ODIHR Adviser on Freedom of Religion or Belief addresses UN Human Rights Council

ODIHR’s Adviser on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Simona Santoro, spoke at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on 14 June in a panel on strengthening global dialogue to promote a culture of tolerance and peace.

During her address, Santoro outlined what ODIHR is doing in the area of tolerance and non-discrimination, highlighting: “On the one hand, the remedial approach, which tackles hate crimes legislation and prosecution. On the other, the preventive approach, which focuses on education and better protection on freedom of religion or belief. Our experience shows that technical support in these areas is most successful when coupled with political commitment of governments and leaders.”

Talking about the freedom of religion or belief, Santoro said that ODIHR has put in place measures to assist the OSCE participating States and in recent years has reviewed more than a dozen laws in this field. She added that revised Guidelines for Review of Legislation Pertaining to Religion or Belief will be published soon.

The opening speaker at the panel was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, who stressed that freedom of expression and freedom of religion are not contradictory but interdependent and mutually reinforcing.