On June 28 2018, at the Solvay Library, situated just behind the European Parliament in the Parc Leopold, a large group of faith and government representatives met in what has been termed the launch of the Faith and Freedom Summit.

So much hope was placed upon this conference to address and resolve the divisions caused by intolerance that Archbishop Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher from the World Evangelical Alliance attended just after meeting with Pope Francis in Rome to receive the personal blessings of the Pontiff and his wishes for the Summit’s success.

The 80 participants—religious leaders and scholars, human rights advocates, members of the European Parliament, and other leaders from throughout Europe—included representatives from the United States and from as far away as Indonesia. The impressive list of speakers and panellists made it maybe the most important event on Freedom of Religion that happened in Brussels since decades. The list included:

One of the keynote speakers was the EU’s Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the EU, Jan Figel. He told the conference, “The credibility of the EU and Europe is at stake,” and that the EU needed to “face up” to the numerous cases of discrimination that occur against religious minorities within its own borders. He also supported the need for extending existing European instruments, such as his own office and that of the Parliament’s Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the EU to having a role within the EU itself. He also supported another proposal of the organisers to use the upcoming European elections in May as a perfect opportunity to raise awareness of the threat to freedom of religion or belief.

The Faith and Freedom Summit is a coalition of 19 NGOs which have come together to promote religious tolerance, particularly within the European Union. It is a non-partisan body with no political affiliation though it has been supported by the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) who have recognised the importance of this principle, as well as by MEPs from all over the political spectrum.

Also attending and speaking in support of the initiative were Kishan Manocha, Senior Advisor on Freedom of Religion and Belief, OSCE and Archbishop Thomas Schirrmacher, President of the International Society for Human Rights.

Bashy Quraichy, Secretary General of the European Muslim Initiative for Social Cohesion, told the conference that they are a “powerful movement against religious discrimination” and they appeal to the EU, especially the European Parliament, “to be more proactive in order to warn those countries who commit acts of oppression against religious minorities.” He added that he believes Europe needs to act in an “inclusive fashion” and not be “selective as to who to put pressure on and who not” whilst pointing out that populists and others were “spreading hatred” against Muslim communities, and noted that the number of hate crime incidents directed at Muslims had “jumped many fold…This, in turn, is breeding violence, murders and property damages.”

Martin Weightman, Director of the All Faiths Network, told participants that, “Government interference in religion or belief can be blatant or subtle. It can come in many forms from covert administrative blocks, delays and denials to overt legislative and policy statements that implement undue restrictions on religious expression or practice. Raising these issues within the EU institutions will not be easy but without any communication between all the relevant players – EU officials and politicians, belief groups and the wider public – then we go nowhere – or rather we go down.”

The President of the Netherlands-based NGO the Gerard Noot Foundation, Hans Noot, told reporters that the aim of the EU’s policy should be to include minority groups, saying, “This applies not just to faith groups but all minorities, including refugees and the lesbian and gay community. We should be striving for a more inclusive society but, at present, minorities like asylum seekers and refugees are demonised and portrayed as the “bad boys” if anything goes wrong.”

Mr. Eric Roux, Vice-President of the European Office of the Church of Scientology for Public Affairs and Human Rights outlined the list of initiatives that the Summit have called for implemention:

· MEPs to sign a pledge supporting freedom of religion or belief
· Extend the remit of the EU Special Envoy on Freedom of Religious Belief or belief outside the EU, to within the EU.
· Parliamentary Intergroup to investigate and raise instances of discrimination based on religion or belief within the EU, at European Parliament.
· FRA (Fundamental Rights Agency) task force to tackle the topic of discrimination.
· Academics EU resources should finance a full research project carried out by academics already known and experienced in the area of discrimination based on religion or belief in the EU.
· Create an open platform gathering members of the FRA, members of the EU Parliament, civil society partners, members of the EU Commission, religious stakeholders, that will be in charge of monitoring discrimination based on religion or belief issues in EU Member states.
· Article 17 TFUE (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to dialogue with religions and philosophical organisations) adequately manned task force in the EU Commission to implement article 17 TFUE
· Create EU guidelines to protect EU citizens against discrimination based on religion or belief that will be approved and adopted by the Council.
· A Faith and Freedom Award to award MEPs and other worthy individuals that are active in promoting various aspects of freedom of religion or belief within the EU.

Other key speakers at the Summit were:

Kristina Arriaga de Bucholz (President – Oxford Society of Law and Religion and Commissioner of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Willy Fautre (Director – Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Massimo Introvigne (scholar and President of CESNUR)
Ms. Ines Mazarrasa (Directora Fundacion Pluralismo y Convivencia – Foundation Pluralism and Coexistence)
Laurentiu Rebega MEP
Alfiaz Vaiya (Coordinator – European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup)
Marco Ventura (Professor of Law, University of Siena)
Jan Zahradil MEP (President of ACRE)

The meeting ended with attendees agreeing to work on all the above initiatives and meet on a regular basis to implement them.

The Summit launched a pledge that now calls for all Members of Parliaments to sign, that reads as following:

“I pledge that I will uphold and defend the freedom of conscience and religion of all individuals by rejecting and speaking out against bigotry, discrimination, harassment and violence; and so build a more equitable society for all.”

The signature of the pledge was inter alia supported by Mr Ahmed Shaheed, then UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief.

If you are an elected or appointed member of European Union institutions, the Latin American Parliament, Organization of American States, the United States Congress, or of any other national political body, please contact us to sign the pledge and become part of this nonpartisan initiative that is aimed at guaranteeing all citizens the freedom of religion or belief.

If you are an NGO and want to join the campaign and be part of the coalition, please contact us with all details.

If you are an individual wanting to support the campaign, please register below by signing the pledge. You will receive all news of the campaigns and be invited to all events we organize.