HRC61 - EU Introductory Statement- Item 3/ L.33
UN Human Rights Council
61st session – Item 3
L.33 – Introduction
Freedom of Religion or Belief
EU Introductory Statement
Mr. President,
On behalf of the European Union, I have the honour to present to this Council draft resolution L.33, entitled “Freedom of Religion or Belief”.
The purpose of this resolution is to stress the importance of promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief. The resolution also strongly condemns all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief against individuals, and denounces any advocacy of religious hatred, both online and offline, perpetrated by anyone anywhere.
The right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief is a universal human right to be exercised by every human being either individually or in community with others and in public or private, regardless of who they are, where they live, and what they believe or do not believe in. Yet, around the world individuals continue to be discriminated, and in some cases even persecuted and killed because of their religion or belief - or the lack thereof. Worrying reports indicate clearly that the situation rather than improving, is getting more dire. This resurgence of religiously motivated discrimination is alarming, and calls all States to take more responsability in working to counter this scourge. This should also be in light of the fact that the free exercise of the right to freedom of religion or belief directly contributes to democracy, development, rule of law, peace and stability.
It is because of these reasons that we feel the need to continue to bring this resolution to the Council.
We are hopeful that the international consensus underpinning this resolution, which runs in parallel to the resolution on Combating Religious Intolerance presented by the OIC, can be upheld. This serves as an important normative basis, yet it is important to work more decisively towards implementation.
The resolution also calls on States to collaborate with the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. This is particularly relevant as we commemorate the 40th anniversary of this mandate.
Mr. President,
The EU would like to thank all those who engaged on this resolution for their constructive contributions, and in particular the OIC for its constructive engagement.
We hope that the resolution can once again be adopted by consensus and look forward to continuing the conversation on this important topic.
Thank you.