About Us
Our Priorities
The
principles expressed in the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (Article 18) guides our work and activities:
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"Everyone has the right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change
his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in
teaching, practice, worship and observance." |
To
ensure that these rights our upheld, the International Association for Religious
Freedom has developed a statement of purpose which outlines our priorities and,
from these guidelines, has focused its work on 5 practical programme areas.
IARF Statement of Purpose
The
purpose of the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) is to work
for freedom of religion and belief because it is a precious human right that
potentially enables the best within our religious lives, or our search for truth
or enlightenment, to flourish.
It
requires work on three aspects, any of which may constitute the core objective
for the IARF membership in a country or region:
1 Freedom from
oppressive interference or discrimination by the state,
government or society's institutions on the grounds of
religion or belief;
2 Mutual
understanding, respect and the promotion of harmony,
or at least "tolerance", between communities or
individuals
of different religions or beliefs;
3 An essential
accountability by religious communities to ensure that their own
practices uphold the fundamental dignity and human rights of
their members
and others.
Thus,
IARF works with and for:
4 Groups
from different religious traditions or beliefs
(normally those which share its values);
5
Communities suffering from religious persecution or discrimination.
The
International Association for Religious Freedom affirms the right to freedom of
religion or belief as set forth in international law.
1.
International Law
The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserts that: "Everyone has the right
to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to
change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching,
practice, worship and observance." (Article 18)
The
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights reaffirms this right and
asserts that: "Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject
only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect
public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms
of others." (Article 18, Paragraph 3)
The
Declaration of the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination
Based on Religion or Belief proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United
Nations on 25 November 1981 (Resolution 36/55) emphasizes "the principles
of nondiscrimination and equality before the law" proclaimed by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants on Human
Rights. The 1981 Declaration asserts that: "No one shall be subject to
discrimination by any State, institution, group of persons, or person on grounds
of religion or other beliefs." (Article 2, Paragraph 1) It defines
"intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief" to mean
"any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on religion or
belief and having as its purpose or as its effect nullification or impairment of
the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms
on an equal basis." (Article 2, Paragraph 2)
The
Human Rights Committee at its 1247th meeting (46th session, 20 July 1993)
adopted General Comment 22 on the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights which affirms: "Article 18 is not limited in its application to
traditional religions or to religions and beliefs with institutional
characteristics or practices analogous to those of traditional religions. The
Committee therefore views with concern any tendency to discriminate against any
religion or belief for any reasons, including the fact that they are newly
established, or represent religious minorities that may be the subject of
hostility by a predominant religious community."
2.
National Law
The
International Association for Religious Freedom recognizes that national
legislation concerning freedom or religion or belief varies from country to
country. The IARF affirms that securing the human right of freedom of religion
or belief does not require uniform legislation in every country, so long as the
basic principles of nondiscrimination and equality before the law are respected.
As
there is no definition of religion in international law, the IARF understands
"religion" to refer to the human activity that is generally described
as "religious" in historical, sociological, and legal descriptions of
human societies. The IARF understands "belief" in the phrase
"freedom of religion or belief" to mean beliefs concerning the meaning
and purpose of life, which function in the lives of those who hold them and in
their organizations in a manner similar to religious beliefs, but which are not
claimed by those who hold them or their organizations to be
"religious."
Therefore,
the IARF affirms, for instance, that individuals have the right to express
humanist beliefs in the same ways that religious persons have the right to
express their beliefs, and that organizations of humanists have the right to
manifest their beliefs in the same ways that religious organizations manifest
their beliefs.
The
IARF accepts that national legislation may require religious organizations to
register with the state and foreigners who are employed by these religious
organizations to secure visas and working permits, so long as these requirements
adhere to the principles of nondiscrimination and equality before the law and do
not unnecessarily restrict the manifestation of religion or belief.
The
IARF is opposed to national legislation that distinguishes between citizens of a
country and non-citizens in protecting the right to manifest freedom of religion
or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching. Every state is obliged
by international law to secure for all persons within its jurisdiction the
fundamental human right to freedom of religion or belief.
The
IARF is opposed to any national legislation that refers to "sects" or
"cults" or "new religious movements" in an effort to impose
restrictions on some religious organizations that are not also imposed on all
religious organizations. In addition, the IARF would question the refusal of a
nation to grant the legal status of religious organization to an organization
that has been given this status by twenty or more other nations.
III.
RESTRICTIONS ON THE RIGHT OF FREEDOM OR BELIEF
The
IARF asserts that restrictions placed on the manifestation of one's religion or
beliefs must meet two tests. First, such restrictions must be necessary to
protect public safety, order, health or morals or the fundamental rights and
freedoms of others. Second, such restrictions must adhere to the principles of
nondiscrimination and equality before the law.
The
IARF suggests that any such restrictions be clearly defined by law in terms of
unacceptable behaviors. Restrictions on the manifestation of freedom of religion
or belief that the IARF supports include the prohibitions of polygamy and of
female genital mutilation.
International
law does not use the word "proselytism" nor does it make any
distinctions about acceptable or unacceptable forms of teaching or communicating
religious beliefs. The World Council of Churches and the Vatican, however,
define proselytism as "a corruption of Christian witness" because it
employs coercion or bribery to bring about conversion. The IARF does not support
legal restrictions on "proselytism" but encourages religious
cooperation within each country to establish a code of conduct distinguishing
religious witness from proselytism.
The
IARF affirms the fundamental human right under international law to choose not
to have a religion or to choose to change one's religion.
IV. CODE OF PRACTICE
The
IARF deplores the following practices by any religious organization or group,
and the IARF urges its members to avoid and oppose such practices:
1)
Inviting people to an event under false pretenses, without explaining the true
nature of the event.
2)
Raising money under false pretenses, or not making clear the purposes for which
the money will be used and the name and nature of the organization for which it
is being collected.
3)
Hiding the true identity of persons trying to raise money or to attract others
into their group.
4)
Using unfair or immoral means of persuasion such as sleep or food deprivation,
hypnosis or any form of emotional, psychological or spiritual coercion.
5)
Concealing from prospective adherents before requiring commitment some of the
implications and consequences of accepting membership in the group.
6)
Serious discussion with minors without the knowledge of parents, guardians or
schoolteachers, and refusal or unreasonable hindering of access to adherents or
prospective adherents;
7)
Offering financial gain as an inducement to join a religious group;
8)
Failure to be publicly accountable in use of finance and resources where money
has been raised from public sources.
9)
Irresponsibility in employment of students and staff including but not limited
to failing to pay national insurance contributions and refusing reasonable
access to medical care.
The
IARF also deplores:
1)
All attempts at the forcible "deprogramming" of adherents of new
religious movements.
2)
All attempts to declare illegal or withdraw rights from a new religious movement
or group without evidence, acceptable by a court of law, that it is acting
illegally or has done so.
3)
Any lack of concern for the truth and for the spreading of misinformation.
4)
Any denial of the right of an individual freely to choose his or her religious
beliefs and practice.
V.
STATE SUPPORT FOR RELIGION
The
IARF recognizes that international law does not prohibit state support for
religion, but only requires that any such support adheres to the principles of
nondiscrimination and equality before the law.
Many
members of the IARF support the idea of a secular state, because they believe
the state should in no way support or discourage religion. Other members of the
IARF support the idea of state assistance to religion so long as such assistance
adheres to the principles of nondiscrimination and equality before the law.
As
many countries have a history of observing cultural traditions that involve the
religious symbols or festivals of only some of the religious organizations
legally recognized within a country, the IARF does not see these observances as
discriminatory unless the members of those religious organizations not observing
them are subjected to intolerance or coerced to participate in these observances
despite their objection as a matter of conscience.
VI.
GUIDE-LINES FOR IARF ACTIVITY
The
IARF will give priority to supporting initiatives by its members.
The
IARF will consult with its members in a country before taking any initiative
with respect to an issue concerning religious freedom in that country.
In
a region where the IARF has a Coordinating Council, any IARF strategy for
supporting religious freedom in the region will be developed in consultation
with the Coordinating Council.
The
IARF affirms that the right of freedom of religion or belief should be protected
for all persons and religious groups and gives priority in the allocation of its
limited resources to support for religious groups recommended by the
Coordinating Council for the region in which the group is located or by the
Council or both.
Support
by the IARF for freedom of religion or belief does not imply that the IARF must
accept into its membership any religious group that applies. Membership in the
IARF is solely at the discretion of the IARF Council.
The IARF will utilize its representatives at the United Nations in Geneva and
New York to support initiatives on behalf of freedom of religion or belief. The
General Secretary shall be responsible for interventions by the IARF at the
United Nations and shall report these to the Council.
Approved
by the IARF International Council at its meeting on 27-28 March 1998.
IARF's International Council has approved a Strategic Plan for 2001-2007 to focus on the following priority activities to advance religious freedom:
Supporting affected communities: Identifying communities that have recently suffered from the denial of religious freedom and working with regional coordinators and member organizations to develop practical programmes of support;