Domestic

Domestic

PACE Summer Session ends

29 June 2007 14:22 (UTC +04:00)

The Summer Session (25-29 June) of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly is over today, APAâ€™s Europe bureau reports.
The last meeting of the session debated interreligious and intercultural dialogue. Two reports were presented on the theme.
Azerbaijani delegation members were actively participated in the debates of the reports. Azeri parliamentarians Rafael Huseynov, Gultakin Hajiyeva and Aydin Mirzazadeh expressed their positions.
The Assembly concluded that criticism of religions is permissible, inciting hatred against them is not.
â€œReligious groups must tolerate criticism and debate about their activities, provided it does not amount to gratuitious insult, but on the other hand hate speech â€“ inciting discrimination or violence against people of a particular religion â€“ should be penalised,â€ PACE said in a recommendation. Meanwhile blasphemy laws â€“ which often result from the dominant position of one particular religion â€“ should be reviewed. /APA/