NGOs gagged again at UN Human Rights Council

IHEU was prevented from speaking this week following the Special Rapporteur on Racism, Doudou Diene's report on "Islamophobia". Only four NGOs were able to speak in the total of 10 minutes allotted to NGOs. NGO participation at the HRC is becoming more myth than reality. IHEU's representative will be writing formally to the president of the Council asking for, as a minimum, the right to submit written statements when denied the chance to speak.

The statement that IHEU would have made, if it had been given the chance, follows. It was on behalf of IHEU and three other NGOs. It refers to two major omissions from the Special Rapporteur on Racism, Doudou Diene's analysis of "Islamophobia".

International Humanist and Ethical Union, 16 September, 2007

See also: Islamists try to hijack UN anti-racism conference to turn it into an “Islamophobia” jamboree