Ján Figeľ

Tag: EU

  • IRF Summit 2022: Religious Freedom for Everybody, Everywhere, All the Time

    IRF Summit 2022: Religious Freedom for Everybody, Everywhere, All the Time

    Former Ambassador Sam Brownback and Katrina Lantos Swett hosted the event in Washington, D.C. “We’ve got a simple model: it’s religious freedom for everybody, everywhere, all the time.”

    by Marco Respinti

    Marco Respinti (left) with Ján Figeľ, former European Commission special envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion outside the EU, at the IRF Summit 2022.

    The concept of freedom of religion, belief, or creed (now often known under the acronym FORB) suffers from a misunderstanding. It is unpleasant, because it misrepresents religious liberty; and it is dangerous, because it unleashes the wrong battles for the wrong reasons. The misconception consists in thinking that religious freedom means that all religions are equal. They are not. From a theological, historical, and sociological point of view, this is obvious. Each group of believers regards its faith as unique and is proud of it. There is a serious danger that proclaiming that all religions are equal would fuel relativism.

    In fact, advocacy for religious freedom also means denouncing the violations of it perpetrated by a religious group against others. This implies detecting the perversion of theological concepts, the twisting of genuine religious beliefs, and the ideological use of religion to distort the message of one faith to perpetrate acts of violence against other religions or secular targets. Advocacy for religious liberty can never means that religious freedom should be only for one religious group at the expense of (all) others.

    What is FORB

    The International Religious Freedom Summit 2022, held at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C., June 28 to 30, 2022, swept away all these misconstructions and theoretical errors with assertive elegance.

    The Summit was co-hosted and co-chaired by two well-known defenders of religious freedom. They are Samuel Brownback, former 46th Republican Governor of Kansas and Ambassador-at-Large of the United States for International Religious Freedom 2018–2022, now active in the same field through The Brownback Group, and Katrina Lantos Swett, president of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, which was founded in 2008 to continue the legacy of his late husband, Democratic Representative Thomas Peter Lantos (1928–2008). Born in Budapest as Tamás Péter Lantos, this future staunch defender of human dignity and fundamental rights survived the Holocaust thanks to heroic Swedish businessman and diplomat Raoul Wallenberg (1912–1945), who helped thousands of Jews escape Nazi persecution. Wallenberg ended up in the hands of the Soviet Army with a false charge of espionage, and disappeared in the Gulag.

    IRF Summit Co-Chairs Katrina Lantos Swett and Sam Brownback.

    Ambassador Brownback stated plainly the logic of the Summit: “We’ve got a simple model: it’s religious freedom for everybody, everywhere, all the time.” Lantos Swett constantly strengthened the benefit that religious liberty produces for everyone in the world, not only a specific group.

    FORB is in fact the decisive and fundamental political right of each human person. It is decisive, because it concerns the ultimate meaning of things (for believers, of course, but also for atheists, who freely conclude that God does not exist). It is fundamental, because it generates all other basic rights (freedom of speech, press, assembly, education, etc.), giving them substance and meaning. Being a non-negotiable principle, it orients all negotiable values.

    The Summit’s plenary sessions and the monographic breakout sessions were animated by a prestigious lot of panelists and hosts, as well as enlivened by the unvaluable contributions of testimonies and testimonials. Speakers included Rashad Hussain, Advisor to the US President on Religious Freedom Conditions and Policy; Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives; former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; US Senator Marco Rubio; Fiona Bruce, UK FORB Envoy; Professor Mary Ann Glendon; former Finnish minister of Interior Päivi Räsänen; Greg Mitchell, of the International Religious Freedom Roundtables; basketball celebrity Enes Kanter Freedom; Baron David Alton of Liverpool; Tom Farr, president of the Religious Freedom Institute; Azra Jafari, first (now former) female Mayor in Afghanistan; Nadine Maenza, former Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF); actor Justin Baldoni; Farahnaz Ispahani, former member of the National Assembly of Pakistan; Michael Farris, president and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom; Tibetan Buddhist leader Arjia Rinpoche; Ján Figeľ, former European Commission special envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion outside the EU; Mariam Ibraheem, director of Global Mobilization for Tahrir Alnisa Foundation; Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress; Oksana Markarova, Ukrainian Ambassador to the US; Ethan Gutmann, co-founder of the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China; human rights lawyer David Matas; Sharifah Shakirah, founder and director of Rohingya Women Development Network; Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei Falla, president of Guatemala; Nury Turkel, Chair of the USCIRF; and Nguyễn Dinh Thang, executive director of Boat People SOS.

    The sworn enemies of FORB

    The IRF Summit 2022 made quite clear that three are the sworn enemies of religious freedom today. First, terrorism in the crippled name of God, as for example in the case of ultra-fundamentalist “Islamism,” to be always carefully distinguished from Islam to avoid any claim of “Islamophobia”. From Middle East to Pakistan, from North Africa to India, Islamist terrorism hit harshly and seriously. Its victims are members of other religions, especially Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists, but also several devotees of other Muslim communities that ultra-fundamentalist religious-turned-political ideology labels as “infidels,” pretending to have the monopoly of the word “Islamic.” This is notably the case of the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan and Algeria, and the Hazara Shiites in Afghanistan and Pakistan, alongside other non-Muslim communities whose only sin is to live in regions where Islamist fury rules, including Baháʼís in Iran and Yazidis in Iraq and elsewhere.

    Ahmadi booth at the Summit.

    Second, totalitarian ideocracies such as communism, which is by no means dead in several countries, above all in China. Before widening its scope to other parts of the world on December 1, 2020, Bitter Winter was launched on May 2, 2018, specifically to inform and alert on the crimes of the Communist hell on earth that the People’s Republic of China is, and more than half of its effort is still on that target.

    The religious persecution waged on by the Chinese Communist Party was discussed at length in several panels at the IRF Summit 2022, frequently documenting and debating the fate of the Uyghurs and other Muslim communities in Mainland China, as well as Tibetans and Christians, or presenting evidence of organ harvesting—a rich and astonishing industry in the country whose victims are prisoners of conscience from Falun Gong and other groups.

    Marco Respinti with Ambassador Brownback.

    Third, some states practice dirigiste policies, at least in this field, and thus pay only lip services to real religious freedom. It happens when governments and institutions promote intrusion in the lives of spiritual groups, limiting FORB in the name of some vague, or alleged, administrative, fiscal, or social policies.

    A version of this, which may count for an additional fourth enemy of religious freedom, is typical of Western democracies. It is relativism. This is a cultural attitude, both philosophical and popular, of basically considering everything as having the same value, which immediately turns into giving value to nothing, thus eroding FORB. Its arms are political correctness, conformism, and the so-called “cancel culture”, as former Finnish Minister Päivi Räsänen, still on trial for having quoted the Bible, testified at the Summit.

    Marco Respinti with Päivi Räsänen.

    An important piece of news emerged several times in discussions and panels through the Summit. Christians, in term of numbers, are still the most persecuted religious group in the world, a persecution some governments, international institutions and NGOs do not seem to take seriously.

    “Cults,” and all that

    Several groups and communities maintained booths at the Renaissance Hotel, distributing literature and informative material. One such piece of literature prompted a reflection from yours truly. It advocated FORB for “traditional religions.” I was told the definition meant no discrimination for the other religions, but nonetheless wondered, What is a “traditional” religion? An old religion? How old, and who decides it? The number of its devotees? Numbers are all relative, when considered in relation to place, context, and time. Or are “traditional” faiths those claiming to have a “tradition”? Well, all have. As a matter of fact, human time in history being relative, depending on several different measurements, criteria, and understandings, it is quite easy to consider all religions “traditional,” or for them to actually be.

    Recently established groups, and yet each displaying a recognizable “tradition,” like Scientology or Tai Ji Men participated in the Summit (and this writer was also a speaker in a panel organized by the latter).

    Two statements aptly sum up the meaning and value of the IRF Summit 2022. The first was uttered by Holly Folk, a scholar of religions at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, precisely during a seminar hosted by Tai Ji Men as an appendix to the major event. Folk urged to stop using the term “cult” for any religious or spiritual group. “Cult” is in fact a vague expression with no scientific ground, weaponized against unwelcome groups by those who have the power to do it.

    Nadine Maenza at the Summit, with the Tai Ji Men Bell of World Peace and Love.

    The second point was made clear by Nadine Maenza, saying that “religious freedom is for everybody, or is for nobody.” This seems to be the next task for Greg Mitchell and his associates. In fact Mitchell announced a major structural coordination among groups advocating for religious freedom and persecuted communities with the help of the prestigious Templeton Foundation. To some extent, the IRF Summit in Washington was the trailer of this future film.

    About the author:

    Marco Respinti

    Marco Respinti is the Editor-in-Chief of International Family News. He is an Italian professional journalist, member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), essayist, translator, and lecturer. He has contributed and contributes to several journals and magazines both in print and online, both in Italy and abroad. Author of books, he has translated and/or edited works by, among others, Edmund Burke, Charles Dickens, T.S. Eliot, Russell Kirk, J.R.R. Tolkien, Régine Pernoud and Gustave Thibon. A Senior fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, a non-partisan, non-profit U.S. educational organization based in Mecosta, Michigan, he is also a founding member as well as Board member of the Center for European Renewal, a non-profit, non-partisan pan-European educational organization based in The Hague, The Netherlands, and a member of the Advisory Council of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief. He serves as Director-in-Charge of the academic publication The Journal of CESNUR and Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights.

    https://bitterwinter.org/the-international-religious-freedom-summit-2022

  • ITI Interview with Ján Figeľ

    On Tuesday 10 May 2022, the ITI welcomed to campus Ján Figeľ under the guise of the Adenauer Forum for a conversation on Catholic Public Leadership with ITI’s President, Dr. Christiaan Alting von Geusau. Mr. Figeľ was instrumental in providing leadership to his native Slovakia as it transitioned from communism and the Soviet Bloc to democracy and the European Union. After Slovakia joined the European Union, Mr. Figeľ was European Commissioner for Education, Training, and Culture and then returned to Slovakia for several more years to serve in various leadership roles in the Slovak government. Following that, he returned to the European Commission to serve as its Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the E.U. where he was instrumental in helping to free several people who had been jailed due to their faith.

    Mr. Figeľ and Dr. Geusau’s conversation ranged from his adolescence under totalitarianism, his experience on the ground floor of Slovakia’s political transition, and his time serving in various leadership roles in Slovakia and Europe. Following the conversation, Mr. Figeľ answered student audience questions and then spent several minutes meeting and talking with students informally following the event.

  • Embassies must not Partner in Undermining Democracy

    Embassies must not Partner in Undermining Democracy

    War on Ukraine represents a conflict between democratic, independent and sovereign country and autocratic aggressor brutally violating international law. We must be sensitive on protection of democratic traditions and processes in European countries. When diplomatic missions act to involve themselves in the domestic politics of their host, this step crosses the line of interference and places embassy officials in the realm of political actors. When this is done at the behest of anti-government NGOs in a European democracy, it displays deformed and divisive behaviors that undermine principals of mutual respect for the democratic process.

    This exact behaviour has been revealed to have taken place in Hungary, where NGOs pursuing to change the government enlisted Western embassies to act in their interest. Whether to apply pressure on the Hungarian government from the embassies themselves, or to apply pressure from abroad, the diplomatic missions became a tool through which government regulations or legislation could be challenged.

    The recorded and broadly published statements of two former directors at the Open Society Foundation (OSF) as well as a former director at Amnesty International (AI) reveal that officials from the Dutch, British, and US Embassies in Budapest have been willing to pressure the Hungarian government directly, while the Belgian, French, Spanish, and German Embassies would engage in politicized stunts or be used as cover for media attacks. OSF would even go up the ladder to the European Commission to attempt to achieve its goals in Hungary. Perhaps the best public example of the diplomatic corps acting as biased political agents is when the former Dutch Ambassador to Hungary compared the country’s methods to those of the Islamic State terrorist organisation.

    Such politicized foreign involvement in the affairs of a sovereign democracy like Hungary undermines the role of voters to decide upon their parliamentary representation and the direction of policy. In Europe, and specifically between democracies, it is critical that space is allowed for differing electoral outcomes, and indeed divergent worldviews to win at the ballot box.

    Of course, foreign embassies are tasked with communicating the position of their government to the government of Hungary, particularly on any issue affecting the bilateral relationship. Yet the pattern in Budapest has been markedly different, with the embassies using combinations of public and private pressure to affect the country’s domestic affairs and Hungarian government policy, pushed to do so by NGOs unrepresentative of the Hungarian electorate.

    When OSF and AI enlist foreign embassies to apply pressure and use top-down approaches to affect the politics of Hungary, it is largely a reflection of the fact that the Hungarian population has not voted their interests and ideology into power. Financially motivated and interested parties, OSF and AI’s Hungarian operations get funding to reflect the wishes of wealthy donors outside the country, over the political aspirations of those living there. With OSF and AI preferences for Hungarian governance not seeing electoral success, their activities to affect policy behind foreign embassies can bring similar results, just less democratically.

    The issue with these activities is that they engender mistrust and division between countries that, otherwise, are deeply embedded within the Western sphere and European community. As tragic weeks of war in Ukraine show, pan-European unity is the essential ingredient needed to confront crises on the continent and defend democracy in our broader region. The former Communist members of the European Union have not wavered in commitment to upholding European values and to countering the aggression from Moscow – Hungary included.

    We risk losing this spirit of pan-European unity if some governments are undermined by their own allies, no matter if policy proscriptions differ and worldviews diverge. The embassies in Budapest must be cognizant that to do the bidding of OSF or AI for a short-term political gain ultimately hurts Hungarian democracy and can damage pan-European trust and unity which has been critical in recent weeks. Europe can have its debates and political differences, but mutual respect must still reign when these differences emerge out of the democratic process. This must be the principle. So that when military aggression and invasions threaten the European continent, our differences come into focus as minor when compared to the threats we face in our current hours.

    Ján FIGEĽ

    http://europeanpost.co/embassies-must-not-partner-in-undermining-democracy%ef%bf%bc/

  • Attack on Democracy

    Attack on Democracy

    Democratic process in Europe must be protected and respected. It cannot be allowed to be subject to attack from any source, nor can it spread to the entire continent if subverted in its core regions. Disturbingly, just such assaults have been recorded, with foreign elements interfering directly in Poland and Hungary, while also engaging in lobbying, public relations, and influence operations across Europe that target Warsaw and Budapest. These activities are designed to undermine democracy and subvert the Polish and Hungarian electorates – writes Jan Figel, former EU Commissioner and Special Envoy

    From the information since recently broadly publicly available, Poland and Hungary are singled out due to the conservative and Catholic-traditionalist dispositions of their ruling parties, i.e., being on the political right. Outside influence acts to undercut Polish and Hungarian voters’ choice, while diminishing the variety of European democratic politics. A Europe that confines itself to a narrow range of acceptable political outcomes will lose its citizens. Worse, if Europe allows outsiders to agitate against, and launch influence operations undermining the legitimacy of the continent’s democratically elected leaders, this is a form of attack that will spread to affect the rest of Europe. Poland and Hungary are, today, the primary targets of this attack on democracy, but will not remain so – it may expand to elsewhere if nothing is done. As a neighbor and European citizen I must raise my voice of concern.

    Methods of Attack

    In Brussels, in elite media, and on the ground in Hungary and Poland, according several sources, foreign NGOs – notably the Open Society Foundation (OSF) and its offshoots as well as Amnesty International – push an agenda designed to vilify democratically-elected governments. Through funding think-tank research and lobbying activities, as well as paying journalists’ costs and providing them curated materials, OSF-linked entities orchestrate attacks on the governments of Victor Orbán and Mateusz Morawiecki. Reports of the wider NGO industrial complex engaging foreign embassies to apply pressure, relying on media slander, and lobbying the EU administration into conflict with Budapest and Warsaw is indicative of these attacks relying on outside power over the aspirations of the Hungarian and Polish peoples.

    Democratically elected leaders are described in elite media as ‘undemocratic’ leaders, their governments authoritarian and corrupt, or accused of human-rights violations and singled out by European institutions, all unsurprising given that the influence activities are most effective among those who share the biases of OSF and similar actors. It is for this same reason that corrupt, undemocratic, and rights violations of leftist-leaning governments in Europe escape censure and a similar attacks – no one pays to cover them nor are like-minded elites predisposed to condemn their own.

    The issue at its core is that non-European actors are using NGO cover for overt political activities, to fund biased media narratives, or lobby European institutions to act against Poland and Hungary, undermining the democratic process. Criticism of and opposition to any European leader or government is legitimate and welcome, however, the inorganic, top-down, foreign and even non-European funding of the campaign creates a situation where these attacks obscure the true popularity of Polish and Hungarian governments and their democratic credentials.

    Protecting European Democracy

    Permitting attacks on European democracy cannot depend on the political disposition of a government. Outside interference and destabilization efforts targeting a democratically elected government must be condemned in all cases and action taken to prevent the phenomenon from spreading. Poland and Hungary are both integral to the European project and having conservative leadership is not grounds for anti-democratic action against them. To protect European democracy, we must do so indiscriminately.

    The votes of Hungarians and Poles, like all European citizens, must be allowed to affect policy and the direction of their countries. Foreign, even non-European and interested elements cannot fund against the democratic will or punish Europeans for choosing differing paths. Such a precedent will hurt wider Europe and boomerang against those turning a blind eye today. Today, in time of war in Ukraine, we must fairly stick together united in facing aggression and stay open in solidarity with an unprecedented wave of suffering people fleeing from the bloody conflict to the Central European countries.

    https://www.eureporter.co/world/hungary/2022/03/15/attack-on-democracy

  • Ján Figeľ: ‘It’s a pity there is no EU religious freedom envoy anymore’

    Ján Figeľ: ‘It’s a pity there is no EU religious freedom envoy anymore’

    Ján Figeľ, special envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion outside the EU from 2016 to 2019, meets Pope Francis in 2018./ Vatican Media/Ján Figeľ personal archive.

    Bratislava, Slovakia, Sep 10, 2021 / 04:15 am

    On the eve of Pope Francis’ visit to Slovakia, the country appointed Anna Záborská, a former member of the European Parliament, as its plenipotentiary for religious freedom.

    The decision was approved after Christos Stylianides, the European Union’s religious freedom envoy, stood down just five months after taking up the role to lead Greece’s new climate crisis ministry.

    The first person to hold the post of special envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU (also known as the EU Special Envoy on FoRB) was the Slovakian politician Ján Figel’.

    He told CNA that his appointment to the role in 2016 inspired other countries to take the promotion of religious freedom abroad more seriously.

    He said: “My unprecedented, pioneering EU role on FoRB inspired since 2016 several countries to nominate their special envoys or ambassadors: Hungary, the UK, Denmark, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and now finally Slovakia.”

    “But the EU position on freedom of religion and belief is again vacant. For the current Commission [the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch], it does not seem to be a priority, regrettably.”

    Figel’, 61, has extensive political experience. He was the EU commissioner for education and culture, and the deputy prime minister of Slovakia, a central European nation with a population of 5.5 million bordered by Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

    As the EU Special Envoy on FoRB, Figel’ played a critical role in helping Asia Bibi, a Catholic woman unjustly sentenced to death for blasphemy, to leave Pakistan after her acquittal.

    In 2018, he oversaw the creation of the Punta del Este Declaration on Human Dignity for Everyone Everywhere, which now has hundreds of signatories.

    At his suggestion, St. John Paul II was nominated as an honorary citizen of the Slovakian cities of Prešov and Bratislava.

    Talking about his experience as the EU’s special envoy, Figel’ focused on the role of the Church in Slovakia during communism as well as his own personal experience. The Church, he said, was one of the major opponents of the communist regime. “The state power severely persecuted it … All religious communities have been dismissed, many bishops imprisoned. The Greek Catholic Church was liquidated as a whole,” he recalled.

    Figel’ said that his own uncle disappeared in 1953.

    He noted that the chain of events that led to the collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia began in Bratislava, the present-day capital of Slovakia, on March 25, 1988.

    On that day, a large crowd assembled for what later became known as the “candle demonstration,” led by Catholic groups. It was the first mass demonstration in defiance of the communist regime since 1969.

    “Brutal police force was used against 10,000 protesters praying the rosary and singing state and papal anthems,” Figel’ said. “Yet in November 1989, one and a half years later, half a million citizens prayed the Pater Noster in Prague.”

    “The movement towards freedom was unstoppable. It was an annus mirabilis [miraculous year] – a dramatic but peaceful, spiritual revolution, encouraged by the Polish Pope John Paul II.”

    “The nation was united in the quest for religious freedom and civil liberties and was successful. This is a historical lesson.”

    Ján Figeľ talks to Cardinal Parolin at a 2018 meeting of the International Catholic Legislators Network in Frascati, Italy. Ján Figeľ personal archive.

    Speaking about the pope’s Sept. 12-15 trip to Slovakia, Figel’ said he hoped that “Pope Francis will awaken this memory and legacy of Slovakia and the whole of Central Europe.”

    He observed that on the very day of the pope’s arrival in Slovakia, “a great Pole will be beatified: the late Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński.”

    The pope will travel to Slovakia after a brief visit to Hungary to celebrate the closing Mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress.

    “The Eucharistic Congress in Budapest should remind us that faith in Jesus is a reason for persecution and even martyrdom in many countries,” Figel’ commented.

    For this reason, the establishment in Slovakia of an office for the promotion of international religious freedom is “a great achievement,” Figel’ said, considering that “already three Visegrád neighbors [Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic] have active governmental structures and policies in this respect.”

    Figel’ suggested that there were “multiple ways” to help foster awareness of religious freedom, including “prayer, humanitarian aid to the persecuted, constructive official development policies, cooperation with churches and pro-religious freedom NGOs like the Caritas, Aid to the Church in Need, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Open Doors.”

    “As EU envoy,” he said, “I was working with them. They provide excellent work for the needy and the persecuted. It is a pity that there is no EU envoy for religious freedom and belief anymore.”

    Reflecting on the situation in his homeland, Figel’ said: “Christianity is a religion of love and dignity. Slovakia has deep Christian roots and culture. The spiritual heritage of the two co-patrons of Europe, St. Cyril and St. Methodius, is quoted in the preamble of our state constitution.”

    He added: “Slovakia is the bridge, the connection, between the two lungs of Europe and the Church: the Western and Eastern ones.”

    “Therefore, with its history, culture, and relations, Slovakia can strongly contribute to bringing more unity to Christian churches and communities in general, Catholics and Orthodox in particular. But, unfortunately, the current pandemic has brought a lot of death, fear, and polarization.”

    Figel’ argued that the coronavirus crisis had revealed the 21st-century world’s vulnerabilities, despite its technological prowess.

    “We fought for independence. Now we see how interdependent people and nations are. Europe and the West have growing problems. It is time for moral renewal and the culture of human dignity for all,” he said.

    “I hope that the 21st century will be a more humane era, not ‘business as usual.’ We all have a role in making this vision a reality.”

    He concluded: “We must close the past century of genocides, from Armenia to Iraq. Evil was powerful in that century because it had many cheap and efficient allies, namely indifference, ignorance, and fear. The three are siblings.”

    “I like that the pope promotes different, constructive siblings: civic engagement, education, and courage. And he leads by example. I believe his messages in Slovakia will be not only local and national, but international and universal as well.”

    https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248939/slovakian-politician-jan-figel-its-a-pity-there-is-no-eu-religious-freedom-envoy-anymore

  • We need a ‘climate change’ in matters of religious freedom

    Interview with Ján Figel’, the former EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU

    For the second time since its establishment by the United Nations in 2019, the “International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief” was observed on 22 August. The findings of a review of the situation of people suffering from religious persecution worldwide were far from positive. The international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) talked about this with Ján Figel’, a Slovak politician whose mandate as Special Envoy of the European Union for the promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the EU recently ended.

    What are your thoughts on the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief?

    The international day commemorating the victims of religious persecution is a very important event in the calendar of international days of commemoration because there are so many victims of religious persecution; it is estimated that they number in the hundreds of millions. Religious persecution is on the rise worldwide; this has led many more millions to suffer from discrimination. The very painful reality is that victims of veritable genocide still exist in the world today. In the past, international treaties often ignored, omitted and seldom recognised religious freedom, but today freedom of religion and belief has become the litmus test for the state of human rights.

    What would be the best way to observe this day?

    Of vital importance is the witness of survivors of religious persecution. Demonstrations, conferences, online meetings, seminars and webinars were held. The primary purpose of these events is to increase our awareness of the importance of religious freedom for all people and to commemorate the victims of religious persecution. After all, if you lose your memories, you lose your identity and orientation. Secondly, a further crucial element is educating people on how to live together in diversity, because living together is a great deal more than merely existing alongside one another. Thirdly, states and national authorities have to promote justice for all, because peace is the fruit of justice. As an example, equality in civil rights is a wonderful expression of equality for all, both for the majorities of society and for the minorities.

    What were your experiences as a young person living in a Communist country under the Soviet regime of the former Czechoslovakia?

    For half of my life, I lived without freedom. It was truly an inhumane situation and a very difficult time. My name is Ján Figel’, just like my uncle, the brother of my father, who was murdered in the 1950s by the secret service of what was at that time the Stalinist state of Czechoslovakia. Freedom is an expression of human dignity, and human dignity is the foundation for all human rights. Denying humans their freedom is therefore equivalent to denying humans their dignity.

    Why is it important to protect religious freedom?

    Freedom of religion and belief is the highest expression of freedom. It is defined as the freedom of religion, faith and conscience. Therefore, it is of equal importance for both believers and non-believers. It is a central human right and a far-reaching right because it is inextricably linked with the freedoms of expression, opinion, assembly and of association. When the freedom of religion is prohibited, it leads to the suppression of other rights and freedoms. That is why it is so important to ensure that the freedom of religion is protected, not only because it affects other rights, but also because it is the litmus test for all other human rights.

    How can we defend the freedom of religion and those who are being persecuted because of their faith?

    It is our duty to protect the victims of persecution. It is our responsibility as humans, but it is also of fundamental interest to us all. We have to become more aware of the significance of freedom of religion. The media should focus a lot more on these situations and topics. It is our responsibility to give those a voice who have no voice and who cannot defend themselves. I would like to appeal to the international community: the world today is in need of a “climate change” in matters of religious freedom, because the situation is very negative and distressing. Millions of people all over the world are suffering religious persecution and the trend is alarming. These two terrible facts should awaken a greater awareness among the international community about the need to uphold religious freedom and to defend the dignity of people all over the world.

    Interview with Ján Figel’, 31.08.2020 / International Day of Victims by Josué Villalón

  • Europe and the challenge of religious freedom

    The European Union’s Special Envoy for promoting the Freedom of Religions and Belief outside of Europe will soon be appointed. Maragaritis Schinas, vice-president of the European Commission, announced the Office’s re-establishment in a tweet on July 8.

    The announcement brought to a close what had been at times a very lively debate.

    The president of the European Commission originally decided not to appoint somebody in the role of advisor to her in the capacity of special envoy “at this time”.

    Then, after protests from many organizations, the Commission reversed itself. The position is still vacant, so everything is still up in the air and anything could happen: Why, then, is it so important to have a special envoy for religious freedom in Europe?

    The special envoy’s Office was established in 2016, right after Pope Francis had been awarded the Charlemagne Prize. Jan Figel became the Special Envoy. During his mandate, Jan Figel traveled worldwide, opened bridges of dialogue, and had a crucial role in the liberation of Asia Bibi, the Pakistani woman who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy and then acquitted.

    Many backed the re-establishment of the position. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg and president of the Committee of the Bishops of the European Union (COMECE), noted that “in some countries, the religious oppression reached the level of a genocide” and for this reason “the European Union must continue to campaign for religious freedom, with a special envoy.”

    This semester, Germany is president of the Council of the European Union. So 135 German members of Parliament asked the government to use the position to press the EU to restore the Office.

    Austrian members of Parliament signed a joint resolution with the same goal, and Jewish, Orthodox, and Muslim labels protested against the cancellation of the position.

    It was then expected that the new European Commission was going to renew the mandate. It did not happen at first. In June, the Commission sent a letter to the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, a convenor of NGOs and individuals from any faith that works for religious freedom.

    In the letter, the Commission confirmed that they would advance religious liberty according to the 2013 EU guidelines, which recognize the human right to freedom of religion and belief and understand that right under European law to mean that everyone is free to believe, not to believe, change their beliefs, publicly witness their beliefs and share their beliefs with others.

    In the letter, the Commission also said that violations were going to be monitored by the EU delegation. The delegation and Eamon Gilmore, special representative for human rights, were supposed to report on the violations.

    After that, and all the protests, the Commission changed its mind and announced that the Special Envoy position for religious freedom was going to stay. Everything, by the way, is still suspended. We yet do not know who will be the next special envoy, and under which mandate.

    There is another issue. The special envoy takes care of religious freedom outside of the EU, but religious liberty is at risk within the EU borders. There are many pieces of evidence that religious freedom is subtly dwindling in Europe.

    Religious freedom inside the EU border is guaranteed under the EU charter of fundamental rights which is policed by the EU fundamental rights agency in Vienna. In addition, all the member states of the EU are constrained by fundamental democratic principles for which the commission can hold them to account if their laws don’t correspond.

    And yet, there are cases that show that show that religious freedom is at stake.

    The most recent cases came from Finland and Sweden.

    Päivi Räsänen, a member of Finnish Parliament and former minister, faces four investigations after tweeting a Bible passage questioning that the Evangelical Church in Finland sponsored the Pride 2019.

    Ellinor Grimmark and Linda Steen, two Swedish midwives, appealed to the European Court for Human Rights because they found unemployed and could not apply for any job since they refused to help to perform abortions. The appeal was, however, declared inadmissible.

    These are not the only cases, and it is not a new situation. It is worth remembering that the Holy See personally took the floor in 2013. Following the discussion of two cases at the European Court for Human Rights, the Holy See sent a note and widely explained why the religions are not “lawless areas” but instead “spaces of freedom.”

    The two cases that brought about the Holy See’s note are Sindicatul’ Pastoral cel bun’ versus Romania and Fernandez Martinez versus Spain. Both of them provide food for thought even today.

    The first case was about a labor union formed in 2008 by the clergy in an Orthodox Church diocese to defend their “professional, economic, social, and cultural interests” in their dealings with the church.

    When the Romanian government registered the new union, the church sued, pointing out that her canons do not allow for unions and arguing that registration violated the principle of church autonomy.

    A Romanian court agreed with the Church, and the union challenged the court’s judgment in the European Court for Human Rights. The union argued that the decision not to register violated Article 11 of the European Convention, which grants a right to freedom of association.

    In 2012, the chamber reasoned that, under Article 11, a state might limit freedom of association only if it shows “a pressing social need,” defined in terms of a “threat to a democratic society,” This did not happen in Romania. So the chamber faulted the Romanian court, and Romania appealed to the Grand Chamber – the final EU judicial appeal venue.

    The second case regarded Fernandez Martinez, a Spanish instructor of religion. In Spain, public schools offer classes in Catholicism, taught by instructors approved by the local bishop. Fernandez Martinez did not get his bishop’s approval. A laicized priest, Fernandez Martinez, took a public stand against mandatory priestly celibacy. When the school dismissed the instructor, he brought suit under the European Convention. His dismissal – he argued – violated his right to privacy, family life, and expression.

    A section of the European Court ruled against him, because in withdrawing approval – the section stated – the bishop had acted “in accordance with the principle of religious autonomy”; the instructor had been dismissed for purely religious reasons, and it would be inappropriate for a secular court to intrude.

    These two cases – the “Vatican foreign minister”, then-Archbishop Dominique Mamberti noted – “call into question the Church’s freedom to function according to her own rules and not be subject to civil rules other than those necessary to ensure that the common good and just public order are respected.”

    One should say that this is a vexata quaestio (an already widely discussed issue), with significance far beyond Europe.

    Europe, however, is living in a particularly worrisome situation. The Observatoire de la Christianophobie in France and the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christian in Europe report an increasing number of cases that are food for thought.

    Religions became even more vulnerable after the coronavirus outbreak. Many provisions of various governments to counter the spread of the infection also jeopardized freedom of worship. It was an emergency, and everybody understands that, but at the same time, it is always essential to re-establish a principle, in order not to set a precedent.

    While watching over the religious freedom in other countries, it would be good that Europe had some more proper monitoring of the situation within its borders.

    As the Holy See keeps saying, religious freedom is “the freedom of all the freedoms,” a litmus test for the state of liberty in each country. The appointment of an EU special envoy for religious freedom will be a welcome thing, therefore. It is yet to be seen, however, what will be the precise mandate and the powers of the Office. It would be good to expand its scope to address the violations of religious freedom within the EU, as well.

    * Catholic News Agency columns are opinion and do not necessarily express the perspective of the agency.

    https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/column/europe-and-the-challenge-of-religious-freedom-4200

  • EU politicians and religious leaders demand reinstatement of religious envoy

    The previous religious envoy was influential in securing the release of the Pakistani Christian, Asia Bibi, from a death sentence in 2019.

    Calls are growing for the European Union to reinstate its Special Envoy on Religious Freedom, after the post was abolished by the new Brussels Commission under Ursula Von Der Leyen.

    “In some countries, religious oppression has now reached the level of genocide,” said Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, president of COMECE, which represents the EU’s Catholic Bishops Conferences. “Vulnerable religious minorities and groups are at risk, and the EU must continue campaigning for religious freedom, with its own representative included.”

    The cardinal made the comments to German’s Deutsche Welle agency on Sunday, as 135 German parliamentarians from various parties urged their country to use its new tenure of the EU’s rotating presidency to press for restoration of the post, and as conservative members of the European Parliament tabled similar demands in a letter to Von Der Leyen.

    Austrian MPs also called on their government in a joint resolution last week to ensure the EU Commission’s decision was reversed. Meanwhile, the EU move was also criticised by Orthodox and Muslim leaders, as well as by the president of the Conference of European Rabbis, Pinchas Goldschmidt, who told Deutsche Welle it had “sent the wrong signal” when religious minorities were being “increasingly targeted by extremists and the free exercise of religion is being undermined”.

    The Slovak Jan Figel was appointed Special Envoy under a 2016 European Parliament resolution to work alongside the EU’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development, and was believed influential in the subsequent opening of religious rights offices by governments in Britain, Denmark and Germany, as well as in securing release of the Pakistani Christian, Asia Bibi, from a death sentence for alleged blasphemy in 2019. However, supporters complained he had been denied office space and funds in Brussels, and that his one-year renewable mandate had been too brief to formulate any long-term plan.

    In an early June letter to the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, the EU Commission said it was committed under 2013 guidelines to advancing religious freedom, but added that violations would now be “monitored and raised regularly by EU delegations”, as well as by Eamon Gilmore, Special Representative for Human Rights.

    However, in their appeal, the German parliamentarians said they “greatly regretted” Figel’s dismissal and called on their country to use its EU presidency from 1 July to ensure his “previously successful work” continued. “As a pioneer of universal human rights, to which the EU is committed globally, the Commission must not look away”, the Bundestag members said. “At a time when persecution of religious minorities of all faiths is increasing, we need a strong European voice.”

    The chairman of the German bishops’ World Church Commission, Archbishop Ludwig Schick of Bamberg, said he would also write to the EU Commission, demanding the Special Envoy’s reappointment, as well as to MEPs urging them to campaign accordingly.

    In a letter last week to Catholic bishops in Nigeria, Cardinal Hollerich said COMECE would demand “intensified EU assistance and cooperation” with authorities and institutions in the African country, including its churches, to stop violence and persecution against local Christians.

    https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/13129/eu-politicians-and-religious-leaders-demand-reinstatement-of-religious-envoy-

  • EU FoRB Day – A call for the renewal of the mandate of the Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion

    Seven years ago, the EU Guidelines on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) were adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council. Today, the FoRB community celebrates this informally as ‘EU FoRB Day’ and civil society take this opportunity to call for the renewal of the mandate of the Special Envoy.

    This past April came and went with no decision by the Commission on the future of the mandate of the Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) outside the EU, which ended on 30 November 2019.

    In January 2019, one of the last resolutions by the last EU Parliament was to lend its support to the renewal. The COVID-19 crisis notwithstanding, the Commission’s hesitation despite letters by MEPs and civil society calling for the renewal of the mandate, sends a signal to Europeans and the international community about its reticence to continue to promote this fundamental right.

    Freedom of religion or belief is enshrined in Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It protects the right of individuals to practise the religion or belief of their choice, or none at all – a freedom which is under threat in many parts of the world.

    Against this backdrop, the Special Envoy role matters a great deal.

    The mandate has had time to show that it is an effective tool in the EU’s diplomatic arsenal. On this very day in 2013 the EU Member States approved the ‘EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief’ which provide the policy framework for the Special Envoy’s mandate and are essential tools promoting FoRB in the EU’s external relations and in the EU’s international cooperation and development.

    Dr Figel has supported the implementation of these Guidelines, making 17 official country visits to a wide range of countries. Whilst in country, the Envoy would regularly engage with national authorities and institutions, civil society, human rights organisations, as well as religious leaders and communities.

    Moreover, the Special Envoy has illustrated to governments how FoRB can be promoted and protected effectively through the EU’s external action, for example, Asia Bibi, who spent years on death row in Pakistan on unfounded charges of blasphemy, acknowledged the role of the Special Envoy in securing her freedom in her first public appearance following her release. Likewise, Czech national Petr Jašek, who was jailed alongside two Sudanese pastors, also acknowledged Dr Figel’s role in securing his freedom.

    Key to such success is the manner in which the EU Special Envoy is viewed as a neutral broker by many countries, which in turn has been critical in fostering dialogue among opposing actors. As a result, the European Commission had sent a strong signal to all international and multi-lateral partners about the efficacy and concrete results the Special Envoy yields for the EU and the wider international human rights-based approach. Not renewing the mandate would send mixed messages and forgo four years of constructive work.

    Today, as the FoRB community commemorates the seven-year anniversary of the EU Guidelines on FoRB, the EU should honour this fruitful diplomatic post by renewing the mandate; it owes it to itself, Member States and to its founding fathers, whose principles of human dignity and common good are ever-relevant in the continual promotion of FoRB.

    By CSW’s Europe Liason Officer Alessandro Pecorari

    EU FoRB Day – A call for the renewal of the mandate of the Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief outside of the European Union
  • COVID-19, Religion and Belief: Special Envoys’ Perspective

    COVID-19, Religion and Belief: Special Envoys’ Perspective

    The following questions were addressed:

    • What is the current state of the art of the missions of Special Envoys?
    • What is the role of Special Envoys in the context of the pandemic?
    • What is the future of Special Envoys?
    • How is the Covid-19 crisis impacting Freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in the world? Will it eventually change FoRB as we know it?

    Thursday, 28 May 2020 at 3:00 PM CEST

    https://spark.adobe.com/page/4vSJTeJhUd96y/#ep-8-covid-19-religion-and-belief-special-envoys-perspective