Role of secularism in promoting rule of law and inclusive law-making

OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting (SHDM) II on Democratic Law-Making: Ensuring Participation

Submission of Humanists International

26-27 April 2021

My intervention will address the importance of secularism as the political model which best serves the rule of law and inclusive law-making.

Upholding the rule of law means guaranteeing equality before the law. It means nobody is able to claim special privileges which allow them to operate above the law.

This principle applies not only to individuals, but also to institutions: corporate entities should not be able to use their wealth and influence to escape legal accountability, and equally, powerful religious lobbies should not be able to exercise influence over politics and legislation to their exclusive benefit.

To ensure equality, the rule of law needs to involve a commitment to secularism. Maintaining neutrality and impartiality between different religions or beliefs is the model that best serves human rights while upholding individual dignity and freedoms.

States that uphold neutrality are much better equipped to confront hate crime and discrimination on equal grounds. A secular education system is more likely to equip students with objective history, scientific knowledge and critical thinking skills.^[1]

Worryingly, some States in the OSCE region have abandoned a commitment to secularist principles of late, and have become increasingly prone to religious influence in their law-making or judicial outcomes:

• In Turkey – once a secular state – a rule of law crisis, including a sustained assault on freedom of expression and civil society, has been accompanied by increasing deference to Islam and the rollback of secular protections in the public arena.^[2]
• The United States Supreme Court has used ‘religious liberty’ arguments to deny access to contraception, erode anti-discrimination measures intended to protect LGBTI individuals and endorsed a religious exception to restrictions on public gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.^[3] There have been similar trends in Hungary and Poland.

It is important to acknowledge that, in the same sense that religion can be weaponized, ‘secularism’ can too, if it is misused to undermine human rights. In Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, both OSCE States, the threat of extremism has become an argument for enforced uniformity of belief in public spaces, and has justified a crackdown on the manifestation of religious practices and freedom of expression.^[4]

We recommend that the ODIHR examine the important role played by political secularism in advancing the rule of law and human rights, as well as promoting democracy, socioeconomic development and better educational outcomes.

Thank you.

Footnotes

^[1] See Report of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief on Relationships between State and religion and their impact on freedom of religion or belief, 2018, <https://undocs.org/A/HRC/37/49>

^[2] https://fot.humanists.international/countries/asia-western-asia/turkey/#Deterioration_of_the_rule_of_law-2

^[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-55069040

^[4] https://fot.humanists.international/countries/asia-central-asia/kazakhstan/

Suggested academic reference

'Role of secularism in promoting rule of law and inclusive law-making', Humanists International