A spokesperson of the UN Human Rights Council has said they will convene an urgent session to address the recent burning of the Koran in Stockholm, which has sparked widespread global outrage.
The incident took place outside the main mosque in the Swedish capital last Wednesday and has resulted in a diplomatic backlash across the Muslim world.
The act was carried out by Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old who had sought refuge in Sweden after fleeing from Iraq several years ago. He stomped on the sacred book and set several pages on fire, coinciding with the observance of the Eid al-Adha holiday by Muslims worldwide and the conclusion of the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
In response to a request from Pakistan, the UN Human Rights Council, currently in session until July 14 in Geneva, will modify its agenda to include an urgent debate on this matter.
“The UN Human Rights Council will hold an urgent debate to ‘discuss the alarming rise in premeditated and public acts of religious hatred, as manifested by the current desecration of the holy Koran in some European and other countries’,” council spokesman Pascal Sim told reporters, citing the wording of the request.
“This urgent debate will be convened following a request of Pakistan, sent on behalf of several members of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, including those that are members of the Human Rights Council.
“The urgent debate will most likely be convened this week at a date and time to be determined by the bureau of the Human Rights Council that is meeting today.”
There are 47 members of the Human Rights Council. The UN’s top rights body is currently in the second of its three regular sessions per year.