As a member of the UK Freedom of Religion or Belief Forum (UK FF), AFN launched a Working Group on freedom of religion or belief in Europe on 24th February 2023. Fortuitously, this was a special meeting held at No. 10 Downing Street and some 50 members of the Forum attended (with many more via…
Please join us for the first in this All Faiths Network supported series of “Conversations Across Beliefs” at 6pm on 27 October 2021. See the full invitation here Please go here for more details and register at this zoom link (https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tGQihCurQOuip1JMPHux3A) and forward the invitation to your contacts too. Best regards Martin Weightman AFN
France has a serious problem with radical Islam, but the draft law against “separatism” announced by President Macron may create more problems than it claims to solve. This is the conclusion of a “White Paper” co-authored or endorsed by well-know scholars of new religious movements Massimo Introvigne, Italian sociologist and managing director of CESNUR (Center…
This booklet, which can be downloaded, has just been published by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). They are guiding principles for each country to apply with regards to respecting freedom of religion or belief. The following are extracts from the introduction: “While OSCE participating States have adopted different strategies to ensure…
One of the decisions of The European Freedom of Religion or Belief Roundtable meeting in June 2019 was to raise the issue of blasphemy laws in Pakistan. The letter was written, signed by members of the Roundtable and delivered to the Pakistan Embassy in Brussels and UK for transmission to the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
We reprint here an article by Martin Banks of New Europe magazine. See the full article here Religious freedom and belief often “take a back seat” to policymaking, according to Martin Weightman, the director of the All Faiths Network, who told participants that the rights of religious minorities are overshadowed by issues affecting other groups….
Taken from THE GUARDIAN The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has ordered an independent, global review into the persecution of Christians of all nationalities amid claims that not enough is being done to defend the rights of nearly 200 million Christians at risk of persecution today. The unprecedented Foreign Office review will be led by the…
The recent ban on wearing a full-face veil in public in Denmark is another step within the European Union that infringes on the rights of citizens to express their identity and faith as they see fit. It is an unnecessary restriction of Articles 9 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This BBC…
The International Institute of Religious Freedom published all the 12 official reports to the UN Human Rights Council of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religions and Belief, presented by the present United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Heiner Bielefeldt. Each report has its own specific topic like religious minorities,…
London: All Faiths Network Director Martin Weightman chaired a panel at the International Media Conference on “Exposure of Conflict Areas in the World with Parlicular Referrence to Kashmir. In his opening remarks he highlighted the importance of interfaith dialogue and religious leaders separating themselves out from political motivations whilst holding true to the peaceful and…
