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VIOLENCE COMMITTED “IN THE NAME OF RELIGION” CAN LEAD TO
MASSIVE VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS – UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR
Multiple dimensions of this report relate to “religious” violence against women and girls.
For Full Report: Click on http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session28/Pages/ListReports.aspx
and scroll down to A/HRC/28/66. Then click on Report in UN language translation of choice.
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United Nations |
A/HRC/28/66 |
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General
Assembly |
Distr.: General 29 December 2014 Original: English |
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Human Rights Council
Twenty-eighth session
Report
of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt
Summary |
Violence committed “in the name of religion”,
that is, on the basis of or arrogated to religious tenets of the perpetrator,
can lead to massive violations of human rights, including freedom of religion
or belief. |
In the present report, the Special Rapporteur
first provides a typological description of various forms of violence carried
out in the name of religion. He subsequently explores root causes and
relevant factors that underlie such violence. The main message is that
violence in the name of religion should not be misperceived as a “natural” outbreak
of collective acts of aggression that supposedly reflect sectarian
hostilities existing since time immemorial. Rather, it typically originates
from contemporary factors and actors, including political circumstances. |
The Special Rapporteur also recommends
concerted actions by all relevant stakeholders, including States, religious
communities, interreligious dialogue initiatives, civil society organizations
and media representatives, in order to contain and eventually eliminate the
scourge of violence committed in the name of religion. |
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III. Conclusions and recommendations
1. Violence in the name of religion
does not “erupt” in analogy to natural catastrophes and it should not be
misconstrued as the inevitable result of sectarian hostilities that supposedly
originated centuries or millennia ago, thus seemingly lying outside of the
scope of the responsibility that different actors have today. It is important
to overcome fatalistic attitudes that often stem from simplistic descriptions
of the phenomena. Rather than being rooted in seemingly “perpetual” religious
antagonisms, violence in the name of religion is typically caused by
contemporary factors and actors, including political circumstances, which
provide the fertile ground for the seeds of hatred.
2. While it would be wrong to focus on
religion in isolation when analysing the problem, it would be equally
simplistic to reduce religious motives to mere “excuses” for violent crimes
perpetrated in their name. What is needed is a holistic understanding of the
various factors involved in violence committed in the name of religion. Typical
factors are the lack of trust in the rule of law and fair functioning of public
institutions; narrow-minded and polarizing interpretations of religious
traditions that may bring about societal fragmentation processes with
far-reaching negative repercussions on social relations; and policies of deliberate
exclusion, often in conjunction with narrowly defined national identity
politics and other factors; denial and impunity for serious violations of
international human rights and humanitarian law.
3. Only a full account of the various
root causes of the problems can build an awareness of the joint responsibility,
which a broad range of actors have in fighting violence committed in the name
of religion. Against this background, the Special Rapporteur formulates the
recommendations below addressed to the various stakeholders.
A. Recommendations to all relevant stakeholders
4. Government representatives,
religious communities, civil society organizations, the media and other
relevant stakeholders should reject and speak out promptly, clearly and loudly
against any acts of violence committed in the name of religion as well as
related incitement to violence and discrimination in law and practice, thus
overcoming the culture of silence that exists in some countries. They should
act swiftly and in concert to deter and stop such violence.
5. Public condemnations against
violence committed in the name of religion should be made on the basis of an
adequately complex analysis of the problem, including its underlying systemic
root causes.
6. The different stakeholders should
jointly contribute to the containment and eventual elimination of violence
committed in the name of religion by making creative use of their space and
specific potential. They should also cooperate in neutralizing any possible
radicalization efforts that target foreign fighters who returned to their
country of origin.
B. Recommendations to different State institutions
7. States have the responsibility to
protect its populations, whether nationals or not, from genocide, war crimes,
ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, and from their incitement.
8. States have the obligation to act
swiftly to stop acts of violence committed in the name of religion, against
individuals, groups and places of worship. Overcoming a culture of impunity,
wherever it exists, must be a priority. Those who commit or are complicit in
acts of violence must be brought to justice.
9. States should safeguard the memory
of all population groups, and of religious communities in particular, including
by developing and protecting national archives, memorial museums and monuments.
10. States must respect freedom of
religion or belief and all other human rights when undertaking actions to
contain and combat against violence in the name of religion.
11. Legislation that renders the
existence of certain religious communities “illegal” in the country should be
revoked.
12. States should repeal anti-blasphemy
laws, anti-conversion laws and any other discriminatory criminal law
provisions, including those based on religious laws.
13. States should provide disaggregated
data on acts of violence committed in its jurisdiction, including on possible
religious motivations.
14. In order to operate as a credible
guarantor of freedom of religion or belief for everyone, the State should not
identify itself exclusively with one particular religion or belief at the
expense of equal treatment of the followers of other faiths. Any exclusivist
settings should be replaced by an inclusive institutional framework in which
religious diversity can unfold without discrimination and without fear.
15. Anti-discrimination legislation
should protect the equality of all in their enjoyment of human rights, across
religious or denominational divides, thus preventing or overcoming divisiveness
within society. States should in particular take steps to assure that the
rights of all will be protected so that all can feel safe in their religions or
beliefs.
16. In close consultation with all
relevant stakeholders, States should develop national action plans on how to
prevent violence committed in the name of religion, but also other forms of
religious persecution carried out by State agencies or non-State actors.
17. Textbooks used for school education
should not contain negative stereotypes and prejudices, which may stoke
discrimination or hostile sentiments against any groups, including the
followers of certain religions or beliefs.
18. States should use all available
means, including education and community outreach, in order to promote a
culture of respect, non-discrimination and appreciation of diversity within the
larger society.
19. National human rights institutions
are encouraged to take an active ownership of the Rabat Plan of Action on the
prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that
constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, for the
development of strategies towards eliminating the root causes of violence
committed in the name of religion.
20. States should refrain from stoking
violent religious extremism in other countries.
C. Recommendations to religious communities
21. When religious communities and their
leaders address any violence committed in the name of their religion, they
should take seriously the relevance, inter alia, of religious motives often
stemming from narrow-minded, polarizing and patriarchal interpretations of
religious traditions.
22. In situations in which speaking out
against violence may be dangerous, fellow believers living in safer political
environments should lend their voices and clearly condemn violence committed in
the name of their religion.
23. Religious communities and their
leaders should promote empathy, respect, non-discrimination and an appreciation
of diversity. They should challenge the authenticity claims of religious
extremists by exposing their views as being ignorant of the charitable core
messages contained in religious traditions. Additionally, they should share
with others their beliefs in the importance of respecting the rights of others,
thereby contributing to a sense that the rights of all will be respected.
24. Religious communities should feel
encouraged to start initiatives of interreligious communication and
cooperation, including the establishment of interreligious councils. A broad
representation, including gender balance and participation of different
generations, can ensure that larger populations can take active ownership of
such initiatives.
D. Recommendations to civil society organizations
25. Civil society organizations should
continue to collect information about the situation of human rights and support
people living under conditions of intimidation by following up on their cases.
26. The findings of civil society
organizations should be more systematically used in their early warning
function, notably in volatile situations.
27. Civil society should continue to
play a role in overcoming a culture of silence in the face of violence
committed in the name of religion, thereby sending a signal of solidarity to
targeted individuals and groups.
28. Faith-based and secular civil
society organizations should work together, including by creating common
platforms, thereby demonstrating that a commitment to human rights can create
solidarity across all religious, cultural and philosophical divides.
29. Human rights defenders operating in
dangerous situations deserve particular attention and support by networks
designed to defend the defenders.
E. Recommendations to the media
30. In close collaboration with civil
society organizations, representatives of the media should defend their independence,
professionalism and integrity and address incidents of violence, their various
root causes and the political circumstances in which they take place.
31. The media should help to bring about
a culture of public discourse that is a prerequisite to checking hostile
rumours and fearful narratives, which should be exposed to public scrutiny or
counter-narratives in order to prevent them from escalating to fully-fledged
conspiracy projections.
32. Careful fact-finding is the most
important antidote to negative media campaigns that target religious minorities
or other groups. Such fact-finding may also include a public analysis of
collective historical traumas.
33. The media can help restore the
faculty of empathy by making people aware that the members of groups facing
systematic discrimination, far from being “aliens”, have quite similar fears,
hopes and feelings.
F. Recommendations to the international community
34. The international community is
reminded of its duty to assist and build the capacity of States in fulfilling
their commitments to the responsibility to protect their populations from
genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, as
concluded in the 2005 World Summit.
35. Human rights mechanisms, including
the special procedures, treaty bodies and universal periodic review, are
encouraged to address the issue of violence in the name of religion and State
involvement in such violence.
36. The international community should
hold States and non-State armed groups to account and make them aware of their
existing obligations under international law, including human rights,
humanitarian, criminal and refugee law.