This talk will examine the emerging approach of the UN human rights system, notably the Human Rights Council, to the protection of freedom of expression in its complex interaction with religious freedom and equality. The talk will focus on the proposal and adoption of Human Rights Council resolution 16/18 of March 2011 on combating discrimination on religious grounds, which made no reference to the controversial concept of “defamation of religions” that had dogged internationalcooperation on human rights issues for many years. This talk will seek to assess the significance of this new approach, which wasconsolidated at the General Assembly in December 2011, and evaluate its implications for other UN human rights bodies and processes.
Sejal Parmar (LLB hons, LSE; PhD, EUI, Florence) is Senior Legal Officer at ARTICLE 19 and Visiting Lecturer in International Human Rights Law at Queen Mary, University of London. She leads ARTICLE 19’s legal and policy work at the UN human rights bodies, notably on issues concerning religious freedom and equality, and has also worked at the EU, the Council of Europe and the OSCE levels. She has produced numerous policy statements, analyses, amicus briefs and articles and delivered presentations and trainings to a broad range of audiences around the world. Sejal was a member of the International Partnership Mission of leading human rights and media freedom organisations that visited Hungary in November 2011.