UN finally issues mild condemnation of antisemitism
77 years since it was established, the United Nations has finally passed a resolution that includes a condemnatory reference to antisemitism.
The joint UK-United Arab Emirates resolution – Security Council resolution 2686 on Tolerance and International Peace and Security – expressed “deep concern” at discrimination, including antisemitism.
The four-page resolution made a solitary reference to antisemitism in one paragraph, which read: “Expressing deep concern at instances of discrimination, intolerance and extremism, manifesting in the form of hate speech or violence based on race, sex, ethnicity or religion or belief, such as but not limited to persons belonging to religious communities, in particular cases motivated by Islamophobia, antisemitism or Christianophobia, and other forms of intolerance which may occur in the lead up to, during, and in the aftermath of armed conflict, and in that regard, recognising the efforts of the United Nations system to address hate speech at the national and global level.”
The resolution was passed by the fifteen-member Security Council on 14th June.
The UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative Ambassador James Kariuki said: “Freedom of religion or belief, including the freedom not to have a religion, is a fundamental human right. And yet religious minorities have time and time again been specifically targeted.”
A spokesperson for the UAE said: “Among a number of other firsts, resolution 2686 is the first UN Security Council resolution to directly refer to antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Christianophobia, and also the first resolution to acknowledge that hate speech, racism, and extremism have the potential to stoke tensions, fuel grievances, and descend into conflict. The resolution acknowledges these phenomena as threat-multipliers and really is an unprecedented step forward for the Council.”
While the inclusion of a condemnation of antisemitism in a UN resolution for the first time in over three-quarters of a century is momentous, the resolution cannot reasonably be said to represent a recognition of the scale of the rise in anti-Jewish racism in recent years, let alone decades, nor of the UN’s role and that of many of its members in enabling it.
The resolution comes after the UN delayed a conference on combating antisemitism amid concerns from groups around the world, including Campaign Against Antisemitism, that the UN might fail to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism and thereby undermine the fight against the world’s oldest hatred.
Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.
