ORAL STATEMENT
Humanists International
UN Human Rights Council, 58th session (24 February – 4 April 2025)
Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
Thank you Mr. President,
We thank the Special Rapporteur for her Report and for her consistent acknowledgement of the extension of her mandate to the rights of the non-religious. We additionally thank the Special Rapporteur for her explicit inclusion of the plight of humanists and atheists in her Report on her visit to Hungary.
As the Report notes, systemic discrimination on the basis of religion or belief can amount to coercion, and we see such discrimination against the non-religious around the world. This can manifest in various ways, including: the use of blasphemy laws against the non-religious; the denial of education and medical care; and the non-recongition of the non-religious. These laws suppress the legitimate expression of atheist and humanist views.
The Special Rapporteur’s comments on the lack of legal cases in this realm are particularly of note. The suppression of the rights of religious or belief minorities in detention settings extends beyond the violations of the rights to FoRB and freedom from ill-treatment, but may also extend to a denial of the right to effective remedy. All stakeholders must ensure those subjected to violations of the right to FoRB should have access to the information and the means to pursue legal remedy.
No one should be detained in a psychiatric facility or detention center for their beliefs. State actors should not be captured by religious fundamentalists seeking to protect religions and their symbols over people.
We call on states to heed the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations and to implement a concrete framework for preventing and addressing instances of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment as they relate to the right to FoRB.
Finally, we ask the Special Rapporteur, how do we ensure that the interconnectedness of human rights, such as the right to FoRB and the right to be free from torture, among many others, is sufficiently protected in a time when certain actors are trying to silo rights from one another?
Thank you.
'Freedom of Religion or Belief and Freedom from Torture and Ill-Treatment', Humanists International