The Fundamental Rights Forum was held from 25 to 27 September 2018 in Vienna, Austria, and was organized by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights to “reboot human rights conversations”. Representatives from the Baha’i International Community’s Brussels Office and the German Baha’i Office of External Affairs participated in the lively discussions throughout the forum.

In the session entitled “Shared space of religion and human rights in the context of improving reception conditions of migrants”, participants were given the opportunity to explore how religious and human rights actors work together to improve the reception conditions of migrants. One participant emphasized that religion plays an important role in the life of migrants and that those who newly arrive tap into religion as a source of strength. He added that at the grassroots level, migrants often do not see the differences between their religious affiliations, but that religion is a connector between them. In the same session, it was also highlighted that in the field, different religious organizations are collaborating closely, and are able to comfort newly arrived migrants because they understand the role faith plays in their lives. 

Regarding the tendency to talk about human rights and religious actors as two different groups, representative of the German Baha’i Office of External Affairs, Ms. Saba Detweiler highlighted the importance of overcoming dichotomies such as “religion versus the secular” in order to create those conditions that are necessary for meaningful collaboration between a variety of actors.