REVIVAL OF GENEVA NGO COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF

Ten years ago the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CONGO) established, in both Geneva and New York, an NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief with rules and procedures formally adopted in 1992 in Geneva and in 1993 in New York. While the New York Committee has met regularly, the Geneva Committee has suffered from changes and departures of leadership. Occasional meetings have been held, notably with the Special Rapporteur on the question of religious intolerance. It should be noted that the Geneva group, hitherto with a membership of 25, expanded the working title to read Freedom of Religion, Conscience and Belief. This change facilitated participation by some 10 NGOs which do not have a specific religious or inter-religious identity, but which are concerned about and experienced in human rights issues, including those concerning religion and belief.

At a meeting of the Special Committee of NGOs on Human Rights held on 1 October 2001 the officers of that committee and of CONGO were asked to convene a meeting, now scheduled for 25 October 2001, to relaunch the Geneva-based Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief. The aim is to strengthen cooperation between NGOs especially during Commission and Sub-Commission meetings and in particular to prepare to follow up the forthcoming International Consultative Conference on School Education in relation with Freedom of Religion and Belief, Tolerance and Non-Discrimination. This Conference is being organised from 23-25 November 2001 in Madrid by the Special Rapporteur in cooperation with the Government of Spain. It will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.

The Madrid conference is expected to propose preventive strategies related to intolerance against religious practice and belief and also against abuse of religious freedom by some people and groups in the name of religion. The IARF representative resident in Geneva, Dr Taylor, will attend the Madrid conference as part of a larger IARF delegation and will help to relay back its recommendations to the NGO community in Geneva, especially in terms of an on-going agenda for the revived NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief. IARF played an important role in the Geneva-based NGO Committee in the past and is committed to continue this support as the committee is revived.

There is already widespread interest in the revival of this committee, not least in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the USA and the subsequent world-wide reactions. In an address to NGOs in Geneva on 28 September Mrs Mary Robinson, High Commissioner for Human Rights, pointed to the danger that many civil liberties could be put at risk in the current political climate. In particular, she recalled the timeliness of the condemnation of anti-semitism and Islamophobia made at the UN Durban Conference against all forms of racism.

Dr John Taylor