10-year anniversary of EU Freedom of Religion Guidelines celebrated at BIC
Over the summer, the Brussels office of the Baha’i International Community (BIC), alongside its partners from the European Platform against Religious Intolerance and Discrimination (EPRID), hosted two roundtable discussions for the 10th anniversary of the adoption, by the Council of the European Union, of the EU Guidelines on the Promotion and Protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB).
The document, which was first adopted on 24 June 2013, provides EU institutions and member states with guiding principles and tools to help implement fundamental FoRB rights in both European countries and in foreign policy.
“The 10th anniversary [of the Guidelines] proved to be a timely opportunity to review its implementation and efficacy, in protecting those who are affected by religious or belief discrimination or persecution, and to identify best practices and offer recommendations for the future,” said Sina Varaei, from the BIC’s Brussels office, and a member of the EPRID Board of Coordinators.
The panels featured Frans van Daele, Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU; Nazila Ghanea, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief; Raphaël Warolin, European External Action Service; John Kinahan, from the civil society group Forum 18; and Anastasia Hartman, from Open Doors International. EU officials as well as European human rights and other civil society and faith-based representatives also joined the events.
Professor Ghanea, the UN Special Rapporteur, highlighted in her remarks the wealth of “actors, expertise, networks and collaborations developed over many years in the field of FoRB,” and underlined the importance of collaboration with civil society organisations in informing the work of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate and amplifying international cases of FoRB violations.
The EU Special Envoy, Baron van Daele, meanwhile outlined several obstacles faced in promoting FoRB, understanding its importance, settling religious rivalries and institutional approaches to these issues. Baron van Daele added that education was key: “it is there that we begin and it is there that we can change what happens to the next generation”.
The event followed a series of initiatives which have been undertaken by EPRID in recent months in light of the 10th anniversary of the EU Guidelines on FoRB, including a series of informal roundtable discussions and interviews with key stakeholders.