Once again belying its stated purpose of "promotion and protection of human
rights around the globe," the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a
resolution last week straight out of George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984."
The measure, sponsored by Pakistan on behalf of a group of Islamic states,
employs Western-style references to "diversity," "interfaith harmony" and
"tolerance" in defense of a decidedly intolerant objective: a global ban on
criticism of religion — specifically, criticism of Islam.

"Islam is frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and
terrorism," states the resolution, the brainchild of the powerful 57-member
Organization of the Islamic Conference. One of the main culprits in this
"Islamophobia," the measure says, is "the print, audio-visual and electronic
media." The solution: Governments must "combat defamation of religions,"
including "stereotyping of religions, their adherents and sacred persons."

Not surprisingly, Canada, Chile and the European Union nations that sit on the
Human Rights Council opposed this resolution, which they recognized as a thinly
veiled attempt to legitimize the anti-blasphemy laws that theocratic Muslim
regimes use to squelch dissent and persecute religious minorities. Indeed, it
was hard for the measure's supporters to argue otherwise, given that Islam was
the only religion specifically mentioned in the resolution and the list of
nations backing the measure could, with a few exceptions, double as a who's who
of human-rights violators.

An attack on human rights couched in the language of human rights, the
"defamation of religion" resolution essentially would abolish free speech,
freedom of the press and freedom of religion in any country that adopted it. As
a statement of opposition released by a diverse coalition of 186 religious and
secular non-governmental organizations explained, the concept of "defamation of
religion" has "no basis in domestic or international law" and "would alter the
very meaning of human rights, which protect individuals from harm, but not
beliefs from critical inquiry."

The "defamation of religion" resolution is old trick at the United Nations,
where Islamic states that belong to the OIC have been passing similar measures
for a decade now. This year's resolution is the latest salvo in the
long-running campaign of Islamist extremists to use Western language and
respect for the rule of law to subvert Western ideals of freedom and democracy.

Their success has made the Human Rights Council an international joke. Its
forerunner, the Commission on Human Rights, was disbanded after it became
hopelessly corrupt. In 2006, the council replaced the commission in an attempt
to restore integrity to the United Nations' top human rights body. But the new
council still lacks membership criteria to weed out human-rights violators. So
the same repressive regimes that dominated the former commission dominate the
new one, making the council a textbook case of the fox guarding the henhouse.

Given the council's predictable continuation of old patterns — aiding and
abetting totalitarian states and singling out Israel, a democracy, for repeated
rebukes while ignoring human-rights violations by neighboring nations — the
Bush administration refused to seek election to the council when it was
reconstituted in 2006. The Obama administration announced Tuesday afternoon
that the United States will seek a seat on the council, though last week's vote
should have given President Obama pause. One more nay ballot from the United
States would not prevent the passage of such measures as the "defamation of
religion" resolution, which won by a double-digit margin. Rather than spurring
reform, America's presence on the council may only legitimize its sham
proceedings.

Genuine reform may be possible at the United Nations, but given its record of
self-correction in recent years, such renewal seems improbable. More likely is
continuation of the sorry status quo: repeated assaults on the concept of human
rights at the hands of the very organization charged with their defense.

Colleen Carroll Campbell is an author, television and radio host and St.
Louis-based fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Her website is
www.colleen-campbell.com.