in case of religious symbols.

v. The draft resolution on the establishment of the proposed Human Rights Council, currently being negotiated in New York, should include operative provision prohibiting blasphemy.

· In pursuance of the Jeddah decisions, the Chair of the OIC Ambassadorial Group in New York nominated a group of Ambassadors to negotiate with the President of the General Assembly and Member States the proposal for inclusion of two paragraphs in the preambular and operative parts of the resolution on the establishment of the Human Rights Council on the question of defamation of religions. A paragraph in the preambular part of the resolution calling for tolerance, respect and freedom of religion and belief has been included in the President General Assembly's text.

· On 17 February, our Ambassador to Denmark was called back to Islamabad for consultations. Again a strong demarche was made calling EU Ambassadors to the Foreign office asking them to condemn the publication and reprinting of the blasphemous caricatures.

· During his visit to Pakistan on 21-22 OIC Secretary General's recent visit to Pakistan, this issue was discussed at length.

· On 21 February, the Foreign Minister and the Secretary General also issued a joint statement condemning the publication. The Secretary General publicly appreciated our Permanent Representatives in New York and Geneva for their lead role in addressing the issue.

· On 22 February, Pakistan sent a formal note to the OIC General Secretariat calling for an extraordinary meeting of the OIC Foreign Ministers. This request was also made to the OIC Secretary General during his visit to Pakistan.

· Our Permanent Mission is now exploring the possibility of a stronger resolution (action oriented) in the General Assembly against defamation of religions as a follow up of resolution 60/150.

· Our Permanent Representative in New York has been asked to further pursue the inclusion of an operative para in the Human Rights Council, adoption of a comprehensive International Communication Order and an international convention/additional protocol to one of the existing instruments against defamation of religions. We are in the process of eliciting support from the OIC Group.

· At the Prime Minister's instructions, a Parliamentary delegation, led by Religious Affairs Minister Mr. Ijaz-ul-Haq is visiting Brussels to interact with the EU Parliament.

Islamabad