(Vatican Radio) The UN Human Rights Council concluded its 20th regular
session on Friday, adopting 22 resolutions and a presidential statement on a wide
range of issues including the human rights situations in Belarus, Eritrea, Syria,
Ivory Coast, Mali and Somalia.
Other issues discussed included arbitrary detention,
the right to peace, the effects of foreign debt on human rights, freedom of expression
on the Internet and religious freedom.
Speaking at the session earlier this
week, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the
United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, stressed the importance
of protecting religious freedom.
“If there is respect in a country for freedom
of religion, then other human rights are respected and an environment is created that
facilitates progress for both developing and developed countries,” Archbishop Tomasi
later told Vatican Radio.
“It establishes a climates of confidence, mutual
acceptance and respect that becomes the right terrain on which the common good flourishes.”
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can find the full text of Archbishop Silvano Tomasi's statement below:
Madam
President,
With deep concern, the Holy See delegation calls attention to the
widening gap between the commitment and the stated principles of the international
community regarding freedom of religion, conscience, and belief and the right to
freedom of assembly, and the implementation of these fundamental human rights. The
use of bombs and violent attacks against houses of worship and Christian communities
at prayer have recently killed hundreds of innocent people in several countries. The
persistence of such crimes and their geographical spread, the support in personnel
and resources that fundamentalist groups provide them, their objective of destabilization
of peaceful coexistence in mutual respect and collaboration, are as many reasons that
should prompt a more effective response both in terms of public awareness and of preventive
action.
Religious strife is a danger to social, political, and economic development.
Religious conflict in a polarized society breaks the ties that are necessary for social
life and commerce to flourish. It produces violence which robs people of the most
fundamental right of all: the right to life. It sows the seeds of distrust and bitterness
that can be passed down through generations. Strife in one country can spill over
and cause serious difficulties in other countries.
In a similar way, disappearances,
arrests, detention, death threats and discrimination against converts and against
individuals belonging to religious minorities or other faith communities are not uncommon
all around the world. Violent attacks, statements and even school manuals inciting
violence and killings of members of religious communities and religious minorities
are on the news very often. Such threats to religious freedom profoundly affect human
dignity. Limitations on the exercise of this right jeopardize personal identity, conscience,
and fundamental life choices, and they impair the enjoyment of other human rights.
Pope Benedict XVI has expressed his grave concern about such disturbing situations
in various parts of the world as a result of which “it is impossible to profess one’s
religion freely except at the risk of life and personal liberty. In other areas, we
see more subtle and sophisticated forms of prejudice and hostility towards believers
and religious symbols.” Christians represent the religious group that is subjected
to religious persecution in the greatest numbers.
The transversal nature of
religious freedom demands equal and effective protection under the law without discrimination
for any person, but most especially for members of minority groups or persons who
might be vulnerable to prejudice or discrimination for a variety of reasons. Thus
the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action proclaimed that “… persons belonging
to minorities have the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their
own religion … in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form
of discrimination”.
Several other international human rights texts, General
Assembly and Human Rights Council Resolutions unambiguously state that “everyone
has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief.” The freedom
to manifest one’s religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance
is also guaranteed. “It is inconceivable that believers should have to suppress
a part of themselves – their faith – in order to be active citizens. It should never
be necessary to deny God in order to enjoy one’s rights.”
The ideals of
religious freedom – in worship, practice, and expression – are enshrined in the constitutions
of most democratic States throughout the world. Such freedom is, moreover, a multi-faceted
right, related, among others, to the rights to life and liberty.
In accord
with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Holy See Delegation
recognizes that States are obligated to create and support infrastructural measures
and favorable conditions to facilitate free and non-discriminatory development of
religious communities and their members. Thus the right to religious freedom is not
only an individual right but also constitutes a collective right for religious communities.
Madam President,
My delegation acknowledges the correlation between social
stability and recognition of human rights. Due to the unstable economic and political
contexts in States throughout the world, it is essential that all human rights, and
most especially the right to religious freedom, be protected. States must encourage
the formation of collaborative networks that aim toward mutual understanding, promote
inter-religious dialogue, and strengthen protection of religious groups through adequate
and effective guarantees of religious freedom through access to legal systems that
provide proportionate and adequate remediation and, when necessary, redress.
In
the view of my delegation, religious freedom cannot be restricted merely to freedom
of worship. Also included in this fundamental freedom should be the right to preach,
educate, receive new adherents, contribute to political discourse, as well as participate
in public activities. Most importantly, the right to freedom of conscience must be
upheld and protected. Believers should not be forced by governments to choose between
conformity to governmental policies or legislation and faithfulness to religious tenets
and beliefs. It also is important to respect the right of parents to a send their
children to schools that reflect their beliefs. Compulsory, “one-size-fits-all” educational
systems can constitute a direct attack on the rights and duties of parents to assure
the religious and ethical formation of their children. At the same time, all educational
systems should promote respect and protection of people without any prejudice toward
their respective religious beliefs or practices.
Madam President,
The
Holy See Delegation would like to conclude by citing the Vienna Declaration, which
calls “upon all Governments to take all appropriate measures in compliance with their
international obligations and with due regard to their respective legal systems to
counter intolerance and related violence based on religion or belief…”
Finally,
we encourage every State to ensure, protect and promote the legitimate right of people
to have, practice and to express their own religion or belief freely and without any
type of coercion and violence and without the constant fear of becoming victims of
anti-religious attacks that destroy their fundamental human rights. Thank you,
Madam President.