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Religious Freedom
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe takes the lead on FoRB in the workplace
Religious Freedom
NGOs write to international Govt leaders to alert on 45 reporters of Bitter Winter arrested in China
Peace Pals International is a program of The World Peace Prayer Society, which promotes the message May Peace Prevail On Earth as a simple, universal expression to unite the hearts of all people in our common desire and hope for peace on earth.
Deadline: June 30, 2014
Children from around the World are invited to submit their artwork to The 2014 ~ 17th Annual Peace Pals International Arts Exhibition and Awards.
RULES AND GUIDELINES:
2014 Theme and Message: “Right to Peace.”
The theme of the 2014 UN International Day of Peace.
This year we have joined with The International Day of Peace (IDP) and the United Nations. Please visit: www.internationaldayofpeace.org for more information about The International Day of Peace. To learn more about the “Right to Peace,” please read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr
Who has the right to peace?
What would the world look like if everyone lived in peace?
How does the United Nations help to build a peaceful world?
What will you do to make sure all people have a “Right to Peace?
Think about these questions and create artwork which symbolizes what a “Right to Peace,” means to you. Your artwork MUST include the message, “May Peace Prevail On Earth” in English and/or your Native Language. All art must be done by children, including the writing of May Peace Prevail On Earth.
Register Now (English, French, German and Spanish)
Teilnahmebedingungen Deutsch – Reglas en Espanol
Règles et lignes directrices Français
RULES 2014 ~ DOWNLOAD PDF
Please click links below to read the rules before registering and submitting your artwork.
Register Now (English, French, German and Spanish)
You can upload your artwork! Once you have completed your artwork and registered – You canUPLOAD your artwork. You must have a registration number. Click here for more information.
If you are not receiving newsletters from The World Peace Prayer Society or Peace Pals International – Please join the mailing list to be notified of the winners and to learn of upcoming events throughout the year. Click here to join our mailing list.
All children who participate and register online will receive a Certificate of Participation.
Once you have your Registration number, please click here and enter your registration number to receive your certificate.
The Culture of Peace Initiative (CPI) is a UN-designated “Peace Messenger Initiative” with participants in all the world’s regions. Its purpose is to unite the strengths of organizations and individuals who are working to make Peace a practical reality.
The highlight of the Initiative is International Day of Peace (Peace Day), which is celebrated annually on September 21. On this day, millions of people worldwide come together to create one day of Peace.
Since 1983, CPI has served as a vehicle for bringing forward the previously unseen and unheard voices working towards Peace. It also serves to unite the strengths of existing individuals and organizations building Cultures of Peace for succeeding generations. If you’re a peace builder, peace organization, or just a peace lover please join our community. You’ll find a variety of peace groups you can interact with, get updates on events from around the globe, and much more.
In the spirit of the original vision that brought forth the Charter of the United Nations, the purpose of this global/local Initiative is to build a Culture of Peace in the 21st century, uniting the strengths of organizations, projects and peoples in order to make Peace a practical reality for the children of this and future generations.
We thank our Sponsors
World Peace Prayer Society ~ Rotary International ~ Culture of Peace Initiative ~ Goi Peace Foundation ~ International Day of Peace ~ Catskill Art ~ Cyber Schoolbus
Rédigé par EIFRF le Tuesday, February 18th 2014
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Religious Freedom
MEPs Van Dalen and De Jong present unique report on freedom of religion
At a conference held in Brussels on February, 12 the European Parliament Working Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief (EPWG), co-chaired by MEPs Peter van Dalen (ECR) and Dennis de Jong (GUE/NGL), presented its first annual report on freedom of religion in the world. The report takes stock of developments regarding religious freedom and concludes that this human right is increasingly violated, around the globe. The report proposes to give the promotion of religious freedom a more prominent place in EU foreign policy. It furthermore makes recommendations for EU action in case of fifteen countries where the situation is particularly dire.
The report was presented at a conference jointly organised with the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, who also presented their annual report. UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, dr. Heiner Bielefeldt, gave the keynote speech.
The conference welcomed the adoption of EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief, by the EU Member States last year. Participants agreed that this was a major step, however, the process of ensuring a thorough implementation has only just begun. Also, complementing measures were needed.
Peter van Dalen said:
"Today is a sad day as right now many millions of people are bullied, discriminated, persecuted and even killed for their faith. I hope that our work may contribute towards improving this situation."
"We made several recommendations on specific countries. On Egypt for example, we would like the EU to unfreeze the aid pledged, but tie it to human rights conditions; Coptic Christians must be able to freely and safely practise their faith. On Pakistan, we demand that hate speech be scrapped from school books, in particular where they are subsidized by the EU! On India, we'd like to see the states who have introduced anti-conversion legislation, to repeal those provisions."
Dennis de Jong said:
"I am grateful for the co-operation we developed with the EEAS on the EU Guidelines. However, we now need to follow this up through an informal dialogue on the toolkit which will serve as an instrument for embassies and EU delegations to implement the Guidelines."
"Similarly, we need to further develop our dialogue with the EEAS also on the countries of concern: we identified many such countries and we now have to focus on the instruments the EU and the Member States have to help to change the situation in these countries."
Dr. Heiner Bielefeldt said:
"I see an enormous practical potential in the EU Guidelines, in harnessing the existing capacities of the EU and its Member States to make Freedom of Religion or Belief a reality. I value the Working Group's strategic role in promoting the Guidelines and their efficient implementation. The European Parliament would be well advised to upgrade the working group to an intergroup."
The report can be viewed here: http://www.religiousfreedom.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/EPWG-2013-Report-Final-for-printing.pdf
For more information, contact the EPWG secretariat: a.vaiya@religiousfreedom.eu or m.zaitsava@religiousfreedom.eu .
Traduzione dell'articolo Mistreatments of religious minorities: the French Model
Di Eric Roux, Comitato Direttivo di EIFRF – European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom
Relazione presentata il 16 ottobre 2013 a Bruxelles nel corso del seminario “Freedom of Opinion, religion and belief
Persecution of, and discrimination against, minority-groups”, organizzato da EIFRF con la collaborazione di:
• The Gerard Noodt Foundation for FoRB
• UNITED SIKHS
• Pro Europa Christiana
• Soteria International
• CAPLC Europe
• FOREF Europe
• EMISCO
Alcuni degli altri relatori vi parleranno delle buone pratiche esistenti in Europa in merito al trattamento riservato alle minoranze religiose, ma io ho il difficile compito di descrivervi un paese con un sistema noto per la sua discriminazione e le sue cattive pratiche. Sfortunatamente, conosco bene quel paese perché è il mio: la Francia.
Affinché comprendiate il sistema francese relativo alle minoranze religiose, o alle religioni in generale, vi spiegherò come esso funziona e quali sono le sue peculiarità.
Cominciamo perciò dall’aspetto governativo della questione. In Francia esiste un’agenzia governativa chiamata MIVILUDES, acronimo che significa “Missione interministeriale di vigilanza e lotta contro le devianze settarie”. Essa dipende direttamente dall’autorità del Primo Ministro.
Sfortunatamente, in Francia la parola “setta” o “culto” non ha una definizione legale, il che permette a questa agenzia di utilizzarla contro ogni movimento, religione, individuo di cui ci si voglia sbarazzare. Questo uso della parola “setta” permette di prendere di mira qualsiasi gruppo e di fare una distinzione tra religioni “buone” e “cattive”, distinzioni operate dallo Stato anche se prive di fondamento legale, in assoluta violazione di ogni standard internazionale o europeo sui Diritti Umani, ma anche in violazione della Costituzione francese che proibisce allo Stato di interferire nella sfera religiosa o di discriminare tra le religioni.
Il Rapporto annuale della MIVILUDES del 2008 definisce la devianza settaria come un assoggettamento mentale laddove “Una o più persone cominciano a credere a certe idee che differiscono dalle idee generalmente accettate dalla società”.
Altri funzionari governativi francesi hanno fatto dichiarazioni pubbliche in merito alla “lotta” contro ciò che essi considerano credenze “devianti”. Per esempio, a una conferenza della MIVILUDES tenuta al Palazzo Municipale di Lione nel novembre 2009, il Segretario di Stato per la Giustizia francese Jean-Marie Bockel disse:
“Il fenomeno settario può essere analizzato come una patologia della credenza su uno sfondo di identificazione e deregolamentazione della credenza”.
Affermazioni di questo tipo, poi diffuse dai media nazionali, sono state postate sul sito ufficiale del Ministero della Giustizia francese, dove sono tutt’ora reperibili.
Nel corso degli anni la MIVILUDES si è impegnata in numerose campagne contro i nuovi movimenti religiosi che definisce “sette”, ma non solo: anche contro piccole comunità di religioni più antiche come quella cattolica, protestante, evangelica e altre. Ha addirittura organizzato irruzioni in quelle comunità presentandosi con i giornalisti e facendo commenti fortemente spregiativi così da incoraggiare la propria “agenda” [*] di etichettatura di tali comunità come “sette”.
[*] Agenda: ordine del giorno, ma anche secondi fini, o propri fini – N.d.T.
La MIVILUDES non ha mandato giuridico per condurre tali investigazioni, ma utilizza la sua forza ufficiale per imporre queste “visite” improvvisate e sollevare interrogativi sulle diverse comunità.
La MIVILUDES è solo una parte del sistema francese di contrasto alle minoranze religiose etichettate come “sette”. Il governo francese, volendo assicurarsi che la legge penale venga usata contro i seguaci sulla base dell’appartenenza a certi movimenti religiosi, ha istituito all’interno del Ministero della Giustizia una unità speciale chiamata “Missione Sette”.
Le funzioni della Missione Sette sono sovrintendere, “coordinare e lanciare procedimenti pubblici” contro le “sette”, essenzialmente fare pressioni sui procuratori generali di tutto il paese per mandare a processo le fedi minoritarie. È importante notare che le comunicazioni tra la Missione Sette e i pubblici ministeri sono segrete. Non compaiono negli atti processuali. Pertanto chi viene sottoposto a indagine, o gli imputati rinviati a giudizio, non vi possono accedere.
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