Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) is organising a side event during the 61st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC61) entitled “Blasphemy Laws and the Persecution of Minorities in Asia: Human Rights Implications and Paths Forward.”
Across several Asian countries, blasphemy laws are increasingly used as tools to target religious, ethnic, and belief-based minorities. While international human rights law guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression, and minority rights, blasphemy provisions frequently contradict these protections when enforced in discriminatory, arbitrary, or disproportionate ways.
In practice, blasphemy laws often carry severe penalties, including long-term imprisonment and, in some jurisdictions, the death penalty. Allegations are frequently based on weak or fabricated evidence, social media posts, personal disputes, or false accusations. Even unproven allegations can result in arbitrary detention, mob violence, social ostracism, forced displacement, and widespread impunity for vigilante attacks.
Communities particularly affected include
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Religious minorities such as Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis, and others in Pakistan;
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The Bahá’í community in Iran, facing systematic persecution and criminalisation of religious identity;
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Women and girls in Afghanistan, where religious decrees and legal interpretations severely curtail fundamental rights and freedoms;
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Minority activists and communities across Asia subjected to harassment and prosecution under vaguely defined religious offence laws.
Blasphemy laws not only undermine freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), but also intersect with violations of minority rights, gender equality, due process guarantees, and the principle of non-discrimination. Their chilling effect on free expression and civic space further weakens accountability mechanisms and democratic participation.
This side event brings together UN mandate holders, human rights experts, civil society representatives, and advocates to examine regional patterns of abuse and discuss paths toward reform.
Objectives of the Side Event
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Examine how blasphemy laws are misused to suppress minorities across different Asian contexts;
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Highlight the gendered dimensions of blasphemy law enforcement;
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Identify avenues for UN engagement, international accountability, and state-level legal reform consistent with international human rights standards.
Live coverage will be provided via GHR TV World News, allowing global audiences to follow the discussion.
