Human dignity and freedom of religion or belief forms focus of UN panel

Human dignity and freedom of religion or belief forms focus of UN panel

The panel brought together UN officials and academics to discuss human dignity and freedom of religion or belief on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council
Geneva—14 March 2019

“The inherent dignity of the individual can be used in a constructive manner and, through constructive resilience, minorities, rather than succumbing to oppression, can become actors in the betterment of the society around them”, a representative of the Baha’i International Community has said on a panel on human dignity and freedom of religion or belief at the United Nations.

The panel, held on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council alongside UN officials and academics, provided an opportunity for diplomats and civil society to further the discourse on freedom of religion or belief, and to highlight the nexus between this inviolable right and the inherent dignity of all human beings.  

“Here, at the Human Rights Council, governments are called to respect human rights, but all the documents referenced today show that preventing violations and upholding human dignity is also an individual choice and individual endeavor,” said Diane Alai, Representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

Ms. Alai shared how religion can be “one of the strongest inspirations for people to either act morally or, on occasion, act in a more negative manner, and that, as such, it would not be wise to disregard this force.” She further acknowledged that while “one must be educated so that they respect the dignity of others, there is, in fact, a need to be educated so that one might be aware of one’s own human dignity.”

Among the panellists was the UN Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ahmed Shaheed.

“Dignity allows us to come back to what is common to all of us: autonomy, agency, and equality. It is the foundation of all human rights,” said Mr. Shaheed, adding that human dignity allows for the establishment of “common ground, which could serve the discursive element of human rights.”

Ibrahim Salama, Chief of the Human Rights Treaties Branch at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), shared that in order to ensure the maintenance of both human dignity and freedom of religion or belief, it is necessary for governments and non-state actors, including religious leaders, to “move from the parallel tracks into convergences, from generalities to specifics [and to establish] who owes what to whom.”

In this connection, Jan Figel, EU Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the European Union, suggested the need for “religious climate change” through a renewed focus on human dignity, which he described as “a foundational principle, and the DNA of human rights.”

But rather than it being a purely abstract principle, Mr. Figel noted how “human dignity implies duties and responsibilities” and that, as such, when we express our dignity, we must be conscious of respecting the freedom of others to also express theirs. Mr. Figel suggested that when our dignity is expressed in this way, “it is a win win, [for] together we can be even stronger.”

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