In the report, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said there was a disturbing trend in 2010 of repression of vulnerable minorities, including racial, ethnic and religious minorities along with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people .
Without mincing words, Clinton lambasted Pakistan as a country where "blasphemy remains a crime punishable by death," adding, "the blasphemy law has been enforced against Muslims who do not share the beliefs of other Muslims, and also against non-Muslims who worship differently."
"In the first two months of 2011, two government officials in Pakistan who sought to reform the law, Governor Taseer and Minister Bhatti, were targeted by a fatwa and assassinated," she said.
On the positive side, Clinton had words of encouragement for the Colombian government which she said, had "began consulting with human rights defenders."
She said other nations showing positive directions are Guinea and Indonesia.
Clinton said Guinea got eulogies for holding free and fair elections with the inauguration of its first democratically elected president, while she appreciated Indonesia for a vibrant free media and a flourishing civil society at the same time as it faces up to challenges in preventing abuses by its security forces and acting against religious intolerance. (*)
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Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
