THE TANDEM PROJECT

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UNITED NATIONS, HUMAN RIGHTS,

FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF

A FLUSTERED FLOCK OF PIGEONS

Issue: Theological Dialogue – Human Rights & Freedom of Religion or Belief

For: United Nations, Governments, Religions or Beliefs, Academia, NGOs, Media, Civil Society

Review: A flustered flock of pigeons, how to talk to Muslims (and others); Catholics seem unsure, is an article in The Economist, on 26 January 2008, printed in bold on the following page. This is an unfortunate title to a serious article that began this way; “When 138 Muslim scholars sent an open request to leaders of the Christian world, from Catholics to Methodists, for a theological dialogue, they knew they were setting a cat among the pigeons. It was a fair bet that senior Christians would soon be looking over each other’s shoulders, anxious not to be too liberal or too harsh in their reply.” Muslim and Christian scholars in one form or another have been involved in dialogue for over a thousand years. In the seriousness of the time, the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Human Rights Standards on Freedom of Religion or Belief may be an option to be included in such a theological dialogue.

Objective: Build understanding and support for Article 18, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights –Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion - and the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. Encourage the United Nations, Governments, Religions or Beliefs, Academia, NGOs, Media and Civil Society to use these international human rights standards as essential for long-term solutions to conflicts based on religion or belief.

Challenge: In 1968 the United Nations deferred work on an International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Religious Intolerance, because of its apparent complexity and sensitivity. In the twenty-first century, a dramatic increase of intolerance and discrimination on grounds of religion or belief is motivating a worldwide search to find solutions to these problems. This is a challenge calling for enhanced dialogue by States and others; including consideration of an International Convention on Freedom of Religion or Belief for protection of and accountability by all religions or beliefs. The tensions in today’s world inspire a question such as:

• Should the United Nations adopt an International Convention on Freedom of Religion or Belief?

Response: Is it the appropriate moment to reinitiate the drafting of a legally binding international convention on freedom of religion or belief? Law making of this nature requires a minimum consensus and an environment that appeals to reason rather than emotions. At the same time we are on a learning curve as the various dimensions of the Declaration are being explored. Many academics have produced voluminous books on these questions but more ground has to be prepared before setting up of a UN working group on drafting a convention. In my opinion, we should not try to rush the elaboration of a Convention on Freedom of Religion or Belief, especially not in times of high tensions and unpreparedness. - UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Asma Jahangir, Prague 25 Year Anniversary Commemoration of the 1981 UN Declaration, 25 November 2006.

Option: Forty years later may be the time, however complex and sensitive, to consider a new Working Group to draft a United Nations Convention on Freedom of Religion or Belief. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, at the UN backed Alliance of Civilizations Forum in January 2008 addressed the urgency of the moment; “Never in our lifetime has there been a more desperate need for constructive and committed dialogue, among individuals, among communities, among cultures, among and between nations.” This includes establishing genuine dialogue within and among all kinds of religions or beliefs, ranging from religious fundamentalism to secular dogmatism.

Concept: Separation of Religion or Belief and State – SOROBAS. The starting point for this dialogue is the First Preamble to the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; “Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. It suggests States recalling their history, culture and constitution adopt fair and equal human rights protection for all religions or beliefs as described in General Comment 22 on Article 18, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, UN Human Rights Committee, 20 July 1993 (CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4):

• PARAGRAPH 2. Article 18 protects theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief. The terms belief and religion are to be broadly construed. Article 18 is not limited in its application to traditional religions or to religions and beliefs with international characteristics or practices analogous to those of traditional religions. The Committee therefore views with concern any tendency to discriminate against any religion or belief for any reasons, including the fact that they are newly established, or represent religious minorities that may be the subject of hostility by a predominant religious community.

Extracts: Extracts are presented under the Eight Articles of the 1981 U.N. Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. Examples of extracts are presented prior to an Issues Statement for each Review.

1. 1 Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have a religion or whatever belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practices and teaching.

1. 2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have a religion or belief of his choice.

1. 3 Freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.

A flustered flock of pigeons
How to talk to Muslims (and others); Catholics seem unsure

The Economist, January 26^th 2008

When 138 Muslim scholars sent an open request to leaders of the Christian world, from Catholics to Methodists, for a theological dialogue, they knew they were setting a cat among the pigeons. It was a fair bet that senior Christians would soon be looking over each other’s shoulders, anxious not to be too liberal or too harsh in their reply.

And something like that has happened. America’s Southern Baptists have blamed mainstream Protestants for responding to warmly; and even the usually well-organized Catholics have been less than coordinated. The Vatican’s point man on inter-faith relations, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, initially saw little scope for talking to Muslims about theology. But Pope Benedict XVI later agreed to receive some of the Muslim signatories. That process will start soon.

Easily the boldest Catholic response to the Muslim letter has been an essay by an Australian Jesuit scholar, Daniel Madigan, published this month. He took seriously the Muslim idea of a dialogue based on the commands of Jesus of Nazareth to love God and one another.

Important as these commands were, they were not the basis of the Christian faith: God’s love for man was a more basic point, the Jesuit argued. But for all his quibbles, he did engage with the Muslims’ theological views in earnest.

As the largest of the Catholic Church’s religious orders, the Jesuits like to test the limits of dialogue. Before his death in 2004, a Jesuit pioneer of Catholic thinking on Hinduism, Jacques Dupuis, suffered many scoldings from the Vatican’s doctrinal enforcer: then called Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger; now pope.

The Jesuits’ new superior–general, elected this month, also exemplifies the order’s belief in living “at the frontiers” of culture: like another recent holder of that office (who fell out badly with the Vatican bigwigs). Adolfo Nicolas is a Spanish expert on Japan. He takes office in interesting ecumenical times.

ISSUE STATEMENT: This article is serious and calls for a serious response. A “third rail” is a term that comes from describing the middle track in an electric railroad. Lexicography is “the scholarly discipline of analyzing and describing the semantic and paradigmatic relationships with the lexicon of a language and developing theories of dictionary components and structures linking the data in dictionaries.” Lexicographers have described a neutral or agnostic position as a “third rail” between theism and atheism.

The description of “third rail” and lexicography is meant to give credit to the seriousness of the article and honor the theological principles and positions of Muslim and Christian scholars over the centuries. The article says the Jesuits like to test the limits of dialogue which exemplifies the order’s belief in living at the “frontiers” of culture. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, at the UN backed Alliance of Civilizations Forum in January 2008, asked for a frontier of culture to test the limits of dialogue; “Never in our lifetime has there been a more desperate need for constructive and committed dialogue, among individuals, among communities, among cultures, among and between nations.”

The Holy See and Palestine have Permanent Observer Mission status with the United Nations. The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is represented by a Permanent Mission on the United Nations Human Rights Council and is recognized as an Inter-governmental Organization with Permanent Observer status. The Holy See, Palestine and OIC all are represented on the floor of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The vote by the United Nations Human Rights Council sixth session on resolution A/HRC/6/L.15/Rev.1, the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief is an important issue for the theological dialogue between Muslim and Christian scholars. This was the only one of thirteen resolutions by the United Nations Human Rights Council not adopted by consensus as 18 nations abstained based on Islamic concerns. The reasons and record of this vote is in the attached Word Document, UN Human Rights Council Adopts Resolution on Freedom of Religion or Belief.

The seriousness of the moment calls for an option to theological dialogue not yet tried by scholars of the great Islamic and Christian faiths of the world. This option may be to include in theological dialogues International Human Rights Standards on Freedom of Religion or Belief.

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To reply click this link to The Tandem Project Country & Community Database: Read the Introduction and scroll down to Article 1.1; Article 1.2; Article 1.3:

http://www.tandemproject.com/databases/forms/card.htm

The Tandem Project: a non-profit, non-governmental organization established in 1986 to build understanding and respect for diversity of religion or belief, and prevent discrimination in matters relating to freedom of religion or belief. The Tandem Project has sponsored multiple conferences, curricula, reference materials and programs on Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion - and the 1981 United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. The Tandem Project initiative was launched in 1986 as the result of a co-founder representing the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) at a 1984 United Nations Geneva Seminar, Encouragement of Understanding, Tolerance and Respect in Matters Relating to Freedom of Religion or Belief, called by the UN Secretariat on ways to implement the 1981 UN Declaration. In 1986, The Tandem Project organized the first NGO International Conference on the 1981 UN Declaration.

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights First Preamble reads as follows: “Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. The principle suggests all States recalling their history, culture and constitution, provide equal protection by law for theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief. International Human Rights Standards on Freedom of Religion or Belief may be essential for long term solutions to conflicts based on religion or belief.

The Tandem Project Executive Director: Michael M. Roan, mroan@tandemproject.com.

Documents Attached:

THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE - HUMAN RIGHTS & FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF

UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF

The Tandem Project is a UN NGO in Special Consultative Status with the

Economic and Social Council of the United Nations