Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Vatican Observer to the UN in New York, addresses the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and says that ongoing racism in our societies can be eradicated by promoting a true culture of encounter.
By Lisa Zengarini
As the World observed the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21, the Holy See reiterated its strong condemnation of any form of racism which, it says, should be countered by promoting a culture of solidarity and authentic human fraternity.
Addressing the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Vatican Observer Archbishop Gabriele Caccia stated that racism is based upon the “distorted belief” that one person is superior to another, which starkly contrasts the fundamental principle that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
The Nuncio lamented that “despite the commitment of the international community to eradicate it”, racism continues to re-emerge like a mutating “virus”, resulting in what Pope Francis has called “a crisis in human relationships.”
“Instances of racism”, he said, “still plague our societies”, either explicitly as overt racial discrimination, which is “often identified and condemned”, or at a deeper level in society as racial prejudice, which though less evident, still exists.
Countering racial prejudice by promoting culture of encounter
“The crisis in human relationships resulting from racial prejudice”, Archbishop Caccia stressed, “can be effectively countered by the promotion of a culture of encounter, solidarity, and authentic human fraternity” which “does not mean simply to live together and tolerate one another”. Rather, it means that we meet others, “seeking points of contact, building bridges, planning a project that includes everyone,” as Pope Francis calls for in his Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti. “Building such a culture is a process that stems from recognizing the unique perspective and invaluable contribution that each person brings to society, the Vatican Observer added.
“Only the recognition of human dignity can make possible the common and personal growth of everyone and every society. To stimulate this kind of growth it is necessary in particular to ensure conditions of equal opportunity for men and women and guarantee an objective equality between all human beings.”
Racism targeting migrants and refugees
Archbishop Caccia concluded his remarks by expressing the Holy See’s concern for the racism and racial prejudice targeting migrants and refugees. In this regard, the Vatican Nuncio highlighted the need for a change “from attitudes of defensiveness and fear“ towards attitudes based on a culture of encounter, “the only culture capable of building a better, more just and fraternal world.”
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was established by the United Nations in 1966 and is observed annually on the day the police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid “pass laws” in 1960.
World Council of Churches holding a special week of prayer
The observance is also commemorated by the World Council of Churches (WCC) with a special week of prayer from March 19 to March 25, the UN International Day for the Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
The WCC is providing materials for each day that include songs, scriptures, reflections, and more. Collectively, the material shows how a just and inclusive world is possible only when all are able to live with dignity and justice. Many nations and peoples—from India to Guyana and other countries—are highlighted in the reflections, which are appropriate for both individuals and groups. The prayers are an invitation to stand in prayerful solidarity with one another across regions, and condemn all manifestations of racial injustice.
SINGAPORE, March 22, 2023 – Global market research company TGM Research has unveiled the findings of its comprehensive 2023 survey, highlighting Muslim consumers’ behaviors and sentiments during the holy month of Ramadan. Spanning 14 countries across three continents, the survey provides valuable insights into the spiritual, cultural, and social aspects of this year’s celebrations. Key findings from the survey 2023 include:
A majority (56%) of Muslim consumers worldwide plan to increase their spending during Ramadan. The survey also revealed that most consumers strategically manage their budgets by purchasing necessary items just before the beginning of the holy month to take advantage of available discounts and special offers.
A staggering 98% of respondents believe that observing Ramadan helps them become more disciplined and committed. Approximately 70% of those surveyed plan to increase worship and charitable giving during the holy month.
Convenience and digitization are trending, with over half of the respondents allocating higher budgets for food shopping. Prepared meals are increasingly popular, particularly among Asian families, with 26% opting to order food rather than cooking from scratch.
The importance of cultural and religious sensitivity in brand engagement is emphasized, with 82% of respondents stating that it is crucial for brands to respect traditional Islamic values.
Health consciousness is on the rise, with 76% of respondents planning to purchase health and wellness items during Ramadan. This trend indicates a growing market for companies offering tailored products and services catering to Muslims’ dietary and religious needs.
Eco-consciousness is also increasing among Muslim consumers, with 83% preferring to buy from brands or stores offering environmentally friendly options for Ramadan-related products. This highlights the need for businesses to prioritize sustainability and responsibility in product design, production, and supply chain management.
Survey Reveals Increased Eco-Consciousness and Spending Trends among Muslims during Ramadan
METHODOLOGY: The survey was carried out between the 03rd and 18th of February,2023, using the method of online interviews in 14 countries on a representative sample of 18-55 N=9638. The sample was representative of the adult Muslim population of the given country in terms of gender and age.
ABOUT TGM: TGM Research is a data and insights company underpinned by technology. TGM provides agile insights for better decisions. It collects first-hand data worldwide using online research panels and delivers high-quality market research with world-class proprietary Res-Tech solutions. TGM is a remote-first company with a team of 50+ members, having a presence on five continents.
Young people aged 16-30 working on EU projects can apply for the European Charlemagne Youth Prize.
The European Parliament and the International Charlemagne Prize Foundation in Aachen award the Charlemagne Youth Prize every year to projects by young people with a strong EU dimension.
Since 2008, 5,000 projects have competed for the prize.
The prize
Three winning projects will be chosen from 26 projects nominated by national juries in EU countries. The first prize is €7,500, second prize €5,000 and third prize €2,500.
Representatives of all 27 national winning projects will be invited to the award ceremony in Aachen, Germany.
12 May: announcement of European winners and award ceremony in Aachen
Charlemagne youth prize 2022
In 2022, the first prize went to Orquestra Sem Fronteiras [Orchestra Without Borders] from Portugal. The initiative promotes cross-border cooperation between Portugal and Spain through the music of young talents living in both countries with the aim of mitigating social and cultural inequalities.
An international coalition praises the leadership of the UAE in human rights, led by the President of the State
The United Arab Emirates will present its universal periodic review to the United Nations on May 8th , 2023. During its review, the UAE will explain the developments and efforts it has made to enhance respect for and compliance with human rights and the implementation of international obligations. According to a coalition of non-governmental human rights organizations, representing “53 non-governmental human rights organizations” concerned with monitoring human rights conditions and following up on the results and outputs of the Universal Periodic Review mechanism for countries that have made remarkable contributions and achievements in the field of human rights, the UAE has topped the countries in the region following what was monitored by the International Coalition for its leadership in globalism and in devoting commitment to high human values and principles.
The coalition of human rights organizations had submitted to the United Nations its report on the universal periodic review of the UAE, and the information dealt with the efforts and achievements made by the UAE in the field of promoting respect for human rights. The coalition of human rights organizations launched its report during an international event devoted to reviewing the journey of human rights development in the UAE. More than eleven international experts spoke in it, and more than 100 participants representing experts, researchers, and academics attended, during which the efforts and achievements of the UAE over the past fifty years were reviewed, especially in the field of promoting civil, political, and economic rights. In addition to advancing civil liberties such as freedom of opinion and expression, strengthening the justice system, protecting prisoners and detainees, and enhancing community protection through the establishment of counseling, reform, and rehabilitation centers, the country also works on promoting collective rights and developing national mechanisms concerned with the protection and promotion of human rights. During the symposium, the UAE’s care for national strategies for promoting and advancing human rights at the national, regional, and international levels was also praised, especially regarding women’s rights, children’s rights, and vulnerable groups. Furthermore, Experts highlighted the achievements made by the UAE in the fields of protecting workers’ rights, combating human trafficking, tackling extremism and terrorism, and promoting the discourse of tolerance and human coexistence, specifically its efforts to promote world peace and common human coexistence, which are represented in the Document of Human Fraternity and the establishment of the Abrahamic Family House in the Emirates.
The coalition of international human rights organizations also organized an international symposium in Geneva, parallel to the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council, which discussed the challenges of pioneering and shaping the future of human rights in the UAE. Eight international experts in the field of human rights spoke at the symposium, reviewing many aspects of the leadership achieved by the UAE, especially in the area of human rights as well as civil, political, and economic climate protection, achieving peace, promoting tolerance and human coexistence.The UAE’s challenges to enhance its global leadership through its global efforts to achieve zero neutrality and strengthen international efforts to protect the climate and the environment in the light of the principles of justice and equality is a great example of leadership. The country is concerned with achieving climate justice in the world, which has been adopted as a basis on the United Nations and the Paris Climate Agreement.
During the symposium, the efforts and achievements of the UAE were emphasized in many areas related to the promotion of world peace, combating extremism and terrorism, developing justice systems, and upgrading correctional institutions, rehabilitation centers, as well as counseling centers to achieve community protection and enhance the chances of individuals to return to their communities positively.
Apart from highlighting the efforts and achievements of the UAE in the field of achieving sustainable development and strengthening international efforts related to the implementation of the requirements of the United Nations plan for sustainable development, the country pays attention to fundamental rights and freedoms and creates many initiatives concerned with promoting individual rights in a way that guarantees individual and collective rights and liberties.During the symposium, the UAE’s initiatives and leadership were praised for strengthening the system of the rights and liberties in the country and upgrading the national, legislative, and institutional systems that the UAE initiated to establish and activate .These qualitative initiatives that target the human being and depend on the United Nations Development Charter, urges that the human rights are the focus and foundation of development.
The coalition of international human rights organizations participated in the work of the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council. During its participation, the coalition of international human rights organizations presented many written statements to the Human Rights Council, reviewing the UAE’s achievements in the field of achieving climate justice and organizing the climate conference in a comment under the third item, where the statement praised the efforts and achievements of the country in the field of climate justice, protecting the climate, achieving zero neutrality, as well as reducing harmful human practices, stressing the leadership of the UAE in this field, and calling for international benefit from it in promoting climate justice. While the UAE’s leadership and progress in the field of strengthening national strategies for human rights were praised in a statement presented by the Coalition of International Human Rights Organizations to the Council under Article Eight, the coalition mentioned the UAE’s leadership in this field and called for the need to be guided by it regionally and globally in a way that enhances respect and promotion of human rights in the world. The coalition of international human rights organizations concluded its participation in the work of the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council by issuing a written statement under the ninth item of the work of the Human Rights Council, in which it praised the UAE’s strategy for spreading tolerance, combating discrimination and racism, and combating extremism and terrorism. The achievements made by the UAE in this field demonstrate the importance of establishing the Abrahamic Family House in the Emirates and issuing the Human Fraternity Document as well as the initiative to choose February 4th as a date adopted by the United Nations as an International Day for Human Fraternity.
The coalition of human rights organizations also submitted two statements under the eighth item, in which they praised the efforts and leadership of the UAE in promoting women’s rights and global leadership, honoring the experience of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, President of the Supreme Council for Women, and the efforts concerned with empowering women, achieving global and regional leadership and progress for them, as well as advancing their path of justice and equality that they seek through empowerment and leadership.
The coalition of international human rights organizations concluded its participation with a statement presented under Item IX of the Human Rights Council in the context of the general debate, in which the efforts of the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, was praised for achieving peace, promoting tolerance and human coexistence, devoting human brotherhood, and establishing the Abrahamic Family House, stressing In their statement the importance of upgrading regional and international practices in a way that enhances the chances of benefiting from the pioneering Emirati experience in the field of protecting collective rights, improving the quality of life, and achieving justice and equality for all without discrimination.
On the occasion of the ongoing 52nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council, human rights activists called upon the UN to investigate human rights violations perpetrated by Pakistani security forces in Balochistan. In a side-event titled “Human Rights in Pakistan: Balochistan in Focus” hosted by Thierry Valle, President of Coordination des Association et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience, in room number XXII, speakers highlighted various aspects of atrocities faced by the Baloch people in Pakistan.
BHRC general secretary Mr Qambar Malik provided a brief background of the human rights situation in Balochistan, emphasizing that the Baloch struggle for self-determination directly resulted from Pakistan’s invasion of Balochistan and its forceful annexation into Pakistan in 1948 against the will of the Baloch people. He elaborated that in constant violation of national and international laws and its obligations under various UN conventions, Pakistan has been committing heinous crimes against humanity in Balochistan. Providing data collected by the Baloch Human Rights Council on enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Baloch political and human rights activists, including women and children, he lamented that the perpetrators of these crimes are roaming around with impunity.
Baloch National Movement Chairman, Dr Naseem Baloch, expressed his concern about the existential threat faced by the Baloch people on the sociocultural, economic, and political fronts. He called upon Europe and the international community to break their silence about the humanitarian crisis in Balochistan and urged them to make Pakistan accountable for its crimes in Balochistan.
Prominent among the representative of various human rights organizations who spoke at the occasion on various aspects of human rights violations included Dr Naseer Dashti, Executive president of Baloch Human Rights Council (BHRC), Tasleema Akhter, representative of Family members of victims of militancy (FMVM), Dr Hidayat Bhutto, UK & Europe organizer of World Sindhi Congress (WSC), Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, Chairperson of United Kashmir Peoples National Party (UKPNP), Fazal ur Rehman Afridi, President of IRESK.
Representatives of international human rights organizations, civil societies and human rights activists attended the event.
Press release issued by Baloch Human Rights Council
Dharamshala: This morning, a group of Muslim scholars from Malaysia, Sweden and the USA received an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at his residence in Dharamshala.
His Holiness had a brief interaction with the scholars where he spoke about the promotion of religious harmony as one of his four principal commitments for a peaceful and compassionate world.
“All religions may have different philosophies but all religions are unifying in the promotion of Karuna (compassion) and Ahimsa (peace)”, said His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Speaking further, His Holiness pointed out the futility of conflict in the name of religion, adding, that acceptance or rejection of faith in a religion is an individual choice.
“Religion is man-made but the essence and the message of all religions is the same, so, there is no reason to create conflict in the name of religion”, added His Holiness.
He further reminded about the special bond shared between the Muslims and Tibetans dating back to the Tibetan empire when the two were major trading partners. His Holiness conveyed that friendship between the two communities remains intact today as well.
“The Tibetan government also recognises the Muslim community with respect,” said His Holiness in conclusion and expressed his delightedness in meeting the Muslim scholars today.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressing the Muslim scholars. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL.His Holiness the Dalai Lama with the Muslim scholars from Malaysia, Sweden, USA. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
The crisis has left families in the flood-affected areas with no choice but to use potentially contaminated water.
“Safe drinking water is not a privilege, it is a basic human right”, said UNICEF Representative in Pakistan, Abdullah Fadil. “Yet, every day, millions of girls and boys in Pakistan are fighting a losing battle against preventable waterborne diseases and the consequential malnutrition.”
UNICEF warns that the lack of access to safe drinking water and toilets, as well as the presence of stagnant water, are contributing to “widespread” outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dengue, and malaria.
According to the UN Children’s Fund, beyond being a health hazard, the lack of proper toilets is “disproportionally affecting children, adolescent girls and women who are at added risk of shame and harm when defecating outdoors.”
Rising malnutrition
Unsafe water and poor sanitation are also “key underlying causes” of malnutrition. UNICEF highlights that a third of all child deaths globally are attributable to malnutrition, while half of all undernutrition cases are linked to infections caused by a lack of access to safe water, adequate sanitation and good hygiene.
In Pakistan’s flood-affected areas, more than 1.5 million boys and girls are already severely malnourished, and UNICEF expects these numbers to rise. Malnutrition is associated with half of all child deaths in the country.
Humanitarian needs
Last year’s unprecedented flooding, triggered by severe monsoon rains, submerged a third of Pakistan’s land mass.
According to the UN Office in the country, more than 33 million people were affected overall, or one in seven Pakistanis, and eight million were displaced, causing humanitarian needs to surge.
The UN reported on Tuesday that as of 15 March, humanitarians had reached more than seven million flood-affected Pakistanis with food and other essential services. UNICEF and partners have so far provided safe drinking water to nearly 1.2 million children and families, and supported the rehabilitation of water supply facilities benefitting over 450,000 people.
Speaking at an international conference dedicated to the emergency back in January this year, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that “rebuilding Pakistan in a resilient way” will require “supporting women and children, who are up to 14 times more likely than men to die during disasters, and face the brunt of upheaval and loss in humanitarian crises”.
Call for funding
Ahead of Wednesday’s World Water Day, UNICEF has called for resources to urgently restore access to safe drinking water and toilets in the flood-affected areas. Investment is also needed in climate-resilient water supply facilities, such as those powered by solar energy.
UNICEF’s $173.5 million appeal for this crisis remains less than 50 per cent funded.
Amid the current global food crisis, with many families struggling to put food on the table, governments are increasingly seeing the value of these initiatives, according to the State of School-Feeding Worldwidereport.
School meals are a critical safety net for vulnerable children and households at a time when some 345 million people are facing crisis levels of hunger, including 153 million children and young people.
“As the world grapples with a global food crisis, which risks robbing millions of children of their future, school meals have a vital role to play. In many of the countries where we work, the meal a child gets in school might be the only meal they get that day,” said Carmen Burbano, WFP’s head of school-based programmes.
Learning from the pandemic
WFP said countries worked to restore free lunch programmes following the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago. This has led to the rise in boys and girls receiving school meals, who represent 41 per cent of all children in school.
The global recovery received crucial support from the government-led School Meals Coalition, established in 2020 to respond to the pandemic’s impact.
Today, 75 governments are members of the coalition, which aims to ensure every child can receive a daily, nutritious meal in school by 2030.
Greater investment needed
However, the report also highlighted differences between rich countries, where 60 percent of school children get meals, and low-income nations, where only 18 per cent do. This is four per cent below pre-pandemic levels, with Africa registering the biggest declines.
The report also found that some low-income countries have been unable to rebuild their national programmes and need more help. In eight African countries, less than 10 per cent of school children receive a free or subsidized school meal.
“Investments are lowest where children need school meals the most,” said Ms. Burbano. “We need to support low-income countries in finding more sustainable ways of funding these programmes. This will require time-bound support from donor countries as well as increases in domestic investment.”
A WFP-supported school meal is served to children in the Philippines.
Wide-ranging benefits
The report also highlighted the wide-ranging benefits of school meals. A free lunch attracts more students to the classroom, especially girls, and helps them to learn better when they are there, for example.
Experts also found that the combination of health and education offers children in poor countries the best route out of poverty and malnutrition.
Furthermore, research has shown that school meals programmes can increase enrolment rates, as well as attendance, by nearly 10 per cent.
The health of Europe’s forests and linked ecosystems are facing an increasing number of challenges, including deforestation due to urban development, pollution and impacts of climate change, all of which threaten forest resilience. Maintaining and ensuring their long-term health will require more sustainable management practices and proactive efforts to address the impacts of climate change according to two European Environment Agency (EEA) briefings published today, on 21 March – International Day of Forests.
Forest ecosystems play a vital role in supporting biodiversity and provide many benefits to our own well-being, helping to provide clean air and water, regulating weather extremes as well as providing recreation. However, forests are trying to cope with dramatic changes over past decades which have left them more vulnerable to disease, pests and biodiversity loss.
Forest restoration is critical for addressing Europe’s many environmental and social challenges. They also have an important role to play in Europe’s shift to sustainability. By restoring degraded forest ecosystems and promoting sustainable forest management practices, such as reduced-impact logging and the promotion of certified sustainable forest products, Europe can help to mitigate climate change, preserve biodiversity, and provide society with a range of essential ecosystem services to society, including carbon sequestration, water regulation and biodiversity conservation.
Approximately 10% of the EU’s annual greenhouse gas emissions are absorbed and stored in forest soils and biomass.
Increasing pressures
The current state of European forests is a mixed picture of improving and deteriorating conditions.While some indications such as structure, biomass volume, and productivity, suggest improving forest conditions, others, such as defoliation, tree canopy mortality, and deadwood, suggest a critical condition.
The increasing strain on forests is a cause for concern, especially in Central Europe where spruce forests are facing bark beetle outbreaks and forests in the Mediterranean region which are under stress due to drought, wildfires and land-use change.
Heatwaves and droughts weaken trees, making them more susceptible to insect pests and other disturbances like wind or fire. The frequency and intensity of these disturbances have also increased over the last 70 years.
Overall, land-use change remains the largest threat to forests, however, climate change is expected to overtake it and become the greatest threat to forest health over the coming years.
Growing value of forests
Forests are no longer seen only as an economic resource. The European Green Deal recognises the key role healthy forests play in helping us shift to a sustainable, low-carbon future.
Under the European Green Deal, the EU has committed to planting 3 billion additional trees by 2030 and increasing the resilience and biodiversity of existing forest ecosystems. The EU and Member States are implementing various policies and initiatives supporting forest restoration to achieve these goals. These include funding for reforestation and afforestation projects, support for sustainable forest management practices, and the development of green corridors and other landscape-scale approaches to forest restoration.
The EU has also set ambitious targets for forest restoration as part of broader efforts to address climate change and biodiversity loss. The EU Forest Strategy for 2030 and the proposed Nature Restoration Law aim to strengthen the biodiversity objectives and the protection, restoration and resilience of Europe’s forests. They are crucial to achieve a sustainable and climate-neutral economy by 2050.
The continued ability of Europe’s forests to provide its key ecosystem services depends on climate change and the actions by state- and non-state actors. Given the longevity of trees, these decisions will need a long-term perspective beyond 2050 and will need to encompass the role of forests, considering the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals on preserving biodiversity and climate action.
On March 9, 2023, 7 Jehovah’s Witnesses and an unborn child were killed by a mass shooter during a religious service in Hamburg. The killer was a former member of the congregation, who had left more than a year ago, but had allegedly grievances against his former group, and against religious groups in general. He killed himself after perpetrating the massacre.
Whilst the multiple murders triggered messages of sympathy and support for the Jehovah’s Witnesses from the German authorities, there has not been any international move or expression of sympathy from other European governments. Moreover, some “anticult” activists used the momentum to blame the Jehovah’s Witnesses for the murder, arguing that the murderer could have had good reasons to act, to be found in his association with the religious movement and its doctrine.
Would it be people excusing a rapist and blaming the rape victim for the rapist behavior, this would have triggered a legitimate outcry. Would it be someone blaming terrorism victims for what happened to them, this would have certainly led to criminal prosecution. Here, nothing of that kind happened.
So we decided to reach out to Raffaella Di Marzio, a well-known expert in the psychology of religion. Raffaella is founder and Director of The Center for Studies on Freedom of Religion, Belief and Conscience (LIREC). Since 2017, she is Professor of Psychology of Religion at the University of Bari Aldo Moro in Italy. She has published four books and hundreds of articles about cults, mind control, New Religious Movements and anti-cult groups and is among the authors of three different encyclopedias.
The European Times: You said that to prevent such massacres, law enforcement agencies should investigate anyone who incites hatred toward a particular religious minority. Can you explain the link and why this would be efficient?
Raffaella Di Marzio: According to the OSCE definition “Hate crimes are criminal acts motivated by bias or prejudice towards particular groups of people. Hate crimes comprise two elements: a criminal offence and a bias motivation”. Bias motivations can be defined as prejudice, intolerance or hatred directed at a particular group sharing a common identity trait, such as the religion. I think that dissemination of false information about religious minorities causes prejudices. This is very dangerous, in particular, for the religious organizations that have the minority status in a given territory and the political and media focus on them at a particular moment. I think that law enforcement agencies should monitor all people and organizations who spread false information using a language of hatred towards a particular minority. While it is difficult for law enforcement agencies to pre-emptively identify an individual capable of carrying out massacres such as this one, it is incumbent on them to investigate anyone who incites hatred toward a particular religious minority. It often happens, in fact, that from hate speech one moves on to incitement to hatred and finally to direct and violent action against certain minorities who become easy “targets,” thanks in part to the “cult” stigma amplified by the media without any discernment.
ET: In Europe, there is an anti-cult movement which is active and targets religious groups as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Do you think they bear responsibility of any kind when such an event occurs?
RDM: It’s very important to say that also ODIHR’s hate crime reporting includes reports of physical assaults and murders which indicate that Jehovah’s Witnesses are particularly at risk. The responsibility of the anti-cult organizations is obvious in many cases. For example, Willy Fautré from Human Rights Without Frontiers wrote about defamation cases where anti-cult groups have been condemned by European courts in Austria, France, Germany and Spain and CAP-LC (Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience), an NGO with special consultative status at the United Nations’ ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council), has filed a written statement to the 47th Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council published on 21 June 2021 which denounces the defamation policy, the incitement to stigmatization and hatred towards certain religious and belief groups by FECRIS (European Federation of Centres of Research and Information on Cults and Sects) and its member associations. Discrimination and intolerance, often conveyed through warped news, have a serious, negative impact on groups and individuals that end up being ostracized and persecuted by governmental entities, and sometimes victims of hate crime.
ET: Some anti cult people in Germany blamed the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the media, finding excuse to the shooter because he was a former member who certainly had good reasons to have grievance against the Witnesses. What do you think about that? You have been and expert for years now on the topic of discrimination of religious minorities, and in fact, before, you were part of the anti-cult movement before to realize its danger. So you have a direct knowledge of them. Do you think that this kind of events may help them realize that they are acting wrongly, or do you think they will just continue?
RDM: Unfortunately, I think that this kind of things will just continue. Indeed, after the massacre in Hamburg took place, some members of anti-cult organizations not only didn’t realize that they were acting wrongly but started posting comments on social media saying that the killer was an ex-member ostracized by Jehovah’s Witnesses, and almost justified him for what he did.
ET: Do you fear that such events become more frequent?
RDM: I think so, unless we prevent them. Prevention is the main objective of The Center for Studies on Freedom of Religion Belief and Conscience (LIREC) of which I am director. It has dealt many times with media campaigns in which a “criminal” fact is arbitrarily linked to a religious minority and used as a pretext to insert it in an allusive information context that prompts the reader to get an idea of the organization as if it were “controversial”, involved in “dark plots” and would be dangerous for the individual or society.
Faced with these cases, which are repeated and affect minorities that are very different one from each other, our task is to counteract the disinformation and promote objective and documented knowledge on minorities, whether religious or not.
