Of course, the resolution had to be adapted or, less politely, “watered down,” to accommodate the interests of the countries represented. The first report is due on July 14, 2024, and will become an annual event. The Security Council adopted the UK/UAE proposal, which also requires the UN Secretary General to produce an oral report on Freedom of Religion and Belief related threats to international peace and security. This was a key finding of the report commissioned by the former UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt from the Bishop of Truro.”² And yet, religious minorities have time and again been specifically targeted, including in conflict. “Freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), including the freedom not to have a religion, is a fundamental human right. On June 14, 2023, at an international gathering to promote religious tolerance hosted by the UAE, James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, tabled a resolution for the Security Council on the importance of religious freedom.¹ The Emirates’ support meant that the proposal was sponsored both by a Western power and an influential Muslim country. Tajani emphasized that “the Government supports with determination the importance of interreligious dialogue and favors the construction of a shared action that puts the human person, his dignity and respect for fundamental rights at the centre.”Īnother development, one within the UN itself, is an initiative sponsored by the Governments of the UK and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, announced the appointment of Davide Dionisi, the former head of the foreign desk of L’Osservatore Romano, the daily newspaper of the Vatican City State, which reports on the activities of the Holy See. Italy has recently appointed a Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion. It argued that religious freedom is still comparatively neglected as a human right and that the ongoing persecution of Christians is still relatively unknown. What may at first appear to be merely bureaucratic shuffling may have real consequences.Īnd, while these processes are slow, even glacial, there is real progress.Īs I reported elsewhere, on May 17, 2023, the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, a growing association of several dozen countries committed to promoting religious freedom, released a significant statement on the current worldwide persecution of Christians. After all, if Iran has been chair of the United Nations Commission on Nuclear Disarmament and Saudi Arabia has chaired the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), then how can such resolutions be taken seriously?īut to many less influential countries in the world these resolutions mean a great deal and so the incremental accretion of such affirmations can provide direction and limits on future actions in the international arena. Also, many in Western countries that want to defend religious freedom often cannot see any point of general UN proposals and committees. Others, like the Chinese government, have an animus against religion itself. One reason why religious freedom has not received due attention internationally is that many leaders wish to play to domestic constituencies with animus against particular religious groups, especially minority ones. This is one of several recent moves to embed religious freedom within international deliberations. However, in a little noticed move, the Security Council, the UN’s highest body, passed a resolution earlier this month affirming the importance of religious freedom and thereby created a new reporting mechanism. Freedom of religion has usually fared poorly in United Nations deliberations.
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