The situation of religious minorities in Russia has been a cause of serious concerns for several years. While Russia hosts high-level academic institutes and tolerant intellectuals, it is also home to radicals who believe that the Russian Orthodox tradition should be defended by cracking down on minority religions.
Dear President Moon:
문재인 대통령님
We represent international NGOs and scholarly organizations specialized in researching religious pluralism and new religious movements throughout the world, and advocating for religious liberty.
우리는 종교 다원주의와 세계의 새로운 종교 운동을 연구하고 종교 자유를 옹호하는 국제 민간단체와 학술 단체를 대표합니다.
Ten NGOs write to the new president of Kazakhstan demanding freedom and protection for a woman who escaped from China and the activist who defended her.
His Excellency
The Hon. Mr Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
The prominent scholar and expert of religious movements Massimo Introvigne reported in this article the Chinese reactions to the heavy criticisms expressed in the annual report on Human Rights of the US State Department. It is at least paradoxical that the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party reacted by accusing the US of violating human rights. It is not that the United States on the issue of human rights are exempted from criticisms, at least, for example, with regard to the death penalty, which has been definitively abolished only in 19 out of 50 the States but the comparison to China does not hold up.
Dear President Sergio Mattarella:
Dear Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte:
Chinese President Xi Jinping is about to start his visit to Italy. We understand that China is an important commercial partner of Italy and trade agreements will be at the center of the meetings. Italy has consistently been a staunch defender of human rights in different contexts, and has repeatedly stated that human rights should be part of all bilateral negotiations.
Monday, February 4, 2019, in the beautiful setting of the "Hall of Feasts" of the eighteenth-century "Palazzo Bastogi" of Florence, seat of the Regional Council of Tuscany, was held the event of presentation of the prestigious volume of the Final Acts of the FOB (European Federation for Freedom of Belief) convention "Law and Freedom of Belief, an arduous journey”.
On 8th December 2018 the conference "Spiritual Human Rights 2018" organised and hosted by Soteria International, associate member of FOB, was held to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Alessandro Amicarelli, FOB's chairman of the board of directors, delivered the following presentation "70 years of the Universal Declaration, we don't give up".
Scientologists are in jail in Saint Petersburg for the sole fact of practicing their faith, which Russian authorities regard as “extremist,” a charge also used against other groups. We have followed with great concern news published in the Russian media about serious irregularities in the case of Scientologist Ivan Matsitsky, who has been in jail in the last seventeen months.
The Association for the Defence of Human Rights and Religious Freedom (ADHRRF), based in Spain, Germany and Australia, with volunteers in several European countries has joined the European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB).
The aims of ADHRRF are as follows:
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.
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 39th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the 18th of September 2018.
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.
