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Human Rights Chief says banning minarets is discriminatory
The United Nations has termed the move by Switzerland to ban the building of minarets as discriminatory and deeply divisive.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay described the move as unfortunate adding that it puts Switzerland on a collision course with its international human rights obligations. Patrick Maigua reports from Geneva:
minaret
The move to ban minarets, an architectural feature of Islamic mosques, was adopted by Swiss voters in a referendum held last Sunday. UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said the banning of an architectural structure that is associated with one religion only was discriminatory. She said the ban on minarets was based on politics of xenophobia and intolerance. Rupert Colville is the spokesman of the UN Human Rights Office.
"The High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has said she hesitates to condemn a democratic vote, but she has no hesitation at all in condemning the anti- foreigner scare-mongering that has characterized political campaigns in a number of countries including Switzerland which helps produce results like this. We note that the government of Switzerland did not support the referendum initiative and that it is now in a very difficult position. Some of the politicians who proposed this motion argued that it was not targeting Islam or Muslims. Others claimed that banning minarets would improve integration. These are extraordinary claims when symbols of one religion are targeted in this way. We are sad to see that arguments like these have sufficient resonance with a proportion of Swiss voters to overcome their long-standing support of fundamental human rights. Politics based on xenophobia or intolerance is extremely disquieting, wherever it occurs."
Ms Pillay said the ban on minarets amounts to the stigmatization of people based on their religion and belief, adding that if allowed to gather momentum, this form of discrimination and intolerance may not only lead to considerable harm to individual members of the targeted group, but also divide and harm the society in general. Patrick Maigua UN Radio Geneva
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