THE TANDEM PROJECT
UNITED NATIONS, HUMAN RIGHTS,
FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF
CATHOLICS AND MUSLIMS PLEDGE TO
IMPROVE LINKS
Issue: Interfaith Dialogue at the
For: United Nations, Governments, Religions or Beliefs,
Academia, NGOs, Media, Civil Society
Review: Link to Catholics and Muslims
Pledge to Improve Links: New York Times, by Rachel Donadio,
This is a continuation of Reviews The Tandem Project
has been issuing for the past two years on interfaith dialogue and more
specifically, Christian-Muslim relations. This Issue Statement and the Word
Documents (attached) reflect the slow but promising developments of
Catholic-Muslim dialogues that are more frequent now in all parts of the world.
The Review also reflect how far we have to go to reduce tensions that continue
to exist, from the U.N. Human Rights Council no consensus vote last year on the
mandate on freedom of religion or belief, on questions of apostasy and free
choice, and the problems of conversion. Word Documents include the promising
development of codes of conduct for Missionary Activity.
The continuation of this Catholic-Muslim dialogue will
not occur again until 2010 in a Muslim country. Given the tensions that exist
in the world today, one wonders why it will take so long to repeat this
promising start.
The 15 point declaration by the group should be
followed up at local levels in neighborhoods between Catholics and Muslims in
neighborhoods around the world to develop best practice models for the next
high level meeting in 2010.
International Human Rights Standards on Freedom of
Religion or Belief are international human rights treaty law and universal
codes of conduct for peaceful cooperation, respectful competition and
resolution of conflicts. The standards are a platform for genuine dialogue on
core principles and values within and among nations, all religions and other
beliefs.
Here are excerpts followed by the complete New York
Times article:
Catholics and Muslims Pledge to
Improve Links
“Catholic and Muslim leaders worked on Thursday to
deflate suspicion between their two faiths, pledging at a high-level seminar here
to work together to condemn terrorism, protect religious freedom and fight
poverty.
The meeting came a year after 138 Muslim leaders wrote
a letter to Pope Benedict XVI after he offended many Muslims by quoting a
Byzantine emperor who called some teachings of the Prophet Muhammad “evil and
inhuman.” In turn, top
“The atmosphere was very good, very frank,” said Tariq
Ramadan, a professor of Islamic Studies at
Mr. Ramadan said the thorniest questions the group
tackled were “apostasy” and “freedom of worship in a minority situation.” Some
Muslims believe it is apostasy to convert out of Islam.
Participants in this week’s conference pledged to hold
another dialogue in a Muslim country in 2010.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Link to Catholics and Muslims
Pledge to Improve Links: New York Times, by Rachel Donadio,
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Excerpts: Excerpts 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 Issue 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.
The meeting came a year after 138 Muslim leaders
wrote a letter to Pope Benedict XVI after he offended many Muslims by quoting a
Byzantine emperor who called some teachings of the Prophet Muhammad “evil and
inhuman.” In turn, top
But on Thursday both sides said they hoped that
the seminar would open a new and much-improved chapter in Catholic-Muslim
relations, as the two groups said they might establish a committee that could
ease tensions in any future crisis between the two religions.
“Let us resolve to overcome past prejudices and to
correct the often distorted images of the other, which even today can create
difficulties in our relations,” Benedict told the Muslim delegation. He called
the gathering “a clear sign of our mutual esteem and our desire to listen
respectfully to one another.”
Addressing the pope on behalf of the Muslim
delegation, Seyyed Hossein Nasr of
“Certainly we cannot claim that violence is the
monopoly of only one religion,” he said.
The three-day forum brought together nearly 30
Catholic clerics and scholars, led by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the head of
the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue; and as many Muslim clerics
and scholars, led by Mustafa Ceric, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina
based in Sarajevo.
The meeting “exceeded our expectations,” said
Ingrid Mary Mattson, the director of the Islamic Society of
“The atmosphere was very good, very frank,” said
Tariq Ramadan, a professor of Islamic Studies at
Mr. Ramadan said the thorniest questions the group
tackled were “apostasy” and “freedom of worship in a minority situation.” Some
Muslims believe it is apostasy to convert out of Islam.
The 15-point declaration the group issued on Thursday
did not address issues of conversion.
It called on Catholics and Muslims to renounce
“oppression, aggressive violence and terrorism especially that committed in the
name of religion.”
And it said religious minorities should be
“entitled to their own places of worship, and their founding figures and
symbols they consider sacred should not be subjected to any form of mockery or
ridicule.”
In 2006, Muslims around the world protested, some
violently, after a Danish newspaper printed cartoons of Muhammad.
One participant, Archbishop Louis Sako of
In recent years, Islamic militants in
He called on Muslim leaders to publicize the
declaration, with its assertion of shared Christian-Muslim values. “This should
be clarified, stated, given to the media to teach people about it,” he said.
“For us Christians living in Muslim countries, that would be very, very
helpful.”
The Muslim delegation included representatives of
Sunni and Shiite Islam, as well as several converts and participants from
It notably did not include any participants from
Yet in July, Cardinal Tauran and other
Participants in this week’s conference pledged to
hold another dialogue in a Muslim country in 2010.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
ISSUE STATEMENT: International Human Rights Standards on Freedom of
Religion or Belief are international human rights treaty law and universal
codes of conduct for peaceful cooperation, respectful competition and
resolution of conflicts. The standards are a platform for genuine dialogue on
core principles and values within and among nations, all religions and other
beliefs.
General Comment 22 (48)
Article 18, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, UN Human
Rights Committee,
General Comment 22 (48)
Article 18, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, UN Human
Rights Committee, 20 July 1993 (CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4): The Committee observes
that the concept of morals derives from many social, philosophical and
religious traditions; consequently, limitations on the freedom to manifest a
religion or belief for the purpose of protecting morals must be based on
principles not deriving exclusively from a single tradition.
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.
Surely one of the best hopes for the future of
humankind is to embrace a culture in which religions and other beliefs accept
one another, in which wars and violence are not tolerated in the name of an
exclusive right to truth, in which children are raised to solve conflicts with
mediation, compassion and understanding.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
STANDARDS: http://www.tandemproject.com/program/81_dec.htm
Submit information under the Eight Articles and
sub-paragraphs of the 1981 U.N. Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of
Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief by using The Tandem
Project Country & Community Database.
http://www.tandemproject.com/databases/forms/card.htm
Introduction: The Tandem Project is dedicated to support for
International Human Rights Standards on Freedom of Religion or Belief. The
focus is on fundamental values shared virtually universally by public, private,
religious and non-religious organizations to change how our cultures view
differences, how we often behave toward one another and to forestall the
reflexive hostility we see so vividly around the world.
As we are all painfully
aware, religious conflict continues to escalate worldwide whether in the
Surely one of the best hopes for the future of
humankind is to embrace a culture in which religions and other beliefs accept
one another, in which wars and violence are not tolerated in the name of an
exclusive right to truth, in which children are raised to solve conflicts with
mediation, compassion and understanding.
The Tandem Project: a non-governmental organization founded
in 1986 to build understanding, tolerance and respect for diversity, and to
prevent discrimination in matters relating to freedom of religion or belief.
The Tandem Project, a non-profit NGO, 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 1981 United Nations
Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination
Based on Religion or Belief.
The Tandem Project
initiative is the result of a co-founder representing the World Federation of
United Nations Associations at the United Nations Geneva Seminar, Encouragement of Understanding, Tolerance
and Respect in Matters Relating to Freedom of Religion or Belief, called
by the UN Secretariat in 1984 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 Tandem Project
Executive Director is: Michael M. Roan, mroan@tandemproject.com.
The Tandem Project is a UN NGO in
Special Consultative Status with the
Economic and Social Council of
the United Nations
__________________________________________
Goal: To eliminate all forms of intolerance and
discrimination based on religion or belief.
Purpose: To 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
utilize International Human Rights Standards on Freedom of Religion or Belief
as essential for long-term solutions to conflicts
in all matters relating to religion or belief.
Objectives:
1. Use International
Human Rights Standards on Freedom of Religion or Belief as a platform for
genuine dialogue on the core principles and values within and among nations,
all religions and other beliefs.
2. Adapt these human
rights standards to early childhood education, teaching children, from the very
beginning, that their own religion is one out of many and that it is a personal
choice for everyone to adhere to the religion or belief by which he or she
feels most inspired, or to adhere to no religion or belief at all.1
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,
Option: After forty years this may be the time,
however complex and sensitive, for the United Nations Human Rights Council to
appoint an Open-ended Working Group to draft a United Nations Convention on
Freedom of Religion or Belief. The mandate for an Open-ended Working Group
ought to assure nothing in a draft Convention will be construed as restricting
or derogating from any right defined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights, and the 1981 UN
Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of
Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.
Separation of Religion or Belief
and State
Concept: Separation of Religion or Belief and State - SOROBAS. The First Preamble to the 1948 United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads; “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. This concept
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,
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. Article 18: permits restrictions to manifest a religion or
belief only if such limitations are prescribed by law and necessary to protect
public safety, order, health or morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms
of others.
International Human Rights Standards on Freedom of
Religion or Belief are used to review the actions of governments, religions or
beliefs, non-governmental organizations and civil society under constitutional
systems such as Separation of Church and State,
Dialogue: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki
Moon, at the Alliance of Civilizations Madrid Forum said; “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.” A writer in another setting has said, “The warning signs are
clear: unless we establish genuine dialogue within and among all kinds of
belief, ranging from religious fundamentalism to secular dogmatism, the
conflicts of the future will probably be even more deadly.”
International Human
Rights Standards on Freedom or Religion or Belief are international law and
universal codes of conduct for peaceful cooperation, respectful competition and
resolution of conflicts. The standards are a platform for genuine dialogue on
core principles and values within and among nations, all religions and other
beliefs.
Education: Ambassador
The 1981 U.N. Declaration states; “Every child shall
enjoy the right to have access to education in the matter of religion or belief
in accordance with the wishes of his parents, and shall not be compelled to
receive teaching on religion or belief against the wishes of his parents, the
best interests of the child being the guiding principle.” With International
Human Rights safeguards, early childhood education is the best time to begin to
build tolerance, understanding and respect for freedom of religion or belief.
Documents Attached:
Catholics and Muslims Pledge to Improve Links
Muslim & Christian Dialogue - A Flustered Flock of Pigeons
In Death's Shadow - Human Rights & Freedom of Religion or Belief
Pope - Restating Documents Cites Defects of Other Faiths
No Consensus for Resolution on Freedom of Religion or Belief