The Federal Government’s Second Report on the Global Status of Freedom of Religion Reporting period 2018 – 2019 The wooden structure 7.5 metres high known as the “Ring for Peace” stands in the Luitpoldpark in Lindau on Lake Constance. It was erected to commemorate the 10th World Assembly of the NGO Religions for Peace in August 2019. Gisbert Baarmann, the sculptor who created the artwork, integrated 36 different kinds of wood from all over the world into it. The meeting in the Allgäu region in southern Germany brought together some 900 representatives of religious faiths from around 100 countries. © picture alliance / dpa / Carolin Gißibl 2 Federal Government Commissioner for Global Freedom of Religion and Member of the German Parliament, Markus Grübel. © RFB Dear readers, When an argument developed between a Christian agricultural worker and her co-workers in June 2009, little did she know that everything would change for her from that day. What happened next in that province in South Asia was to determine her life from that moment on and have massive repercussions worldwide. On the day in question, her fellow workers told her she was “un- clean” because of her faith. An argument ensued, in the course of which she was accused of blasphemy. It was claimed that she had insulted the Prophet Muhammad. In the days that followed, she was threatened by a mob and then arrested by the police and charged with blasphemy. In 2010, she was sentenced to death. When, years later, the sentence was overturned, protests erupted. Protesters called for the sentence to be upheld and the worker put to death. In 2019, she left her home country and is now living in exile. 3 Her fate is not an isolated case. In 2017, more than 70 countries had laws against blasphemy and the defamation of religion on their statute books that run counter to human rights standards. In some of these countries, this legislation continues to provide for the use of the death penalty. The cartoon controversy in Denmark and France and the recent attacks in Paris and Nice show that accusations of blasphemy do not only pose a threat to people in Pakistan or Saudi Arabia – they can also have deadly consequences in the heart of Europe. At a primary school in Berlin, a teacher was threatened by an 11-year-old student, who made reference to the beheading of French teacher Samuel Paty. Citing alleged blasphemy as justifcation for violence is a misuse of the free- dom of religion or belief, as is anti-blasphemy legislation that runs counter to human rights; we have to take a clear stance against this. The right to freedom of religion or belief must never be played off against other human rights such as the freedom of opinion and expression. Freedom of religion or belief goes hand in hand with all other human rights, because human rights are universal, inalienable and indivisible. Anti-blasphemy laws that violate human rights are an attack cloaked in legal terminology. They fuel injustice and social violence – we have to take action against them. As a religious person myself, I can understand very well that people feel offended if their religion is denigrated. I, too, fnd it alienating to see how religious beliefs are disparaged or ridiculed time and again. But we must never forget that the right to freedom of religion or belief protects people’s freedom to exercise their religion; it does not protect the “honour” of any one religion per se. As a society, we have to live with that diffcult balance. Criticism of any kind of belief or non-belief, any kind of opinion, is permitted. What is protected is a person’s right to freely express and exercise any given belief or religion. This applies for all people equally – including people who convert to a different faith or who are not followers of any religion or belief. Human rights form the basis of our inclusive, pluralistic society. Only if they are respected is it possible for religious and non-religious people to live together peacefully. The Federal Government’s Second Report on the Global Status of Freedom of Religion describes, in its chapter on anti-blasphemy and anti-conversion laws, how and where such laws have provided a gateway for human rights to be limited and are posing a threat to the freedom of religion or belief. 4 The situation on freedom of religion or belief has worsened dramatically over the past few years. Firstly, more and more religious and ethnic minorities are suffering discrimination and oppression. Three-quarters of the world’s population live in countries that increasingly restrict their freedom of religion or belief. This is evident, for example, from developments in China, and also regarding indigenous people in South America. Secondly, there are groups that exploit religion to fuel political or economic conficts, abusing it to fan the fames. We can see this, for example, in the confict between pastoralists and farmers in Nigeria. I therefore consider it important to strengthen the role of religious actors to become responsible peacebuilders who help extinguishing the fames. This approach – of looking at what potential can be used – is characteristic of the German government’s take on freedom of religion. The present report highlights developments that give cause for concern and describes threats to the freedom of religion or belief in 30 countries. It also highlights three thematic areas in which freedom of religion or belief is cur- rently subject to particularly severe and cross-border restrictions: blasphemy laws and anti-conversion laws, digital communication, and the quality of, and access to, the state education system. The report was published in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pan- demic has once again highlighted the importance of the freedom of religion or belief. In many countries, governments are using the pandemic as a pretext for discriminating against minorities. This is one more instance underlining the special responsibility that religious and other civil society organisations bear. They can act as watchdogs, drawing attention to human rights violations, forming alliances on the ground and helping people. The publication of the report also coincided with Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the EU. It can be seen as our mission statement in the feld of freedom of religion or belief and sends a strong message across Europe in support of the human rights-based approach to strengthening freedom of religion or belief worldwide. I am hence very pleased about the many positive responses from my colleagues across Europe. We are all agreed that we must not remain silent when people suffer discrimination, persecution, violence or even death on account of their religion or belief. We have to be on alert, raise the alarm, form alliances and take joint action to strengthen freedom of religion or belief for all people worldwide. 5 Development programmes can make an important contribution to that, and we want to further expand that contribution in the future. Just like the world religions, such programmes have a clear focus on tasks of global reach relating to peace and sustainable development. And at local level, they target the places where human rights are under threat in very practical ways. They support religious actors and communities in their efforts to make full use of their potential for peace within societies and the sustainable development of those societies. In Iraq, for example, interactions between the different religious groups still hold many challenges. During my visits there, I have seen Christians, Yazidis and Sunnis working together to foster reconciliation. These are small steps towards reconciliation that can lead to peace and freedom. They have a huge impact that goes far beyond the region itself. With best regards Markus Grübel, Member of the German Parliament Federal Government Commissioner for Global Freedom of Religion 6 Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid and Member of the German Parliament, Dr Bärbel Kofer © Thomas Koehler / photothek.net Dear Readers, Freedom of religion and belief in the context of human rights plays a role in many of my meetings. During my visit to Pakistan in 2016, for example, I spoke with both the Archbishop of Karachi and the Pakistan Hindu Council. These conversations highlighted just how closely issues relating to freedom of religion and belief are linked with women’s rights, education or poverty reduction. Such experiences make it clear that human rights in practice truly are inalienable and universal. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 states that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” These human rights include “the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion”, which, under Article 18, includes the “freedom to change [one’s] religion or belief, and 7 freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest [one’s] religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and obser- vance”. This also includes the right not to belong to any religious community. Even though they are laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the most basic human rights, including the right to freedom of religion and thought, are still not guaranteed in many parts of the world. I am convinced that only societies in which people can exercise all their human rights freely and equally can also be peaceful societies. Again and again, we see that restrictions on freedom of religion and belief can have a negative impact on peace and security. In this report, we have therefore tried to show where and how the right to freedom of religion and thought is being limited around the world, and how this may possibly endanger peace and security.