India on Friday abstained from a vote in the United Nations General Assembly on a Pakistan-sponsored resolution on measures to combat Islamophobia, averring that while New Delhi condemns all “acts motivated by anti-Semitism, Christianophobia or Islamophobia, it is crucial to acknowledge that such phobias extend beyond the Abrahamic religions”.
Explaining the vote, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kambhoj, said: “Clear evidence shows that over decades, followers of non-Abrahamic religions have also been affected by religiophobia. This has led to the emergence of contemporary forms of religiophobia, particularly anti-Hindu, anti-Buddhist and anti-Sikh elements…. It is time we acknowledge the prevalence of religiophobia, rather than just single out one.”
Kambhoj warned that “allocating resources solely to combat Islamophobia while neglecting similar challenges faced by other faiths might inadvertently perpetuate a sense of exclusion and inequality”.
The resolution envisages the creation of a senior UN position dedicated to combating Islamophobia and says it will require a budgetary allocation. Opposing the creation of the post, Kambhoj hoped that the resolution would not “establish a precedent that could result in numerous resolutions centred on phobias tied to specific religions, potentially dividing the UN into religious camps”.
