2013 COUNCIL OF EUROPE EXCHANGE
ON THE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION OF INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE 

“FREEDOM OF RELIGION IN TODAY’S WORLD: CHALLENGES AND GUARANTEES”

(Yerevan, 2-3 September 2013)

PANEL I
Speech by Mr Giovanni Carlo BRUNO, First Speaker,

Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the Council of Europe

·                     The European Union (EU) is strongly committed to tolerance, non-discrimination, freedom of expression, and freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief. EU firmly believes that dialogue is the only way to overcome misperceptions and differences of opinion and conceptions on these important issues. It is in this spirit that we attend this exchange of views.

Issues of religion and the right of freedom of religion or belief in the EU law

·                     Freedom of religion or belief is protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union which became legally binding on 1 December 2009 with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. The provisions of the Charter are addressed to the institutions and bodies of the EU and to member states only when they are implementing Union law. This means that the Charter does not establish a general power for the Commission, the executive body of the EU, to intervene in the area of fundamental rights, including the freedom of religion. It can intervene only when EU law comes into play, for example when EU legislation is adopted or when a national measure applies an EU law in a manner incompatible with the Charter.

·                     On the basis of article 19 TFEU, the Council, the legislative body of the EU, adopted in 2000 the Employment Equality Directive prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, religious belief, age and disability in the area of employment^[1]. A proposal to extend protection for religious belief together with sexual orientation, disability and age to the area of access to goods and services (known as the ‘Horizontal Directive’) was presented by the European Commission in 2008^[2]. The draft is still under discussion.

·                     On the basis of the former Treaty on European Union, the Council adopted on 28 November 2008 a Framework Decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law (2008/913). This Framework Decision obliges all member states to penalise the intentional public incitement to violence or hatred against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin. Furthermore, for any other criminal offences than those covered by the Framework Decision, member states are obliged to ensure that racist and xenophobic motivation is considered as an aggravating circumstance, or alternatively that such motivation may be taken into account in the determination of the penalties. The Framework Decision provides also for the liability of legal persons. member states have to comply with this Framework Decision and a review of its implementation is foreseen by the end of 2013, by the EU Commission.

·                     The Audiovisual Media Services Directive 2010/13/EU, adopted on the basis of Articles 47(2) and 55 of the former EC Treaty (Articles 53(1) and 62 of TFEU), prohibits content inciting to hatred on grounds of race, sex, religion or nationality in all audiovisual media services (both television broadcasts and on-demand services), whatever their means of delivery. In addition, the Directive obliges member states to ensure that audiovisual commercial communications “shall not include or promote any discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation”.

·                     There are other provisions in EU legislation which are relevant as regards the freedom of religion: for example, among others, the respect of ritual slaughtering in EU legislation applicable to animal welfare, or the requirement in the Schengen Borders Code and in the Visa Code that border guards and consular staff shall perform their tasks with no discrimination against travellers on grounds of religion or belief.

·                     The European Court of Justice (ECJ) also addresses freedom of religion when dealing with cases concerning general issues, e.g. freedom of circulation of persons and the exception of public order^[3]. For instance, under the principle of equality, the Court ruled that if a candidate informs in due course the appointing authorities that religious reasons make certain dates impossible for him/her, this should be taken into account when fixing dates for tests^[4]. Concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time, the ECJ annulled the EU rule providing for Sunday as a weekly rest day, explaining the weekly rest period is ultimately left to the assessment of member states, having regard to the diversity of cultural, ethnic and religious factors^[5]. On immigration issues, the ECJ also specified in a recent judgement^[6], what restrictions on the practice of a religion may be considered as persecution justifying the grant of refugee status.

External action

·                     In two sets of conclusions adopted by the General Affairs Council in November 2009 and by the Foreign Affairs Council in February 2011, the Council, the legislative body of the EU, reaffirmed the strong commitment of the EU to the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief. It also stressed the need to counter religious intolerance, and reaffirmed its intention to continue to give priority to these issues as part of the European Union’s human rights policy.

·                     In this spirit, the EU has been committed to keeping freedom of religion or belief at the top of its agenda, and to use its policy tools and financial instruments to support upholding this freedom.  EU Delegations have been requested to follow closely the situation in their host countries, in coordination with EU member states Embassies, and engage in  analysis and reporting, contacts with authorities and civil society, as well as funding of pertinent local projects.

·                     The EU annual human rights report, now addressees freedom of religion or belief in depth.

·                     The EU is focusing on enhancing action in the field of promoting tolerance and dialogue through training and awareness-raising on freedom of religion or belief, notably through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) which already funds projects related to FoRB. The new draft EIDHR Regulation for 2014-2020 includes specifically the issue of Freedom of religion or belief as a priority issue to be referred to in the answers to calls for proposals.

The Strategic Framework on Human Rights and Democracy (2012)

·                     The Council of the European Union adopted on 25 June 2012 a Strategic Framework on Human Rights and Democracy and the Action Plan, a fundamental human rights "package" for the development of the EU human rights policy. The Strategic Framework sets out the principles, objectives and priorities designed to improve the effectiveness and consistency of the EU policy in the next ten years. This framework is being put into practice through the Action Plan.

Developing new EU public guidelines on freedom of religion or belief is one of its deliverables. Such guidelines had to “build upon existing instruments and documents, recalling key principles and containing clearly defined priorities and tools for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief” (action n°23 a) of the Action Plan).

In parallel, the Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy also requests the EEAS and the EU member states to "promote initiatives at the level of OSCE and the Council of Europe and contribute to better implementation of commitments in the area of freedom of religion or belief " (action n°23 c) of the Action Plan.

EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief

·                     EU guidelines have proved to be a valid tool for framing into a more general scheme EU's external action, developed in the practice of the last years. EU guidelines are not legally binding, but because they have been adopted at ministerial level, they represent a strong political signal that they are priorities for the Union.

·                     On 24 June 2013 the Foreign Affairs Council adopted the guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief. The preparation of the Guidelines lasted very long and several external contributions came also from the CoE (Venice Commission, ECRI, DGI). With these guidelines the EU reaffirms its determination to promote, in its external human rights policy, freedom of religion or belief as a right to be exercised by everyone everywhere, based on the principles of equality, non-discrimination and universality. Through its external policy instruments the EU intends to help prevent and address violations of this right in a timely, consistent and coherent manner.

·                     In doing so, the EU focuses on the right of individuals, to believe or not to believe, and, alone or in community with others, to freely manifest their beliefs. The EU does not consider the merits of the different religions or beliefs, or the lack thereof, but ensures that the right to believe or not to believe is upheld. The EU is impartial and is not aligned with any specific religion or belief.

·                     The Guidelines explain what the international human rights standards on freedom of religion or belied are, and give clear political lines to officials of EU institutions and EU member States, to be used in contacts with third countries and with international and civil society organisations. They also provide official with practical guidance on how to seek to prevent violations of freedom of religion or belief, to analyse cases, and to react effectively to violations wherever they occur, in order to promote and protect freedom of religion on belief in the EU's external action.

·                     Operationally, EU action relies on the primary role of States in ensuring and providing adequate end effective guarantees of FoRB; moreover EU action is connected with the defence of other human rights.

·                     When addressing FoRB, the EU will pay special attention: to the acts of violence against persons based on their religion of belief; to the restrictions to the right to express opinion on religion or belief (being FoRB and freedom of expression interdependent, interrelated and mutually reinforcing rights); to the promotion of religious tolerance, respect for diversity and mutual understanding; to direct or indirect discrimination; to the possible violation of the absolute rights  to change or leave one's religion of belief; to the limitation of the right to manifest their religion or beliefs; to support and protect HRDs; to support, and engage with, civil society.

·                     The Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World maps the actions of the EU in the field of the promotion and defence of FORB worldwide.

·                     In 2012, intolerance and discrimination on religious grounds, as well as religiously motivated violence, have been under close scrutiny. The EU engaged bilaterally with various countries on the crucial importance of FORB. Whenever prompted by serious violations and concerns regarding religious freedom and related intolerance and discrimination, the EU expressed its views via diplomatic channels, public statements and Council conclusions, as for instance in the cases of Egypt, Nigeria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Pakistan, Syria or Tunisia.

·                     EEAS, through EU missions, will monitor respect for FoRB in third countries and will identify and report on situations of concern, in order to punt into place appropriate reactions (demarches, public diplomacy, State visits).

·                     The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), and other EU geographic and thematic funding instruments will be used for promoting and defending freedom of religion or belief. EU Delegations can support civil society projects on freedom of religion or belief under the Country-Based Support Schemes (CBSS).

·                     Consultation of civil society will involve human rights defenders, NGOs including domestic and international human rights and women’s organisations, churches and religious associations, philosophical and nonconfessional, essential elements for implementing and evaluating the EU guidelines.

Other acts adopted through active action of the EU

·                     The EU also explored possibilities for further cooperation with organisations, such as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) or the League of Arab States (LAS), and promoted the issue of FORB at a multilateral level, in the Human Rights Council (HRC) as well as in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

·                     The Secretary General of the OIC has recently – 3^rd International Expert Meeting on the follow-up of Implementation of HRC Resolution 16/18, Geneva, 19 June 2013 - defined resolution 16/18 of the HRC as 'the child of the cooperation between the OIC, the US and the EU'.

·                     EU reiterates its dedication to the Istanbul Process, a platform to exchange good practices, while emphasizing on the need to adopt an implementation oriented attitude of resolution 16/18. EU welcomes the organisation of the next events by Qatar (November 2013) and Chile (2014).

Conclusions

·                     To conclude, I would like to make reference to some recent EU projects and proposals to promote FoRB.

·                     The EU is strengthening its exchanges with international organisations, such as the Council of Europe (including the Venice Commission), the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), as well as with relevant regional and national bodies tasked with the promotion and protection of freedom of religion and belief. Regular meeting will be held in the context of the implementation of the EU Guidelines of 2013.

·                     The EU has decided to enhance its support to specific projects fighting discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief: under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), a call for proposals on combating discrimination on every ground worth 20 million euros has been launched in June 2013. The new EIDHR draft regulation for 2014-2020 includes specifically the issue of freedom of religion or belief as a priority issue to be referred to in the answers to call for proposals.

·                     EU reiterates the proposals, made in the context of the CM thematic debate of 13 December 2012 on "Freedom of religion and the situation of religious minorities", to identify fields of EU/CoE cooperation in training and education of FoRB, like the partnership between the EU Commission and the CoE in the field of youth on the Mosaïc project (training kit for Euro-Mediterranean youth work), which included a "religion and tolerance" chapter. Another example is the joint OSCE/UNESCO/CoE "Guidelines for Educators on countering intolerance and discrimination against Muslims: addressing islamophobia through education"…). EU strongly encourages discussions between the EU and CoE (for instance the North South Centre), the Anna Lindh foundation and the Alliance of Civilisations in the field of inter-religious dialogue.

·                     We hope more such exchanges will take place in future meetings and call on all participants to come up with specific achievements that can be inspiration for others.