Marking the Worldwide Day to Fight Islamophobia, Guterres speaks out in opposition to bigotry, xenophobia and discrimination.
United Nations Secretary-Common Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over “a disturbing rise in anti-Muslim bigotry”, calling on governments to guard spiritual freedom and for on-line platforms to curb hate speech.
Guterres made the remarks on Saturday to mark the Worldwide Day to Fight Islamophobia marked yearly on March 15.
Rights teams around the globe and the UN have famous an increase in Islamophobia, anti-Arab bias and anti-Semitism for the reason that begin of Israel’s 17-month conflict on Gaza.
“We’re witnessing a disturbing rise in anti-Muslim bigotry. From racial profiling and discriminatory insurance policies that violate human rights and dignity, to outright violence in opposition to people and locations of worship,” the UN chief mentioned in a video publish on X. “That is a part of a wider scourge of intolerance, extremist ideologies and assaults in opposition to spiritual teams and susceptible populations.”
He referred to as on governments, with out specifying anybody nation, to “foster social cohesion and defend spiritual freedom”.
“On-line platforms should curb hate speech and harassment. And we should all converse out in opposition to bigotry, xenophobia and discrimination,” he added.
We’re witnessing a disturbing rise in anti-Muslim bigotry that’s a part of a wider scourge of intolerance & assaults in opposition to spiritual teams & susceptible populations.
This Worldwide Day to Fight Islamophobia, let’s work collectively to uphold equality, human rights & dignity. pic.twitter.com/QIO1TeWME5
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 15, 2025
In the meantime, UN Underneath-Secretary-Common Miguel Angel Moratinos mentioned Muslims had been dealing with “institutional discrimination and socioeconomic restrictions”.
“Such biases are manifested within the stigmatisation and the unwarranted racial profiling of Muslims and are bolstered by biased media representations, and by the anti-Muslim rhetoric and insurance policies of some political leaders,” he mentioned in a speech to the UN Common Meeting.
Rights advocates have for years raised considerations in regards to the stigma confronted by Muslims and Arabs due to how some individuals conflate these communities with armed teams.
At current, many pro-Palestinian activists, together with in Western nations equivalent to the USA, have complained and say that their advocacy for Palestinian rights is wrongly labelled by their critics as assist for Hamas in Gaza.
In latest weeks, rights watchdogs have printed knowledge noting file ranges of anti-Muslim hate incidents and hate speeches in international locations equivalent to the UK, the US and India, amongst others.
A report launched by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Tuesday mentioned that the 8,658 complaints concerning anti-Muslim and anti-Arab incidents final yr – representing a 7.4 % rise yr on yr – was the very best quantity for the reason that group started compiling knowledge in 1996.