GENEVA / SWISS MINARET REAX (02:27)

1 December 2009

GENEVA / SWISS MINARET REAX (02:27)

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says Switzerland's ban on building minarets is regrettable. Such a ban is, "discriminatory, deeply divisive and a thoroughly unfortunate step for Switzerland to take, and risks putting the country on a collision course with its international human rights obligations." UNTV

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Full Script

STORY: GENEVA / SWISS MINARET REAX 
TRT: 2.27
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 1 DECEMBER 2009, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

SHOTLIST:

RECENT, GENEVAA, SWITZERLAND

1. Wide shot, Palais des Nations

1 DECEMBER 2009, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

2. Wide shot, press conference
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rupert Colville, Spokesman UN Human Rights office: 
“We regret Switzerland's ban on building minarets which will be enacted as a result of Sunday's referendum. Such a ban is discriminatory, deeply divisive and a thoroughly unfortunate step for Switzerland to take and risks putting the country on a collision course with its international human rights obligations. The High Commissioner for Human Rights Navil 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.” 
4. Close up, journalist
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rupert Colville, Spokesman UN Human Rights office:
“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 Swiss voters to overcome their long-standing support of fundamental human rights. Politics based on xenophobia or intolerance is extremely disquieting, wherever it occurs. Sometimes it is channeled against people of different racial or ethnic origin. It is corrosive, and beyond a certain point can become socially disruptive or even dangerous. We are not at that point in Switzerland, but this initiative taken alongside some of the blatantly xenophobic posters used in this and several recent political campaigns, targeting asylum seekers, migrants or foreigners in general is part of an extremely worrying trend.”
6. Close up, journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rupert Colville, Spokesman UN Human Rights office:
“Now you have a collision course between Swiss domestic legislation and international law that needs to be sorted out.” 
8. Wide shot, press conference

STORYLINE:

The spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said today at a press conference in Geneva that Navi Pillay regretted Switzerland’s ban on building minarets, which will be enacted as a result of Sunday’s referendum on the subject. Pillay was attending the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.

Rupert Colville said that such a ban was “discriminatory, deeply divisive and a thoroughly unfortunate step for Switzerland to take, and risks putting the country on a collision course with its international human rights obligations”.

Colville said the High Commissioner hesitated to condemn a democratic vote but had no hesitation at all in condemning the anti-foreigner scare-mongering that has characterized political campaigns in a number of countries, including Switzerland, which helped produce results like construction ban.

Noting that the Government of Switzerland did not support the referendum initiative, the High Commissioner's statement said that banning an architectural structure associated with one religion only was clearly discriminatory.

It recalled that some of the politicians who proposed the motion had argued that it wasn’t targeting Islam or Muslims while others claimed that banning minarets would improve integration.

The High Commissioner's office characterized these claims as "extraordinary" when the symbol of one religion was targeted.

Colville said that the High Commissioner was sad to see that arguments like these had sufficient resonance with a proportion of Swiss voters to overcome their longstanding support of fundamental human rights. He added that she felt the result of the vote taken alongside some of the blatantly xenophobic posters used in this and several recent political campaigns targeting asylum-seekers, migrants or foreigners in general were part of an extremely worrying trend.

Colville also said that said there was now a collision course between Swiss legislation and domestic international law that needs to be sorted out.

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