Religious freedom
(Bratislava) “A more human 21st century is our moral obligation”, Ján Figel, Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) outside the EU, wrote in a statement published on the occasion of the recently commemorated International Day of Religious Freedom. This essential, universal human value – he points out – is currently seriously restricted or attacked in the majority of the world’s countries and territories representing 74% of the total world population. Mentioning the impact of the Communist, Nazi and other anti-democratic regimes in the past decades, he raises the question whether the “century of genocides will end or continue”. According to Ján Figel, “the current systematic murder, torture, enslavement, kidnapping, raping and persecution of religious and ethnic minorities on territories dominated by the Islamic State constitute the very same type of top crime – genocide”. The most important condition to defeat this threat and prevent returns of inhumanity is to defeat our own “ignorance, indifference and fear” that helps fanatics and perpetrators of crimes. “Our silence hurts the victims”, the statement continues, inviting authorities and all individuals to promote religious freedom, “an ethic of responsibility and education for living in diversity” as the main ways to tackle religious fundamentalism, violent extremism and terrorism. “When we continuously cut the roots of indifference, ignorance and fear, a culture of human dignity for all and everywhere may grow and bear positive fruit in our century”, the Special Envoy for the promotion of FoRB concludes.
