Today the delegation of the European Union to the UN together with the permanent
missions of Canada, the United States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, will co-host
a forum on combating anti-Muslim discrimination and hatred in New York. A press release from EU sent to Killid stated that the EU will be represented by Stavros Lambrinidis, EU special representative for human rights. The statement added that the day-long event at UN headquarters will examine the rise of anti-Muslim discrimination and hatred globally from the perspective of governmental, non-governmental, and private sector representatives, and provide recommendations for effective responses addressing this challenge in the future.
“We see a general rise in anti-Muslim hatred and discrimination not only in Europe, but also in
many other parts of the world. All forms of religious discrimination are unacceptable and the EU
is dedicated to counter this trend. Europe is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious area and the EU is
built on a high level of protection of basic human rights. No one should be discriminated
because of gender, race, ethnicity, religion or belief or sexual orientation. This is a universal
principal that all societies – the EU as well as Afghanistan – should respect and strive for,” says
the European Union Special Representative to Afghanistan, Franz-Michael Mellbin.
The European Union and its member states present in Afghanistan play an important role in
championing human rights including non-discrimination. The EU promotes and supports human
rights in all its development programmes and supports a wide range of projects and awareness
raising activities in Afghanistan.
