Einführung der Auslandsbischöfin Petra Bosse-Huber bei der Podiumsdiskussion "Role of religious actors in promoting human rights"

„More than a committment to freedom of religion or belief - The role of religious actors in promoting human Rights“

Statement by Bishop Petra Bosse-Huber

Ladies and gentlemen, dear guests,

First of all let me thank you for this opportunity of coming together here in Brussels with all of you as actors for human rights with different  backgroundsThis year we will commemorate 70 years of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  In view of current developments in the European Union  and in the global context we must stress that democracy and rule of law cannot be taken for granted. Precisely the opposite is true: we need to continue to proclaim, to explain, to teach and to defend the universal and inalienable rights every human being is entitled to.

For the churches the relation to human rights was not always easy and arriving at a full acceptance was a long and intense learning process. Even more so to adopt human Rights work as a task and mission for us as churches. We had to learn from others, and in a particular way from the work of Civil Rights Movements, that to uphold and  protect human fights –is an obligation and task not only for government, courts and civil society but for the churches as well.

It was the international ecumenical movement that brought the break-through when in the late 60ies of the last century the World Council of Churches implemented its Program to Combat Racism – including a special fund to support the victims of racism. We have to admit that this position and commitment was actually discussed controversially inside and outside the churches. But due to the ongoing practical engagement, accompanied by an ongoing theological reflection and learning, – and I assume also with the help of the Holy Spirit - through the following decades we understood that the care for human dignity and advocating for human rights is deeply rooted in and bound to the biblical foundations and the inner and outer message of the gospel.

Today we declare that “as churches we are committed to respect for human rights.

By witnessing that human beings are made in the image of God (Gen 1,27; Ps 8,5-6) we believe and affirm that every person has been endowed by the Creator with inviolable dignity and that any attack on this individual dignity is an attack on God.”[1]

As Protestant Church in Germany (EKD) we are not only committed to support our member churches in their local ground work on human rights by supplying them with information material, i.e. for programs and activities around the International? Human Rights Day, highlighting current developments and situations where human Rights are at stake. This year’s publication focusses on human rights and their violation in the textile industries.

Beyond that we also cooperate with partners like Bread for the World and global coalitions like ACT Alliance and organizations from civil society like? . Moreover we are engaged with government agencies and diplomatic forces around actual human rights issues and their restriction or violation.

Through our ecumenical relations and ministries abroad we advocate for what is needed by those who become victims of war and violence, of persecution and neglect.

Right now – on the occasion of 70 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - we have launched an initiative on human rights for next year: #freiundgleich - #freeandequal. In a time where also in Germany societal divisions become more visible, anti-semitsm, islamophobia and xenophobia are on the rise we want to specifically focus on human rights education by implementing various programs and holding events for different groups and audiences. We will hear more about this on the panel.

We  also assist the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Churches Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME) to host the annually Summer School of Human Rights, supporting the work on grassgroots level; in 2020 this event will take place in Germany. This year’s conference in Spain focused on current issues around the Right for Religious Freedom and populism in Europe.

We honestly have to admit that the right of religion or belief (FORB) was not always on top of the churches´? agenda. This has changed over the last fifteen, twenty years, surely due to what we have learned from our partner churches worldwide and what we witnessed when religion or  better religious factors became part of or played a vital role in new conflict zones and new kinds of wars and terrorism.

When clashes arise around the so far “peaceful coexistence” of different religions in a region or country, when religion or belief becomes a matter of political powerplay, when minorities are victims of discrimination and persecution, when religion is used to antagonize different ethnic groups and communities and state structures are crumbling, we observe that along with the violation of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights other fundamental rights are infringed, as i.e. the right to freedom of opinion and expression (Art. 19 of the Universal Declaration). Both rights are so closely related that we regard them as mutually dependent: on the one hand Freedom of Religion includes the possibility of criticism of religion which is part of an open discourse in society. On the other hand the “right to unhindered freedom of opinion” will only be fully guaranteed when religious questions can be discussed freely and in a public exchange.[2]

With a view to the German society, where the right of Freedom of religion or belief is seemingly so “natural” and self-evident as if there was no need for a discussion, we have to realize that at least politics have neglected pertinent questions for too long, especially with regard to the disputes around different practices in an immigration society coming along with religious plurality. Therefore and “in view of the progressive secularisation in many societies it is necessary to raise awareness of this human right again, when, for example, the public and visible manifestation of religion is not accepted by the surrounding community.”[3]

We regard it as a positive development that the German Government in 2016 for the first time published a report on Freedom of Religion and Belief worldwide and in 2017 a Federal Government Commissioner for Freedom of Religion worldwide was installed.

As Christians we believe: God created human beings in God’s own likeness and called everyone to be free. This God-given freedom includes the right of every person to seek God as the ground of all reality, and it likewise includes the option of deciding for or against a religious community – or to change one’s religious belief or confession.

In 2017 – for the second time – EKD in cooperation with the German Bishops Conference published the “Ecumenical Report on Religious Freedom of Christians Worldwide”, Subtitle: The right to freedom of religion or belief: Threats – restrictions – violations.

By doing so – pointing out our specific responsibility for sisters and brothers in faith who are suffering from oppression and persecution - we state at the same time that the churches’ engagement applies to all people, not just to the members of our own religion.

We discovered that – compared to the first ecumenical report in 2013 – violation of FORB of the Christian community worldwide has increased. Especially the situation in the Middle East (like in Northern Irak and in Syria) has become one of greatest concern. Here we see and observe by the close contact to the local Churches and Church leaders how the reign of terror by IS/Da’esh has erased whole Christian communities and heritage. The Syrian war has left people in endless distress. Yet our faith members pledge us to help to maintain Christianity in their ancestral homes and to rebuild places to live out and to practice religion.

Many of the German churches and congregations have over the last years welcomed refugees from the Middle East, from Iran and Afghanistan and by doing so they became involved in Human Rights issues, be it by their engagement in refugee work, in legal cases of what we call “Church Asylum”, in women’s and children’s Rights etc. Our people in church and society have been confronted with the fate and the misery of victims in many ways; and besides what populist and rightwing groups and parties claim, there is still a great and ongoing support within the German population for the rights of those who cannot defend themselves. As EKD we will continue to strengthen this engagement.

In the mentioned report on religious Freedom we have monitored several regions around the world. Yet we renounce to give exact figures and statistics of persecuted Christians – contrary to other organizations. We are of the opinion that the situation is so complex that it is nearly impossible to measure the different incidents of discrimination, violations and persecution to guarantee exact figures.

Moreover, we observe that situations of persecution often are not only religiously motivated. They are also part of overlapping religious, ethnic, economic, social and political areas of tension.

We decided to use the term “persecution” of Christians therefore rather rarely as it generally stands for the systematic tracking down of Christians and for an apparatus of persecution that cannot be organized without the active support of state authorities. This is why we speak instead of harassment or discrimination which we regard as being open to different forms and degrees of intensity and find a term which is  better suited to cover the many different phenomena described in the report.

Finally: A special chapter of the report, written by the former UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Prof. Heiner Bielefeldt, is devoted to apostasy and the freedom to change one’s religion or belief. Here we are worried and alarmed about the situation in countries like Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi-Arabia or Sudan and what converts have to face there. But also in Germany we have to deal with more and more cases of refugees from some of these countries who converted to Christianity and where the conversion or baptism is not per se regarded as a guarantee for asylum by state authorities. Here we are confronted with individual drama when people are sent back to their home countries and most probably to facing threats. So, in this German context we are discussing if and how Art. 4 of our Constitution – the Freedom of faith and conscience –is affected by these courts decisions as well as the right of self-determination of the churches.

Much more could be told, but let me conclude by assuring you that we as EKD and as churches in Germany will be also in future a reliable partner in respecting, promoting and defending human rights and that we, as a fait- based organization, in doing so, also need the cooperation and support from your side. I am looking forward to the debate and also your input.

Thank you very much.

[1]

 Ecumenical Report

On the Religious Freedom of Christians Worldwide 2017, p.5-6

[2] See Ibid. P. 7

[3] Ibid.