Shutterstock
The first UN Security Council Resolution directly addressing antisemitism was adopted on 14th June. Resolution 2686, a UK-UAE joint resolution on tolerance and religious freedom, cites growing concerns regarding hate speech and incitement to violence, calling for action on the persecution of religious and other minorities in conflict.
The details of the resolution mentioned “deep concern at instances of discrimination, intolerance and hate speech motivated by racism or extremism or directed against persons belonging to religious communities, including cases motivated by Islamophobia, Antisemitism or Christianophobia.” The resolution covers four key areas; concerning the condemnation of antisemitism, the persecution of minorities and religious groups, motivation for UN bodies to monitor incitement and extremism in conflict settings proactively, together with the detailing of mechanisms by which the Secretary General can bring situations of concern relating to incitement and minorities to the Council’s attention.
The findings build on the recommendations found in the Truro report commissioned by the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, an independent review of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s support for persecuted Christians which assessed the implementation of recommendations’ from a similar report in 2019.
Celebrating the Resolution, a UAE spokesperson highlighted that “is the first UN Security Council resolution to directly refer to antisemitism.”
The Deputy Permanent Representative to the UK Mission to the UN, James Kariuki, remarked that “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 again been specifically targeted, including in conflict”.
