In this page you can find documents and videos about the activities of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB) and the associated NGOs, concerning freedom of religion and belief and human rights issues, at the Europe’s largest annual human rights conference. It was organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in Warsaw, from 10 to 21 September 2018.
Today 13th 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.
Last 28th 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 28th 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 15th of March 2018 on the occasion of the 37th 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 15th of March 2018 on the occasion of the 37th 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 37th 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.
Video and text of the paper by Thierry Valle, Director of the NGO CAP Liberté de Conscience, at the International Convention Law and Freedom of Belief ein Europe, an arduous journey, held in Florence on 18-19 January 2018.
Video and text of the paper by Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers Int., at the International Convention Law and Freedom of Belief in Europe, an arduous journey, held in Florence on 18-19 January 2018.
Video and text of the paper by lawyer Patricia Duval, member of the Scientific Committee of FOB, at the International Convention, Law and Freedom of Belief in Europe, an arduous journey, held in Florence on 18-19 January 2018.
Video of the speech by Professor Susan Palmer, Concordia University, Montreal, at the International Convention Law and Freedom of Belief in Europe, an arduous journey, held in Florence on 18-19 January 2018.
Video and text of the paper by Professor Massimo Introvigne, sociologist of religions and director of CESNUR, at the International Convention Law and Freedom of Belief in Europe, an arduous journey, held in Florence on 18-19 January 2018
Thousands of members of the Church of Almighty God (CAG) have been incarcerated in China, following a further crackdown on unauthorized religious organizations. According to the rough statistics, more than 300,000 members of CAG were incarcerated and detained in China from the beginning of the persecutions in the 1990s to 2017.
Last August 2017 representatives of CAG contacted FOB seeking help and advice about their ongoing situation being denied freedom of belief in their country and being neglected protection in some European and non-European countries, that were not acknowledging they were being persecuted on the basis of their faith. FOB started a research with the support of leading experts and scholars who carried out a in-depth study on this matter. After a meeting in Warsaw at the HDIM OSCE Meeting between representatives of FOB and of CAG, further contacts have been developed.
