URG Board Member, Nazila Ghanea, addresses Human Rights Council during panel discussion on preventing violent extremism

by the URG team Contemporary and emerging human rights issues, HRC, Human Rights Council, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Istanbul process, Prensa, Resolution 16/18, Thematic human rights issues, URG News

On 17th March 2016, URG Board member Nazila Ghanea participated in the Human Rights Council “Panel discussion on preventing violent extremism,” alongside Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the UN; Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights; Gastón Garatea, Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and former Chair of the National Bureau for the Fight against Poverty; Mehreen …

Implementing Resolution 16/18: the role of Rabat and the importance of civil society space

by Andrew Smith, Legal Officer at ARTICLE 19 and the URG team Blog, By invitation, By invitation, HRC, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, In Focus: Human rights and religion, Istanbul process, Religion, Resolution 16/18, Thematic human rights issues

The 31st session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) is a significant marker: not only will the HRC celebrate its 10th birthday, but the session will mark five years since the adoption of resolution 16/18 on “combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatisation of, and discrimination, incitement to violence, and violence against persons based on religion or belief .” In the current geopolitical context, the consensus that underpins resolution 16/18 is increasingly precarious, despite being more important than ever. In March, the HRC will consider …

The road to Istanbul passes through Rabat

by Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group and the URG team Blog, In Focus: Human rights and religion, Istanbul process, Religion, Resolution 16/18, Thematic human rights issues

On 3rd-4th June, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) hosted, in Jeddah, a fifth round of the Istanbul Process, a series of intergovernmental meetings launched in 2011 by the former OIC Secretary-General, Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, and former US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton. The Istanbul Process was put in place to promote and guide the implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 16/18 on combatting religious intolerance and discrimination. The resolution, adopted …

A way forward for the 16/18 process

by Caka A. Awal* Blog, By invitation, By invitation, In Focus: Human rights and religion, Istanbul process, Religion, Resolution 16/18, Thematic human rights issues

A policy report of Universal Rights Group (URG) on ‘ Combatting Global Religious Intolerance: the Implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 16/18 ’ has rightly pointed out the complexities of the issues surrounding freedom of religion or belief and the fight against global religious intolerance. The report provides useful historical insights about the UN’s journey to confront and combat racial and religious intolerance. It is interesting to note that on 25th November 1981 …

Charlie Hebdo attack and global reaction highlights critical importance of renewed commitment to the implementation of resolution 16/18 and the Rabat Plan of Action

by Andrew Smith, Legal Officer at ARTICLE 19 Blog, In Focus: Human rights and religion, Istanbul process, Religion, Resolution 16/18, Thematic human rights issues

Last week’s appalling attack against journalists and police officers at the satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, and the cascade of comment and counter-comment that has followed, remind us once again of both the importance of, and the sensitivities that surround, the relationship between freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, and non-discrimination. Identifying and understanding the contours of that relationship …