THE TANDEM PROJECT
UNITED NATIONS, HUMAN RIGHTS,
FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF
Separation of Religion or Belief
& State
First Session U.N. Human Rights
Council Universal Periodic Review (7-18 April, 2008)
Available in other languages: click here if the language box does not display.
The Universal Periodic
Review (UPR) is a unique process launched by the UN Human Rights Council in
2008 to review the human rights obligations and responsibilities of all UN
Member States by 2011. Click for an Introduction to the Universal Periodic
Review, Process and News:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRMain.aspx
UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW
The Indonesia
Universal Periodic Review was held by the UN Human Rights Council on
Link to:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/czsession1.aspx
The primary human rights
instruments on international law and freedom of religion or belief are:
Article 18 International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights; and the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of
all Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.
General Comment 22 on
Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/9a30112c27d1167cc12563ed004d8f15?Opendocument
The 1981 UN Declaration: http://www.tandemproject.com/program/81_dec.htm
THE TANDEM PROJECT FOLLOW-UP
The Tandem Project Follow-up builds on 1986 Community
Strategies, 27 action proposals at a local level to implement Article
18 of the ICCPR and the 1981 UN Declaration on Freedom of Religion or Belief: http://www.tandemproject.com/tolerance.pdf Three Follow-up proposals:
(1) Develop model
local-national-international integrated approaches to human rights and freedom
of religion or belief, appropriate to the constitutions, legal systems and
cultures of each country, (2) Use International Human Rights Standards on
Freedom of Religion or Belief as a platform for inclusive and genuine dialogue,
(3) Apply these standards on freedom of religion or belief in education
curricula, “teaching children, from the very beginning, that their own religion
is one out of many and 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.”
Example: Universal
Periodic Review & Freedom of Religion or Belief
The challenge to the UN
Human Rights Council is to achieve consensus among world views relating to international human rights
standards on freedom of religion or belief and freedom of opinion and
expression. Recognizing the religious and cultural sensitivity these issues, it is time for the UN Human Rights Council to establish an
Open-ended Working Group for a UN Convention on Freedom of Religion or Belief, deferred
since 1968 by its predecessor the UN Human Rights Commission, and to strengthen
the Special Procedures mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of
Religion or Belief.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Tandem Project Follow-up for the Czech Republic Universal Periodic
Review on human rights and freedom of religion or belief is a challenge based
on the twenty year history since the Velvet Revolution; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_Revolution.
A New York Times article on a recent papal visit explains this clearly; “Twenty
years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Velvet Revolution that
overthrew Communism in
The divide between
secular and spiritual ideology may explain in part why the Czech Republic
Universal Periodic Review does not mention Article 18 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – equal protection against
discrimination for all theistic, non-theistic and
atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief. The
Czech Republic Universal Periodic Review focus is on legislation, rights of the
child, prisons, police, cage beds, sterilization, return of property to the
Catholic Church and ethnic minority discrimination against the Roma in fields
of housing, employment and education of children.
Tolerance and equal
rights for all members of the human family; believer and unbeliever, theist,
non-theist, atheist and agnostic are a challenge when beliefs are
deeply-held. Cooperation can be
altruistic but human nature seems most open to cooperation with those of like
minded beliefs. Real dialogue and cooperation between religious and
non-religious believers are taking place in all parts of the world and in the
EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
Links: Web sites in the public domain may be
distributed unless copyright is indicated.
The Tandem Project Follow-up is seeking an exchange of information
for the Czech Republic Universal Periodic Review on approaches to freedom of
religion or belief, to bridge
human rights proclaimed in treaties at the international level with the reality
of implementation at a national and local level.
These are some of the
organizations with expertise in the
UPR Letters of Submission: for
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRCzechRepublicStakeholderInfoS1.aspx
There were six letters of
submission for the Czech Republic Universal Periodic Review. They include the
Public Defender of Rights and the Council of Europe.
Public Defender of Human Rights: for
The Public Defender of Rights
in the
Czech
The Czech Helsinki
Committee is a non-governmental, non-profit organization for human rights. The
main mission is monitoring legislative and the state of human rights in the
Council of
The Council of Europe
Letter of Submission for the Czech Republic Universal Periodic Review includes
eleven background statements. This background statement is the second opinion
on the
OSCE-ODIH: – Intolerance and Discrimination on the
http://tandis.odihr.pl/index.php?p=country,cze
The Tolerance and
Non-Discrimination Information System (TANDIS) of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) – Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights (ODIHR) website above provides one-point access to all collected
information concerning the
Religion and Law –
http://www.religlaw.org/countryportal.php?CountryID=54&SortBy=recent
Key links for the
OSCE-ODIHR Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Information System for the
Catholic Church in the
http://www.cirkev.cz/en/czech-bishops-conference.html
The first web site is in
the Czech language. The web page on the Czech Bishops Conference is in English.
On
International Humanist and Ethical
The International
Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) is “a world union of over 100 Humanist,
rationalist, secular, ethical culture, atheist and free-thought organizations
in more than 40 countries.” Founded in
Free Thinkers of
This website is listed as
being affiliated with the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). It
is in the Czech language. The Tandem Project is not able to read the website
and will ask the parent IHEU organization which is in Special Consultative Status
with the United Nations for their opinions on secular organizations for an
exchange of information on follow-up to the Czech Universal Periodic
Review.
Lutheran World Federation; http://www.lutheranworld.org
The Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition with international headquarters in
http://www.sceav.cz/index.php?strana=kontakt
The
FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF
1.
The country has
an area of 30,442 square miles, and a population of 10.2 million. The country
had a largely homogenous population with a dominant Christian tradition.
However, in part as a result of 40 years of communist rule between 1948 and
1989, the vast majority of citizens did not identify themselves as members of
any organized religion. In a 2007 opinion poll sponsored by the Stredisko
Empirickych Vyzkumu (STEM) agency, 28 percent of respondents claimed to believe
in God, while 48 percent identified themselves as atheists. Only 18 percent of
Czechs under 29 professed a belief in God. Similarly, in a May 2007 poll by the
Public Opinion Research Centre (Centrum pro vyzkum verejneho mineni, or CVVM),
55 percent of Czechs voiced a mistrust of churches, while only 28 percent
stated that they trust them. There was a revival of interest in religion after
the 1989 "Velvet Revolution"; however, the number of those professing
religious beliefs or participating in organized religion fell steadily since
then in every region of the country.
Five percent of
the population attends Catholic services regularly and most of these live in
the southern Moravian dioceses of
2.
The Constitution
provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this
right in practice. The Government at all levels sought to protect this right in
full and did not tolerate its abuse, either by governmental or private actors.
Religious
affairs are the responsibility of the Department of Churches at the Ministry of
Culture. All religious groups officially registered with the Ministry of
Culture are eligible to receive tax benefits and government subsidies from the
state, although some decline to receive state financial support as a matter of
principle and as an expression of their independence.
Recognized
national holidays are Easter Monday, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and St.
Stephen's Day (December 26) and do not have an evident negative affect on any
religious group.
There are 26
state-recognized religious organizations. In 2004 the
The 2002 law on
Religious Freedom and the Position of Churches and Religious Associations
created a two-tiered system of registration for religious organizations. To
register at the first (lowest) tier, a religious group must have at least 300
adult members permanently residing in the country. First-tier registration
confers limited tax benefits and imposes annual reporting requirements, as well
as a 10-year waiting period before the organization may apply for full
second-tier registration. To register at the second tier, a religious group
must have membership, with the requisite signatures, equal to at least 0.1
percent of the country's population (approximately 10,000 persons). Many
smaller and less established religions were unable to obtain the signatures
necessary for second tier registration. Second-tier registration entitles the
organization to a share of state funding.
3.
Government
policy and practice contributed to the generally free practice of religion.
Members of
unregistered religious groups may issue publications without interference.
The Ministry of
Culture sponsors religiously oriented cultural activities through a grant
program. The Ministry sponsored some interfaith activities during the period
covered by this report, including partial funding of the Christian and Jewish
Society.
Under the 2002
religious registration law, the Ministry of Culture has responsibility for
registering religious charities and enterprises as legal entities. The Catholic
Church has criticized the law on the grounds that it unduly restricts Church
management and financing of many of its social projects. The Church reports
that religious charities and enterprises continue to experience difficulties
and delays in registering as legal entities, although there has been some
recent improvement in the speed of granting registrations. For example, in 2006
the Ministry registered a Catholic religious enterprise in northern
In 2006 the
4.
There were some
reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or
practice (see Anti-Semitism). Prominent societal leaders took positive steps to
promote religious freedom.
The immigrant
population was relatively small and included persons from
There were no
reported violent anti-Semitic incidents against individuals in the country
during the reporting period, and there were isolated reports of property damage
or vandalism. A small but persistent and fairly well-organized extreme right
movement with anti-Semitic views existed within the country. Some neo-Nazi
rallies and concerts occurred throughout the year.
* Source: US
State Department 2008 International Religious Freedom Report;
Direct Link: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108442.htm
Links to State Department
sites are welcomed. Unless a copyright is indicated, information on the State
Department’s main website is in the public domain and may be copied and
distributed without permission. Citation of the U.S. State Department as source
of the information is appreciated.
______________________________________________________________________________
Documents Attached:
Czech Republic - Universal Periodic Review & Freedom of Religion or Belief
Czech Republic - Uphill Fight for Pope Among Secular Czechs
Minneapolis-St. Paul Area Survey on Freedom of Religion or Belief.
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.”
Genuine dialogue on human
rights and freedom of religion or belief calls for respectful discourse,
discussion of taboos and clarity by persons of diverse beliefs. Inclusive
dialogue includes people of theistic, non-theistic and
atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief.
The warning signs are clear, unless there is genuine dialogue ranging from
religious fundamentalism to secular dogmatism; conflicts in the future will
probably be even more deadly.
In 1968 the UN deferred
work on an International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Religious Intolerance because of its complexity and sensitivity. Violence,
suffering and discrimination based on religion or belief in many parts of the
world is greater than ever. It is time for
a UN Working Group to draft what they deferred in 1968, a comprehensive core international
human rights treaty-a United Nations Convention on Freedom of Religion or
Belief. United Nations
History – Freedom of Religion or Belief
The challenge to religions
or beliefs at all levels is awareness, understanding
and acceptance of international human rights standards on freedom of
religion or belief. Leaders, teachers and followers of all religions or
beliefs, with governments, are keys to test the viability of inclusive and
genuine dialogue in response to the UN Secretary General’s urgent call for
constructive and committed dialogue.
The Tandem Project title,
Separation of Religion or Belief and State (SOROBAS), reflects the far-reaching scope of UN General
Comment 22 on Article 18, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
Human Rights Committee (CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4). The General Comment on Article
18 is a guide to international human rights law for peaceful cooperation,
respectful competition and resolution of conflicts:
http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/9a30112c27d1167cc12563ed004d8f15?Opendocument
Surely one of the best
hopes for 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 is a non-governmental organization (NGO)
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 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 is a UN NGO in
Special Consultative Status with the
Economic and Social Council of
the United Nations