OHCHR Press Conference (Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief)
Press Conference Announcement
Report on collective religious hatred by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief to the Human Rights Council.
The report focuses on the need to tackle manifestations of collective religious hatred. It examines root-causes and aggravating political factors as a pre-condition to developing effective prevention and coping strategies. The report stresses that sentiments of collective religious hatred are often caused by a combination of fear and contempt which can trigger a vicious cycle of mistrust, narrow-mindedness and collective hysteria. It also identifies aggravating political factors, such as endemic corruption, an authoritarian political atmosphere, and the harnessing of religion for the purposes of national identity politics. In response, the report stresses the need to adopt trust building activities, including establishing trustworthy public institutions and promoting meaningful communication, in particular between different religious or belief communities.
Mr. Heiner Bielfeldt (Germany), Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.
The report focuses on the need to tackle manifestations of collective religious hatred. It examines root-causes and aggravating political factors as a pre-condition to developing effective prevention and coping strategies. The report stresses that sentiments of collective religious hatred are often caused by a combination of fear and contempt which can trigger a vicious cycle of mistrust, narrow-mindedness and collective hysteria. It also identifies aggravating political factors, such as endemic corruption, an authoritarian political atmosphere, and the harnessing of religion for the purposes of national identity politics. In response, the report stresses the need to adopt trust building activities, including establishing trustworthy public institutions and promoting meaningful communication, in particular between different religious or belief communities.
Mr. Heiner Bielfeldt (Germany), Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.
