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European Parliament Working Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief strongly condemns attack on the All Saints Church in Pakistan

The European Parliament Working Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief, co-chaired by Dennis de Jong (SP) and Peter van Dalen (ChristenUnie), strongly condemns the suicide attack on the All Saints church in Peshawar, Pakistan on Sunday. The suicide attack was targeted to attack Christians as an estimated 500 people were attending Sunday mass. The attack killed 81 and wounded 140 and was the worst attack in the history of Pakistan’s Christian community. Following the attacks protestors gathered outside the church to protest against the provincial government’s failure to provide security to worshipers. The Jundullah wing of the Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility.

There has been an increase in social hostility against Pakistan’s religious minorities with this bombing following a series of other attacks against religious minorities in Pakistan.  In recent months, there have been suicide attacks against Pakistan’s Shia minorities resulting in many deaths and people injured. Furthermore there have also been a lot individual cases of religious minorities being threatened or killed.   Religious violence in Pakistan is rooted in deep antagonism in the country that exists toward minorities.

The European Parliament Working Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief calls on the Pakistani government and the provincial government to find the culprits of the attack and bring them to justice. The Working Group also call upon the government to tackle social hostility against religious minorities and to make sure that crimes are punished and that the government provide security to religious minorities so that they can practise their faith openly and safely.

 

Contact information:

Alfiaz Vaiya

Secretariat

European Parliament Working Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief

Tel: +32 (0) 471661381

Email: a.vaiya@religiousfreedom.eu

www.religiousfreedom.eu


Rédigé par EU Parl WG on FoRB le Monday, September 23rd 2013 | Comments (0)

Freedom of opinion, religion and belief
Persecution of, and discrimination against, minority-groups


Event : A cause for concern in Europe - 16 October 2013 - Brussels
This conference will be held on the 16th of October 2013 (13:00 to 18:00) at 2 minutes walk from the EU parliament, Renaissance Hotel (Mariott), Rue du Parnasse, 1050 Brussels. To reserve your place, please contact:  Eric, +33 647 695 235, eiforumrf@gmail.com

Rédigé par EIFRF le Friday, September 20th 2013 | Comments (0)

EIFRF starting new cooperation with United Religions Initiative Europe
Approval Committee of United Religions Initiative’s (URI) Global Council on August 14, 2013 has officially approved EIFRF as a URI Cooperation Circle.

This means that while being absolutely independant, EIFRF is also promoting the values contained in the Charter of URI, and cooperates twards the goals and purposes of URI, which is an interfaith international network of more than 592 interfaith groups throughout the world.

Here is the charter of URI:

Charter of United Religions Initiative
 
Preamble
 
We, people of diverse religions, spiritual expressions and indigenous traditions throughout the world, hereby establish the United Religions Initiative to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings.
 
We respect the uniqueness of each tradition, and differences of practice or belief.
 
We value voices that respect others, and believe that sharing our values and wisdom can lead us to act for the good of all.
 
We believe that our religious, spiritual lives, rather than dividing us, guide us to build community and respect for one another.
 
Therefore, as interdependent people rooted in our traditions, we now unite for the benefit of our Earth community.
 
We unite to build cultures of peace and justice.
 
We unite to heal and protect the Earth.
 
We unite to build safe places for conflict resolution, healing and reconciliation.
 
We unite to support freedom of religion and spiritual expression, and the rights of all individuals and peoples as set forth in international law.
 
We unite in responsible cooperative action to bring the wisdom and values of our religions, spiritual expressions and indigenous traditions to bear on the economic, environmental, political and social challenges facing our Earth community.
 
We unite to provide a global opportunity for participation by all people, especially by those whose voices are not often heard.
 
We unite to celebrate the joy of blessings and the light of wisdom in both movement and stillness.
 
We unite to use our combined resources only for nonviolent, compassionate action, to awaken to our deepest truths, and to manifest love and justice among all life in our Earth community.
 
 
 
Purpose
 
The purpose of the United Religions Initiative is to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings.
 
 
 
Principles
 
The URI is a bridge-building organization, not a religion.
We respect the sacred wisdom of each religion, spiritual expression and indigenous tradition.
We respect the differences among religions, spiritual expressions and indigenous traditions.
We encourage our members to deepen their roots in their own tradition.
We listen and speak with respect to deepen mutual understanding and trust.
We give and receive hospitality.
We seek and welcome the gift of diversity and model practices that do not discriminate.
We practice equitable participation of women and men in all aspects of the URI.
We practice healing and reconciliation to resolve conflict without resorting to violence.
We act from sound ecological practices to protect and preserve the Earth for both present and future generations.
We seek and offer cooperation with other interfaith efforts.
We welcome as members all individuals, organizations and associations who subscribe to the Preamble, Purpose and Principles.
We have the authority to make decisions at the most local level that includes all the relevant and affected parties.
We have the right to organize in any manner, at any scale, in any area, and around any issue or activity which is relevant to and consistent with the Preamble, Purpose and Principles.
Our deliberations and decisions shall be made at every level by bodies and methods that fairly represent the diversity of affected interests and are not dominated by any.
We (each part of the URI) shall relinquish only such autonomy and resources as are essential to the pursuit of the Preamble, Purpose and Principles.
We have the responsibility to develop financial and other resources to meet the needs of our part, and to share financial and other resources to help meet the needs of other parts.
We maintain the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct, prudent use of resources, and fair and accurate disclosure of information.
We are committed to organizational learning and adaptation.
We honor the richness and diversity of all languages and the right and responsibility of participants to translate and interpret the Charter, Articles, Bylaws and related documents in accordance with the Preamble, Purpose and Principles, and the spirit of the United Religions Initiative.
Members of the URI shall not be coerced to participate in any ritual or be proselytized.

Please visit the website of URI global and URI Europe

Rédigé par EIFRF le Thursday, August 29th 2013 | Comments (0)

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