Humanists call on Greece to ban incitement to hatred and abolish blasphemy

At the UN a group of humanist NGOs have called on Greece to decriminalise blasphemy in the country and ensure that incitement to racial hatred is outlawed.

During the 33rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Cordelia Tucker O’Sullivan, on behalf of the Humanist Union of Greece (HUG),  the British Humanist Association (BHA), the European Humanist Federation (EHF) and the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) made a statement supporting Brazil’s call to decriminalise blasphemy, to prohibit the dissemination of  ideas relating to racial superiority or hatred and declare illegal organisations who incite racial discrimination, as recommended by a number of  UN experts.

This follows an open letter sent to Greece’s Ministry of Justice in June, by dozens of humanist and secularist organizations, including the IHEU, the EHF and HUG, which called on the Greek government to follow through on its commitment to freedom of thought and expression, and finally abolish its “blasphemy” laws.

Panayote Dimitras, Spokesperson of the Humanist Union of Greece, commented, “This statement marked the first time that non-governmental organisations raised before the Human Rights Council the need for Greece to bring its human rights legislation up to contemporary standards; i.e. by decriminalizing blasphemy and re-criminalizing racist hate speech. Until now, it has only been UN Treaty Bodies that have addressed these issues in Greece.

The group of humanist organisations also submitted a written statement on the issue.

The oral statement follows in full below:

ORAL STATEMENT
British Humanist Association (BHA)
International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU)
European Humanist and Ethical Union (EHF)
Humanist Union of Greece (HUG)

UN Human Rights Council, 33rd Session (13 – 30 September 2016)
Item 6 – Greece UPR
Suggested recommendations to Greece on combating racism and abolishing blasphemy laws

I give this statement on behalf of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, the European Humanist Federation, the Humanist Union of Greece, and the British Humanist Association.

Our organisations welcome the UN CERD’s concluding observations on the periodic reports of Greece published on 29 August 2016, and request that the recommendations raised therein are accepted by Greece and integrated into their legal framework.

In particular, we urge Greece to:

• Recognise that the fundamental right to freedom of expression should not undermine the principles of dignity, tolerance, equality, and non-discrimination, as the exercise of the right to free expression carries with it special responsibilities, among which is the obligation not to disseminate ideas relating to racial superiority or hatred, a principle reiterated by the UN CERD;
• As a consequence of the above, bring its anti-racism legal framework into full compliance with the requirements of article 4 of the ICERD, by restoring the criminalisation of the dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority, as recommended by the UN CERD, and also in February 2015 by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance;
• Declare illegal, and prohibit, organisations which promote and incite racial discrimination, such as the Golden Dawn political party, as recommended by the UN CERD both in 2009 and again in 2016, and also by the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia related to intolerance, as well as by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and;
• Ensure that they follow through with their commitment to ensure religious freedom and tolerance by decriminalising blasphemy, as recommended by the delegation of Brazil , and abolish articles 198 and 199 from its Criminal Code that are used in a discriminatory manner only in cases of blasphemy against the official Orthodox Christian religion, as recommended by the UN CERD.