{"id":41682,"date":"2019-06-24T14:17:37","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T14:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/queme.org\/?p=41682"},"modified":"2019-06-24T15:52:09","modified_gmt":"2019-06-24T15:52:09","slug":"vchr-urges-eu-to-increase-efforts-to-protect-forb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/vchr-urges-eu-to-increase-efforts-to-protect-forb\/","title":{"rendered":"VCHR urges EU to increase efforts to protect Freedom of Religion or Belief"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


PARIS, 24 June 2019 (VCHR) \u2013 The Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), <\/strong>member of the European Platform against Intolerance and Discrimination (<\/strong>EPRID<\/a>)<\/strong> today joins EPRID to commemorate EU Day on Freedom of Religion or Belief<\/strong> (24 June). The organisations urge the EU and its member states to take more concrete, urgent action to defend and protect the right of all people to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAcross the world, freedom of religion or belief is\nunder threat\u201d<\/em><\/strong>, said V\u00f5 V\u0103n \u00c1i, President of VCHR.\n\u201cIn\nVietnam, the Communist Party imposes draconian controls on all religious\nactivities, and people face discrimination, harassments and imprisonment\nbecause of their religious convictions or beliefs. The EU, one of Vietnam\u2019s\nlargest trading partners, is currently finalising a\nlandmark EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). The European Parliament\nshould not ratify EVFTA unless it includes concrete mechanisms to ensure the\nprotection of human rights and freedom of religion or belief.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June 2013, the EU adopted Guidelines on the Promotion and Protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief<\/a> which set out how it intends to advance this fundamental right in foreign policy. According to research by the Pew Research Centre, around 80% of the world\u2019s population suffer discrimination, oppression or violence because of their religion or belief. No religion or belief group, including theists, non-theists and atheists, are exempt from violations of this right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

EPRID Statement on EU FoRB Day<\/strong>

<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCultural and\nreligious diversity is, now more than ever, colouring our lives and our\nsocieties. On this European Day of Freedom of Religion or Belief, the European\nPlatform against Religious Intolerance and Discrimination (EPRID) calls on all\ngovernments to embrace, respect and protect this diversity. Respect for\ndiversity is the cornerstone of a cohesive and harmonious society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe right to freedom\nof thought, conscience and religion is an essential element for social\ncohesion. It is crucial that European institutions and other relevant actors\nrecognise the spiritual and moral dimensions of human life and place them at\nthe very heart of EU policies and practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFreedom of\nReligion or Belief includes all religions, faiths and philosophies of life,\ntheistic as well as non-theistic and atheistic. On this day, EPRID stresses the\nneed to protect this fundamental freedom. This can include legal, practical or\nother legitimate and necessary measures. Advancing this freedom protects our\nsocieties against divisive forces that advance false claims of national,\ncultural, or religious superiority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe European Day on Freedom of Religion or Belief marks the adoption<\/a> of the EU Guidelines on the protection and promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief. EPRID stands in solidarity with all defenders of Freedom of Religion or Belief and with all victims of violations of this precious human right. The platform calls on all people, regardless of their position in society, to do their utmost to make freedom of thought, conscience and religion a reality, to defend and protect the victims, and to support all those who put their safety and security on the line to protect this fundamental human right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EPRID is a network of civil society organisations, religious bodies and individuals operating at EU level to advance FoRB for everybody.<\/strong> EPRID members include Association Internationale pour la D\u00e9fense de la Libert\u00e9 Religieuse, Bah\u00e1\u2019\u00ed International Community, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Conference of European Churches, European Evangelical Alliance, European Union Office of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Open Doors International, Qu\u00ea Me: Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), International Buddhist Information Bureau (UBCV)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PARIS, 24 June 2019 (VCHR) \u2013 The Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), member of the European Platform against Intolerance and Discrimination (EPRID) today joins EPRID to commemorate EU Day on Freedom of Religion or Belief (24 June). The organisations urge the EU and its member states to take more concrete, urgent action to defend …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":434,"featured_media":41683,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[368,137,113,98,64],"tags":[362],"class_list":["post-41682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-forb","category-latest-posts","category-news","category-press-release","category-vchr","tag-eprid"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/434"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}