Activities

Pacini Publishing House has released the edited book of the Acts of the Convention "Law and Freedom of Belief in Europe, an arduous journey", organised by FOB in Florence on 18-19 January 2018. The Acts (608 pages, hardcover) consist of 27 contributions from different perspectives ranging from philosophy to law, from sociology to religious studies.

Esquire professor Giuseppe Conte,

Our Federation is at work on the entire European region to protect and promote the individuals’ freedom to believe and not believe, a right which is granted in Italy firstly by the Constitution, in other nations by the respective statutes and international treaties, as well as by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of December 1948.

In the year of the 70^th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, FOB calls on States to implement FORB at the United Nations Palace in Geneva

The chairman of FOB, attn. Amicarelli and other delegates took part in the event FORB IN EU AND RUSSIA organised by the UN ECOSOC accredited association "Fundacion VIDA" during the 39^th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the 18^th of September 2018.

Today 13^th of September 2018 Alessandro Amicarelli, chairman of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB) has represented the federation at the OSCE ODIHR Human Dimension Implementation Meeting 2018 in Warsaw. He made a statement at session 6, on Tolerance and Non Discrimination, enphasising the vitality of the dialogue with minorities and State bodies and international organisations for the improvement of Freedom of Religion and Belief in the world.

Heavily persecuted in China, with many documented cases of torture and extra-judicial killings, hundreds of members of The Church of Almighty God have escaped to South Korea, where they are seeking refugee status. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pursuing them also in Korea. It has coerced or persuaded with threats their relatives to go to Korea and  askthat the refugees “return home,” i.e. go back to China where they would not go “home” but to jail, and is staging false “spontaneous demonstrations” with the help of local organizations agains the “cults.”

Dear Mr. Tria:

We wish you a fruitful visit to China on behalf of Italian economic interests.

Last July, Italy was an official participant in the Washington D.C. “Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom”. There, 82 countries solemnly agreed that religious liberty should be regarded as a non-negotiable cornerstone of international relations.

Dear Chancellor Merkel:

We are NGOs active in the field of religious liberty, and write about the urgent situation of a Chinese refugee, Ms. Zhao, cur ently detained at the Aufsichtsund Dienstleistungsdirektion Landeseinrichtung für Asylbegehrende und Ausreisepflichtige in Ingelheim, after she resisted forcible deportation to China on July 9.

We urge you to consider that, should Ms. Zhao be returned to China, she would certainly be arrested and might be subject to torture or “disappear” while in custody.

Practicing What We Preach in Europe

Last 28^th of June at Brussels in the premises of the prestigious Solvay Library at the European Parliament the Faith and Freedom Summit 2018 was successfully held.
Speakers and participants from several countries attended a packed one-day conference that covered the many aspects of the protection of freedom of religion and belief in Europe and its challenges in the modern society.

An Open Letter to President Trump to Save Demei Zou

Nine non-governmental organizations appeal to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to intervene in the case of Demei Zou, an asylum seeker of a Chinese Christian new religious movement, The Church of Almighty God, who is detained in Detroit, Michigan and faces deportation to China.

Dear President Trump:

The European Political group Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) has organised Faith and Freedom Summit 2018 that will be held at the prestigious premises of Solvay Library in Brussels on the 28^th of June.

The event is co-organised by ACRE in partnership with other associations, two of which are also associate members of FOB, specifically CAP-LC and All Faiths Network.

The 15^th of March 2018 on the occasion of the 37^th UN Human Rights Council atty. Amicarelli, chairman of FOB, has represented at the United Nations, the European Federation for Freedom of Belief at the event “Deterioration of Religious Freedom in Eastern Europe” organised by the UN accredited NGO and FOB associate, CAP-LP, Coordination of Associations and Individuals for Freedom of Belief.

The 15^th of March 2018 on the occasion of the 37^th UN Human Rights Council atty. Amicarelli, chairman of FOB, will represent at the United Nations, the European Federation for Freedom of Belief at the event "Deterioration of Religious Freedom in Eastern Europe" organised by the UN accredited NGO and FOB associate, CAP-LP, Coordination of Associations and Individuals for Freedom of Belief.

On March 1, 2018, during the 37^th session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, the FOB (Freedom of Belief) member NGO Coordination of the Associations and Individuals for Freedom of Conscience (CAP LC) organized a Side Event on the denial of religious freedom in China and the case of The Church of Almighty God.

In the prestigious setting of Sant'Apollonia Auditorium at the homonymous XIV century convent complex located in Via San Gallo, in the historic center of Florence, the international convention of the European Federation for the Freedom of the Belief (FOB) took place on 18th and 19th January, under the auspices of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (Mr. Thorbjørn Jagland), of the patronage of the Tuscany Regional Council, of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) and of the University of Florence.