Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-19-Speech-3-421-000"
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"en.20110119.23.3-421-000"2
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"Mr President, I shall begin by expressing how fully I share the concerns of this House about the recent violence against people belonging to religious minorities, as well as those who stand up for religious freedom.
I expressed my views on this issue most recently on 6 January when I visited Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas. I went there to underline the need for all religious groups around the world to be able to gather and to worship freely. I also stressed that the European Union condemns all forms of intolerance and violence against people because of their religion, wherever it takes place. I have also strongly condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Iraq and Egypt targeting places of worship, as well as the assassination of Salmaan Taseer, the Governor of the Punjab in Pakistan.
These attacks are unacceptable: they are perpetrated by extremists with an agenda of intolerance which must be condemned and must be resisted. Honourable Members, all too often in today’s world, people’s human rights are violated because of their religion or belief. The victims do not belong to a single faith or to one region. Regrettably, no part of the world is spared from the scourge of religious intolerance.
Any discrimination or violence against individuals because of their religious beliefs runs counter to the values that we in the European Union uphold. Each violation must be taken seriously and each must be condemned with equal force wherever it takes place and whoever the victim may be, because, as we know and accept, human rights are universal.
Long-established Christian communities in the Middle East face difficulties which have led to significant displacement in some countries and to a dwindling of numbers in the region as a whole. The European Union will not turn a blind eye to their plight. We consider their demand to have their rights respected as citizens of their own country to be entirely legitimate. Freedom of conscience and of belief belongs to everyone and every state has the duty to ensure it is respected.
The EU stands ready to enhance its cooperation with governments in order to combat intolerance and protect human rights. We must not fall into the trap that extremists and terrorists are laying for us: we must resist the manipulation of religion into a source of division. The best response to extremism is a united international front based on the universal standards of freedom of religion and freedom of belief.
The European Union was a driving force in the UN General Assembly behind the resolution on the elimination of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief – which was adopted by consensus in December 2010. We make a concerted effort every year to build on that consensus, so that the international community can send a firm and united message. We are considering another initiative to rally strong cross-regional support on this theme at the forthcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council in March. We also raise the issue of freedom of religion or belief during our human rights dialogues and urge countries to eradicate discrimination and intolerance.
Our delegations closely monitor these issues around the world, and the European Union’s next annual human rights report this spring will address the situation of religious minorities around the world.
Honourable Members, I am fully committed to keeping freedom of religion or belief at the top of our agenda. The next Foreign Affairs Council on 31 January will again address this issue so that the European Union can step up its efforts to promote religious freedom."@en1
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