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Europe and the challenge of religious freedom By Andrea Gagliarducci

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Robert Johnson
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The European Union’s Special Envoy for promoting the Freedom of Religions and Belief outside of Europe will soon be appointed. Maragaritis Schinas, vice-president of the European Commission, announced the Office’s re-establishment in a tweet on July 8.

The announcement brought to a close what had been at times a very lively debate.

The president of the European Commission originally decided not to appoint somebody in the role of advisor to her in the capacity of special envoy “at this time”.

Then, after protests from many organizations, the Commission reversed itself. The position is still vacant, so everything is still up in the air and anything could happen: Why, then, is it so important to have a special envoy for religious freedom in Europe?

The special envoy’s Office was established in 2016, right after Pope Francis had been awarded the Charlemagne Prize. Jan Figel became the Special Envoy. During his mandate, Jan Figel traveled worldwide, opened bridges of dialogue, and had a crucial role in the liberation of Asia Bibi, the Pakistani woman who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy and then acquitted.

Many backed the re-establishment of the position. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg and president of the Committee of the Bishops of the European Union (COMECE), noted that “in some countries, the religious oppression reached the level of a genocide” and for this reason “the European Union must continue to campaign for religious freedom, with a special envoy.” 

This semester, Germany is president of the Council of the European Union. So 135 German members of Parliament asked the government to use the position to press the EU to restore the Office.

Austrian members of Parliament signed a joint resolution with the same goal, and Jewish, Orthodox, and Muslim labels protested against the cancellation of the position. 

It was then expected that the new European Commission was going to renew the mandate. It did not happen at first. In June, the Commission sent a letter to the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, a convenor of NGOs and individuals from any faith that works for religious freedom.

In the letter, the Commission confirmed that they would advance religious liberty according to the 2013 EU guidelines, which recognize the human right to freedom of religion and belief and understand that right under European law to mean that everyone is free to believe, not to believe, change their beliefs, publicly witness their beliefs and share their beliefs with others. 

In the letter, the Commission also said that violations were going to be monitored by the EU delegation. The delegation and Eamon Gilmore, special representative for human rights, were supposed to report on the violations

After that, and all the protests, the Commission changed its mind and announced that the Special Envoy position for religious freedom was going to stay. Everything, by the way, is still suspended. We yet do not know who will be the next special envoy, and under which mandate. 

There is another issue. The special envoy takes care of religious freedom outside of the EU, but religious liberty is at risk within the EU borders. There are many pieces of evidence that religious freedom is subtly dwindling in Europe. 

Religious freedom inside the EU border is guaranteed under the EU charter of fundamental rights which is policed by the EU fundamental rights agency in Vienna. In addition, all the member states of the EU are constrained by fundamental democratic principles for which the commission can hold them to account if their laws don’t correspond.

And yet, there are cases that show that show that religious freedom is at stake. 

The most recent cases came from Finland and Sweden. 

Päivi Räsänen, a member of Finnish Parliament and former minister, faces four investigations after tweeting a Bible passage questioning that the Evangelical Church in Finland sponsored the Pride 2019. 

Ellinor Grimmark and Linda Steen, two Swedish midwives, appealed to the European Court for Human Rights because they found unemployed and could not apply for any job since they refused to help to perform abortions. The appeal was, however, declared inadmissible. 

These are not the only cases, and it is not a new situation. It is worth remembering that the Holy See personally took the floor in 2013. Following the discussion of two cases at the European Court for Human Rights, the Holy See sent a note and widely explained why the religions are not “lawless areas” but instead “spaces of freedom.” 

The two cases that brought about the Holy See’s note are Sindicatul’ Pastoral cel bun’ versus Romania and Fernandez Martinez versus Spain. Both of them provide food for thought even today.

The first case was about a labor union formed in 2008 by the clergy in an Orthodox Church diocese to defend their “professional, economic, social, and cultural interests” in their dealings with the church. 

When the Romanian government registered the new union, the church sued, pointing out that her canons do not allow for unions and arguing that registration violated the principle of church autonomy. 

A Romanian court agreed with the Church, and the union challenged the court’s judgment in the European Court for Human Rights. The union argued that the decision not to register violated Article 11 of the European Convention, which grants a right to freedom of association. 

In 2012, the chamber reasoned that, under Article 11, a state might limit freedom of association only if it shows “a pressing social need,” defined in terms of a “threat to a democratic society,” This did not happen in Romania. So the chamber faulted the Romanian court, and Romania appealed to the Grand Chamber – the final EU judicial appeal venue.

The second case regarded Fernandez Martinez, a Spanish instructor of religion. In Spain, public schools offer classes in Catholicism, taught by instructors approved by the local bishop. Fernandez Martinez did not get his bishop’s approval. A laicized priest, Fernandez Martinez, took a public stand against mandatory priestly celibacy. When the school dismissed the instructor, he brought suit under the European Convention. His dismissal – he argued – violated his right to privacy, family life, and expression. 

A section of the European Court ruled against him, because in withdrawing approval – the section stated – the bishop had acted “in accordance with the principle of religious autonomy”; the instructor had been dismissed for purely religious reasons, and it would be inappropriate for a secular court to intrude. 

These two cases – the “Vatican foreign minister”, then-Archbishop Dominique Mamberti noted – “call into question the Church’s freedom to function according to her own rules and not be subject to civil rules other than those necessary to ensure that the common good and just public order are respected.” 

One should say that this is a vexata quaestio (an already widely discussed issue), with significance far beyond Europe. 

Europe, however, is living in a particularly worrisome situation. The Observatoire de la Christianophobie in France and the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christian in Europe report an increasing number of cases that are food for thought.

Religions became even more vulnerable after the coronavirus outbreak. Many provisions of various governments to counter the spread of the infection also jeopardized freedom of worship. It was an emergency, and everybody understands that, but at the same time, it is always essential to re-establish a principle, in order not to set a precedent.

While watching over the religious freedom in other countries, it would be good that Europe had some more proper monitoring of the situation within its borders.

As the Holy See keeps saying, religious freedom is “the freedom of all the freedoms,” a litmus test for the state of liberty in each country. The appointment of an EU special envoy for religious freedom will be a welcome thing, therefore. It is yet to be seen, however, what will be the precise mandate and the powers of the Office. It would be good to expand its scope to address the violations of religious freedom within the EU, as well.

* Catholic News Agency columns are opinion and do not necessarily express the perspective of the agency.

First half of 2020: Covid-19, investment in recovery, climate | News | European Parliament

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Newsdesk
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ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== First half of 2020: Covid-19, investment in recovery, climate | News | European Parliament

Brexit

At the end of January, Parliament approved the UK’s withdrawal agreement, setting Brexit into motion, and said good bye to the 73 British MEPs. Talks are ongoing to determine how the UK and the EU will work together in the future.

EU-Vietnam trade deal

The EU-Vietnam free trade agreement, approved by Parliament in February, will eliminate virtually all tariffs over the course of a decade. As it includes binding rules on climate, labour and human rights, MEPs see it as a standard-setter for global trade.

Tackling disinformation

Fake news about Covid-19 can be as dangerous as the virus. MEPs support EU efforts to tackle disinformation, while protecting freedom of expression. In June, Parliament established a special committee to research foreign interference in all democratic processes in the EU, including disinformation.

FROM THE FIELD: Frontline resilience in Somalia

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Newsdesk
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Water points in Somaliland in Somalia mean that people and their livestock can survive extreme weather events like droughts. UNDP Somalia/Mark Naftalin

Some 70 per cent of Somalis live from agriculture and pastoralism but changing weather patterns have meant many cannot access the water to sustain these traditional activities. 

Many younger people have left for cities and towns to live in slum settlements where access to facilities is limited, but now a number of dams, dykes and storage tanks built in Somaliland by UNDP and its partners are encouraging people to carry on with their traditional livelihoods by providing stability in the form of a reliable and consistent supply of water. 

And as the virus which causes COVID-19 continues to spread across Africa, the new water sources are also key to slowing the spread of the disease by making it easier for people to wash hands and clean household items.

Read more here about how Somalis are living on the frontlines of resilience 

World’s poorest being pushed ‘closer to the abyss’ of famine, warns WFP chief

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The greatest concentration of need is in Africa, but countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia – including middle-income nations – are also being ravaged by crippling levels of food insecurity.

The two Rome-based UN agencies sounded the alarm in a joint report published Friday as the WFP announced that it is scaling up food assistance to an unprecedented 138 million people who face desperate levels of hunger as COVID-19 tightens its grip on some the world’s most fragile countries.

Livelihoods evaporating

The cost of the WFP’s response is estimated at $4.9 billion – representing nearly half the updated COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan, launched this week – with an additional $500 million special provision to prevent famine in countries most at risk.

“Three months ago at the UN Security Council, I told world leaders that we ran the risk of a famine of biblical proportions”, said WFP Executive Director David Beasley.

“Today, our latest data tell us that, since then, millions of the world’s very poorest families have been forced even closer to the abyss”, Mr. Beasley said.

“Livelihoods are being destroyed at an unprecedented rate and now their lives are in imminent danger from starvation”, he said.

“Make no mistake – if we do not act now to end this pandemic of human suffering, many people will die.”

25 mostly African ‘hotspots’

Most of the 25 “hotspots” named in the report stretch from West Africa and across the Sahel to East Africa, including the Sahel, as well Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

It also identifies, in the Middle East, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen; in Asia, Bangladesh; and in Latin America and the Caribbean, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Citing some examples, it says that COVID-19 is compounding a raft of existing problems in South Sudan, making the prospect of famine loom ever larger in areas where intercommunal fighting makes humanitarian access tough or impossible.

Middle East, Latin America

In the Middle East, the pandemic is exacerbating Lebanon’s worst-ever economic crisis, where food insecurity is growing fast not only among citizens, but also 1.5 million Syrians and other refugees.

Hardest hit in Latin America are more than five million Venezuelan migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers in neighbouring countries, the report says, adding that worsening economic conditions in host countries could well make matters worse.

According to WFP estimates, the number of people living in acute food insecurity in countries affected by conflict, disasters or economic crises could jump from 149 million before the pandemic took hold to 270 million by year’s end if assistance is not provided urgently.

Sassoli: The decisions we will take will reshape the Union for decades | News | European Parliament

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Newsdesk
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ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== Sassoli: The decisions we will take will reshape the Union for decades | News | European Parliament

The Parliament President was speaking at the start of an EU summit on 17 July dedicated to finding agreement among national governments on the EU’s next long-term budget, which would also include measures to help Europe recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

“The discussions and decisions we will be called upon to take will be crucial in rebuilding our Union for the decades to come,” said Sassoli. He said there was no going back following the Covid-19 crisis.

“The pandemic has given us new responsibilities and duties: the responsibility to make choices and the duty to do so in the interests of the many, not the few. If we take this as our brief, it becomes obvious where we should invest: in the green economy, health, education, and in digital, democratic and social rights.”

Sassoli said the recovery plan must help to transform the economy and address widening inequalities: “The recovery plan must be commensurate with our ambitions.”

He said Parliament backed the level of funding proposed by the European Commission and the proposed splits between grants and loans. The President also called for a basket of own resources to be introduced and an end to rebates for some member states, which he called “unfair and hard to justify”.

Sassoli reminded EU leaders that Parliament’s consent to the budget is crucial. “It is unthinkable that a Europe which has reached agreement on a joint response to the crisis should sideline Parliament.”

The President said Parliament was “disappointed” with the Council proposal on the budget being presented at the summit: “If we are to bring about a recovery, we need steady, long-term funding. This is a prerequisite for Parliament’s consent.”

Sassoli stressed the importance of solidarity in the current crisis: ”Europe has grown together based on common values. Let us not reduce the European Union to a continent-wide ATM.”

He added: “Parliament will give its consent to the [EU’s long-term budget] only if it meets the priorities I have mentioned today.”

Real Madrid clinch 34th La Liga title with win over Villareal

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News desk
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EURONEWS  – The sight of Zinedine Zidane again being thrown into the air by his Real Madrid players could only mean one thing — another title celebration.

With the Frenchman back in charge, Madrid is back to collecting major trophies.

Madrid clinched their 34th Spanish league title — and first since 2017 — after extending their perfect run following the pandemic break with a 2-1 win over Villarreal on Thursday, opening a seven-point gap to second-place Barcelona with one round to go. Barcelona lost to 10-man Osasuna at the Camp Nou Stadium.

Karim Benzema scored twice to give Madrid their 10th consecutive league victory. They were the only team with a perfect record after the coronavirus-enforced break, having trailed Barcelona by two points before the league was halted.

“This is one of the best days in my life professionally,” said Zidane, who also won the Champions League and World Cup as a player. “It’s another league title, after the confinement and everything else that happened. I wish we could celebrate with the fans, but I’m sure they are very happy at home seeing their team win the league again.”

Zidane quit as Madrid coach in 2018 after leading the team to three straight Champions League titles, then returned less than a year later with the team floundering. In his first full season back in charge, Madrid wrested the league title away from Barcelona for the first time in three years.

It was also Madrid’s first league title since Cristiano Ronaldo left to join Juventus two seasons ago.

The title celebrations were subdued as the triumph came with Madrid playing at its training centre because the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is still undergoing renovation work.

Fans have not been allowed into games since the pandemic, and Madrid had warned supporters not to gather at the team’s traditional celebration spots in the Spanish capital. Most of the early celebrations came from fans honking their car horns across the city’s streets.

Captain Sergio Ramos lifted the trophy at the empty Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium as confetti blew in the air behind him and his teammates. Players later threw Zidane into the air a few times, then they all posed for photos in front of one of the goals.

“It has been a strange season after everything that has happened,” said Ramos, who won his fifth Spanish league title. “After the confinement, we knew that we had to win every match to clinch the title. There was no margin for error.”

Barcelona had won the last two league titles but stuttered after the break, drawing three times and losing once after the league resumed.

Benzema — one of Madrid’s key players this season — opened the scoring with a shot from inside the area in the 29th minute and added to the lead by converting a penalty in the 77th, reaching 21 league goals and moving within two of scoring leader Lionel Messi, who netted for Barcelona against Osasuna.

Benzema’s goal from the penalty spot came after Ramos’ initial attempt was called back having just rolled the ball sideways to Benzema to score. The French striker had entered the area too soon and the penalty had to be taken again.

Luka Modric set up Benzema’s first goal after a breakaway that started near midfield.

Fifth-place Villarreal pulled one back with a header by Vicente Iborra in the 83rd. They was denied an equalizer by a great save by Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in stoppage time.

Madrid’s Marco Asensio had a goal disallowed moments later.

Barcelona falters

Barcelona needed to win its match and hope Madrid slipped up. Instead, it lost 2-1 at home against midtable Osasuna.

Messi scored his league-leading 23rd goal from a free kick in the second half to cancel out José Arnaíz’s opener.

Osasuna lost substitute Enric Gallego to a direct red card for bloodying the mouth of Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet with an elbow to the face in the 77th.

But Osasuna’s Roberto Torres scored in stoppage time with Barcelona pushing forward searching for a late goal.

It was Barcelona’s first home loss in the league since a 4-3 result against Real Betis in November 2018.

Messi said it was “not the way” Barcelona wanted to end the season.

“Madrid did its part by winning all its matches, which is impressive, but we also helped them to win this league,” Messi said. “We have to be critical of how we have played, starting with the players, and for the rest of the club.”

Other results

Mallorca became the second team to be relegated after a 2-1 loss to Granada at home. Espanyol had already been demoted. Leganés keep its chances of survival alive thanks to a 2-0 win at Athletic Bilbao. Celta Vigo stayed just outside the relegation zone after a 3-2 loss against Levante at home.

Third-place Atlético Madrid won 2-0 at seventh-place Getafe, while fourth-place Sevilla drew 0-0 at sixth-place Real Sociedad. Valencia moved into eighth place to keep alive its hopes of grabbing a Europa League spot after a 1-0 win against last-place Espanyol.

There was a total of nine red cards handed out during the 10 games.

Elżbieta Rafalska from ECR: “During the #COVID19 pandemic, we witnessed discrimination against elderly”

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Newsdesk
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MEP Elżbieta Rafalska: “During the #COVID19 pandemic, we witnessed discrimination against elderly. We cannot tolerate this social strata being left behind as this #pandemic continues to wreak economic & social havoc, destroying the lives of our elderly citizens.” @EPSocialAffairs

Nigerian Christians praise Muslim group’s call to government over Boko Haram’s terror actions

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Nigerian Christians praise Muslim group's call to government over Boko Haram's terror actions
(Photo: REUTERS / Akintunde Akinleye)A protester holds a placard calling for the release of secondary school girls abducted in the remote village of Chibok, before a protest along a road in Lagos May 14, 2014. Nigeria’s government signaled a willingness on Tuesday to negotiate with Islamist militants holding more than 200 schoolgirls, a month after the kidnapping that has provoked global outrage.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with an estimated 210 million people, has a distinctive mix of people with almost equal numbers of Christians and Muslims, most of whom get on, living their normal lives intertwined in peace, except when terror strikes.

Therefore, when one of the country’s leading Muslim organizations spoke out against the terror unleashed by the Boko Haram extremist group in the name of Islam, Nigerian Christian leaders welcomed it.

The statement followed frequent criticism from many in the country, including church leaders and ecumenical organizations associated with the World Council of Churches, that the government has not done enough to protect the people from this terror.

The militant Islamist group Boko Haram – which has caused havoc through its wave of bombings, assassinations and abductions – is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.

Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it “haram,” or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity – including education – associated with Western society.

On June 17, Jama’atu Nasril Islam or JNI said in a widely reported press release that it is “in utter shockwave over the unfortunate repeated incidences of loss of precious lives and wanton destruction of property arising from well-coordinated attacks of armed bandits, Boko Haram terrorist groups and rapists.”

Elder Uzoaku Williams, president of the Women’s Wing of the Christian Council of Nigeria and publicity secretary of the Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace, said in reaction, “I deeply appreciate the timely and prophetic response of JNI.”

JNI said, “These repeated calamitous scenarios would have been avoided had the government risen to the occasion.

“We nonetheless as always condemn the repeated brutal acts in their entirety; especially the lackadaisical attitude of relevant security agencies that seemed to be overwhelmed, despite repeated calls by concerned and well-meaning Nigerians for decisive action.”

‘BUILDING BACK THE NIGERIAN NATION’

“It is time that religious organizations collectively rescue the nation that is fast enveloping with silence in the face of gruesome destruction of lives and property. I totally align with JNI and together we can build back our nation Nigeria,” said Elder Williams.

JNI said in its statement, “We implore the government to take all genuine calls, concerns so raised and recommendations proffered so far.”

Archbishop Henry C. Ndukuba, primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) expressed appreciation of the deep concern and “pious response” of the leadership of JNI concerning the “degenerated state of insecurity in Nigeria and the West African region.”

JNI said that considering the religious beliefs of the perpetrators, “sincere religious scholars must be involved in arresting the menace.”

“Linked to the menace of gender violence is undoubtedly rape, whose devilish manifestation ought to be sternly addressed.

“Hence, the JNI strongly opines that the female’s chastity, honour and integrity must be fully protected.” JNI called for a collective approach between the Federal Ministries of Women’s Affairs,

Justice, and Internal Affairs, as well “as sincere religious scholars in mapping out strategies of arresting raping and gender violence in Nigeria.”

The group implored all Muslims, particularly imams, to recommence Qunootun-Nawazil “or special prayers at calamitous periods in the last Raka’at of each obligatory prayer and non-obligatory prayers seeking Allah’s intervention.” ”

Likewise, fervent observance of Adhkar (remembrance of Allah) should also be ventured to by all Muslims, as it is a vital tool for easing fears, tension and uncertainties such as the myriad security challenges bedeviling Nigeria,” said JNI.

Boko Haram was founded in 2002. Its official Arabic name, Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, means “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad.”

Boko Haram regards the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, regardless of whether the president is Muslim or not – and has extended its military campaign by targeting neighbouring countries.

SPECIAL ROLE OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS

Archbishop Ndukuba said, “The religious, community and traditional leaders occupy a very strategic place in this fight and therefore must be sincere in their efforts; first intentionally support the government, and secondly eradicate religious and cultural factors that promote and enhance insecurity.”

In August 2016 Nigerian Christians and Muslims opened the International Centre for Inter-Faith Peace and Harmony, located in Kaduna, where more than 20,000 people have died in various conflicts over the preceding three decades.

Among a growing number of interfaith initiatives in Nigeria, the centre’s goal is to promote interfaith relations and cooperation in Nigeria.

Key local Nigerian organizations, the Christian Council of Nigeria and JNI, led the effort to open the center, which was preceded in 2014 by a consultative forum held in Abuja that drew about 40 Muslim and Christian leaders.

Boko Haram attacks have killed over 30,000 and displaced an estimated 3 million people since July 2009, when the violence started in the country’s northeast states Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, across an area roughly the size of Belgium.

Srebrenica: Honour victims and survivors by preventing future atrocities, UN experts urge

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Robert Johnson
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Srebrenica : 25th Anniversary – Srebrenica Memorial Day, 11 July 2020 Remembering Srebrenica: Honour victims and survivors by preventing future atrocities, UN experts urge

GENEVA (9 July 2020) – UN human rights experts today urged governments to honour victims of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide by building peaceful, inclusive and just societies to prevent a repetition of such an atrocity.

“Genocides are not spontaneous,” the 18 experts said. “They are the culmination of unchallenged and unchecked intolerance, discrimination and violence.” On the 25th anniversary of the start of the genocide, in which at least 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were massacred within a few days, the experts* issued the following statement:

“It’s been 25 years since the world witnessed the worst atrocity to take place on European soil since World War II, the genocide of thousands of Bosnian Muslims in July 1995. The Srebrenica genocide was the outcome of a four-year campaign that marshalled the forces of discrimination, hostility, forced deportation, arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances, systematic sexual violence and mass murder, resulting in the killing of more than an estimated 8,000 predominantly Bosnian Muslim men and boys. The international community also failed to protect the people of Srebrenica who were killed at the time when they needed our support most.

In remembrance of those whose lives were taken so brutally in this massacre, we are humbled by, and pay particular tribute to, the courage, strength and resilience of the Srebrenica and Žepa survivors who stand with millions of others as totems of the unspeakable devastation that unchecked xenophobia discrimination, hostility and violence against persons based on religion or belief can engender.

The graphic accounts and testimonies of the heinous acts of violence and ethnic cleansing (including sexual violence against women and children) that took place in Srebrenica amounted to genocide, according to both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The besieged town was intended to be a safe haven for persecuted people from nearby villages. On 16 April 1993, the UN Security Council had passed Resolution 819 requiring all parties to treat ‘Srebrenica and its surroundings as a safe area which should be free from any armed attacks or any other hostile act’.

Genocides are not spontaneous. They are the culmination of unchallenged and unchecked intolerance, discrimination and violence. They are the result of sanctioned hatred fostered in permissive environments where individuals first spread fear, then hatred for material or political gain, fracturing the pillars of trust and tolerance between communities and resulting in devastation for all.

In our interconnected, technologically advanced and diverse world, it is deeply alarming that racism, xenophobia, stigmatisation and scapegoating continue unabated, destabilising or even destroying societies and the lives of individuals around the world.

As international experts vested by the international community with global human rights mandates, we are guided by the lessons of the past. We reflect on the lost opportunities to prevail against systematic human rights violations, not just in Bosnia and Herzegovina but in cases of atrocities elsewhere both before and since. But we also aspire to continue to mobilise the international community in its effort to tackle any expression of ethnic, racial, religious, gender-based or other forms of discrimination, hostility and violence against all persons. These include groups in vulnerable situations, such as religious or ethnic or sexual minorities, migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons.

On this day of reflection, 25 years on, we also remember other communities that have been subjected to or are facing mass atrocities purely on the basis of their identity. We urge States and the international community to uphold their obligations, take urgent and effective action to protect those in danger, fend off the virus of hate and discrimination (including online), and ensure accountability.

Building resilience in the post-war era requires respect and empathy for the survivors and their families, and sustained efforts by the leaders of the country to strengthen trust and good-will within and between various communities.

Meaningful efforts to combat inaccurate and inflammatory rhetoric and reject discourses of denial are also crucial. The international community, too, must join Bosnia and Herzegovina in acting collectively through committed, long-term work on healing a society ravaged by war. We owe it to all those whom we failed to protect the guarantee of non-repetition through building peaceful, inclusive and just societies.

ENDS

*The experts: Mr. Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; Mr. Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on minority issues; Ms. Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Ms. Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, Special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons; Mr. Fabian Salvioli, Special Rapporteur on the promotion of the right to truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence; Mr. Victor Madrigal-Borloz, Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; Mr. Nils Melzer, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Members of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances: Mr. Luciano Hazan (Chair), Mr. Tae-Ung Baik (Vice Chair), Mr. Bernard Duhaime, Ms. Houria Es-Slami, and Mr. Henrikas Mickevičius; Members of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Ms. Leigh Toomey (Chair-Rapporteur), Ms. Elina Steinerte (Vice-Chair), Mr. José Guevara Bermúdez, Mr. Seong-Phil Hong, Mr. Sètondji Adjovi; Mr. David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of expression

German Sales Drop 14% in the First Half of 2020

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Juan Sanchez Gil
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German Sales Drop 14% in the First Half of 2020

Book sales were down 13.9% in Germany for the first six months of the year compared with 2019, according to the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, the German booksellers association. As of April, the number was even worse—down 21%—but it has since recovered somewhat as German bookstores have largely reopened after a period of lockdown due to the coronavirus.

During the lockdown itself, between March 23 and April 19, in which bookstores had closed in all federal states except Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt, sales were down 65.7% compared to the same period in 2019. In 2019, the German book market saw €9.29 billion in total sales, which was up 1.7% over 2018.

“The pandemic hit the book industry badly economically, but also released a lot of creative energy,” said Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, director of the Börsenverein, citing the launch of new delivery services and online events and the robustness of online stores as assets that have helped the industry through this time. “However, due to the lack of marketing opportunities, many publishers were forced to postpone new publications or to drop them entirely—many of which are titles by unknown authors and niche titles, which is alarming.”

The German government has supported an extensive promotion campaign for books, and the Börsenverein has continued to lobby the government for support, arguing it is necessary to sustain the bookselling ecosystem in light of the ongoing pandemic.

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