The protection of Religious Freedom improved now by the Council of Europe

At the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Rapporteur Mr. Valeriu Ghiletchi proposed the members of the Assembly coming from the 47 countries a Resolution and a Recommendation for “The protection of the rights of parents and children belonging to religious minorities”. After having conducted very intense debates at the very Committee of Equality and[…]

High level seminar on Freedom of religion in Europe: achievements and perspectives

The high-level seminar “Freedom of Religion in Europe: achievements and perspectives”, organised by the Permanent Representation of San Marino and the Council on International Law and Politics, will explore recent achievements and perspectives on freedom of religion, focusing on issues related to migrations, refugees and education in Europe. Minister for Foreign and Political Affairs and[…]

The rapporteur Mr Valeriu Ghiletchi,presents his memorandum on “The protection of the rights of parents and children belonging to religious minorities”

Here you can find the explanatory memorandum by Mr. Valeriu Ghiletchi 1. Introduction 1. The Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination appointed me as rapporteur on “The protection of the rights of parents and children belonging to religious minorities” on 3 December 2014. I presented a preliminary draft report in April 2016 and a draft report[…]

Council of Europe wants to protect the rights of parents and children belonging to religious minorities

Next April 27th, 2017 the PACE of the Council of Europe a motion to protect the rights of parents and children belonging to religious minorities. The PACE Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination today called on all Council of Europe member states to protect the rights of parents and children belonging to religious minorities by taking[…]

STATEMENT BY THE EUROPEAN UNION AT THE 1139th MEETING OF THE OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL ON BANNING THE JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES IN RUSSIA

PC.DEL/441/17/Rev.2 5 April 2017 ENGLISH Original: FRENCH STATEMENT BY THE EUROPEAN UNION AT THE 1139th MEETING OF THE OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL 30 March 2017 On banning Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia The European Union is concerned at the latest developments regarding Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. The decision by the Ministry of Justice to suspend the activities[…]

By Eugenia Relaño: Woman and Muslim, double discrimination

One of the fundamental principles of European construction is equality. It underlies two values that qualify a society as democratic: human dignity and personal autonomy. Respect for human dignity means recognizing all individuals the same value regardless of their sexual orientation, race, religion or disability. And ensuring that anyone has personal autonomy means that he[…]

Children also have the right to freedom of religion or belief, and that must be protected

UN (23.10.2015) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, on Thursday called on all Governments represented at the UN General Assembly « to respect religious practices by children and their families and support families in fulfilling their role in providing an enabling environment for the realisation of the rights[…]

EPP and COMECE organize conference on EU Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief

COMECE and the EPP Group organise a Conference in the European Parliament titled “EU Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief. What’s next?” The main objective of the event is to provide a platform to discuss religious and intercultural aspects of different EU policy areas. “EU Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief. What’s next?”[…]

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES RESPOND TO RUSSIA’S RELIGIOUS BAN

(from http://www.worldreligionnews.com/?p=36107 ) The Supreme Court of Russia is set to judge whether Jehovah’s Witnesses can be considered as an “extremist” body. This came after the Russian Justice Ministry made its application for an order which will shut the national headquarters of this group. Jehovah’s Witnesses has its base near St. Petersburg. The website of the[…]

Special Rapporteur Reports to UN Human Rights Council on Violations of Freedom of Religion or Belief

The rise of hatred, hostility, discrimination and violence based on religion or belief was the subject of the first presentation by United Nations Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed to the U.N. Human Rights Council. The Rapporteur spoke during the 34th regular session of the Human Rights Council that ended its annual March four-week session March 26. Mr. Shaheed[…]