Humanists International extends a warm welcome to Mairead McGuinness as she steps into the role of EU Special Envoy on FoRB. The organization looks forward to working with her, building on a history of constructive engagement. During her tenure as First Vice-President of the European Parliament, McGuinness held responsibility for the Article 17 dialogue between the EU and philosophical and non-confessional organizations. In both 2018 and 2019, Humanists International had the privilege of presenting its annual Freedom of Thought Report to her, highlighting the systemic discrimination and persecution faced by the non-religious globally.
Humanists International CEO, pictured with Mairead McGuinness, during her tenure as Vice-President of the European Parliament
Given her extensive political experience and past willingness to engage with the humanist community, Humanists International is hopeful that McGuinness will adopt a highly inclusive and universal approach to the mandate. Not only does Humanists International hope that she will include the voices of members or all religions and beliefs in her work, including that of non-religious communities, but also that she will work to ensure the right to freedom of religion or belief is not distorted or instrumentalized to undermine the rights of other minorities.
Humanists International has recently campaigned for the appointment of a human rights professional in this position, while also questioning the current structure of the position of the Special Envoy, which sits not in the European External Action Service but under the European Commission.
While the appointment of Ms. McGuinness is welcome, there remain numerous longstanding issues, including the lack of transparency in the appointment process, the need for an approach to the right to FoRB which shows it to be interdependent and indivisible with other rights, and for the mandate holder to undertake regular reporting. Such issues were also raised by MEPs late last year.
Speaking on the appointment of Ms McGuinness, Humanists International’s Senior Advocacy Officer, Leon Langdon, said the following:
“Mairead McGuinness brings a wealth of experience to the role of Special Envoy, and we are eager to resume our constructive dialogue with her and her new office. However, the structural flaws surrounding this mandate persist. The right to freedom of religion or belief does not exist in a vacuum, nor should its defense come at the expense of the wider human rights framework. We look to Ms. McGuinness to guarantee that this office operates with full transparency and champions a truly inclusive vision of the right to FoRB – one that firmly resists any attempts to weaponize religious freedom against women, LGBTIQ+ people, and other vulnerable groups, and protects individuals of all religions and beliefs, including the non-religious.”
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