The Hindu American Foundation sent the following letter to the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Ms. Navanethem Pillay, on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The pdf version this letter can be downloaded by clicking here.
December 10, 2008
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Ms. Navanethem Pillay, High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Honorable Commissioner Pillay:
On the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Hindu American Foundation would like to call your attention to Article 18 as it relates to the religious freedom of billions around the world. As a leading Hindu advocacy and human rights group we have, since our inception in 2003, produced four annual human rights reports focusing on Hindus in South Asia and the diaspora and know all too well the fear, devastation and isolation felt by those who do not enjoy basic human rights. As such, we advocate for the upholding of the Declaration in general.
Religious freedom – it is a fundamental human right, advanced not only by Article 18 of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights since 1948, but by most democratic nations. That every individual “has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” And while Article 18 of the Universal Declaration sets forth an ideal for religious freedom, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) provide the necessary legal effect. As you well know, both the ICCPR and ICESCR were not adopted until 1976, and only after significant conceptual modification so as to address the perceived failure of the original language to take into the account the cultural and religious context of other religious traditions.
Yet today, on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and despite some corrective measures made in Article 18 of the ICCPR to include more diverse understandings of religious freedom, this inalienable right stands compromised for billions around the world. Religious freedom, as defined currently, has, at the expense of pluralist and non-exclusivist religions, failed to acknowledge or address religious freedom as it relates to the right to retain one's religion and to be free from harassment, intimidation and exploitative and predatory proselytization resulting in forced, fraudulent or coerced conversions by non-pluralist and exclusivist religions.
In every sense, non-pluralist religions are diametrically oppositional to traditionally pluralist religions. Non-pluralist religions claim exclusivity in their belief system’s legitimacy as the only religious and spiritual path and demand exclusive adherence. In contrast, pluralist religions, including most Eastern, non-Abrahamic and indigenous religions, have a more expansive ethos at their core--that one's religion may not be the exclusive source of Truth and which acknowledge the potential of multiple legitimate religious and spiritual paths. Most pluralist religions are also non-exclusivist, thus allowing for the assimilation beliefs and traditions of another religion without requiring the relinquishment of one's own religion or conversion to the other. These differences, however subtle or overt, will always result in asymmetries in favor of non-pluralist religions if the understanding of religious freedom and rights and protections proffered by international law are left unchanged.
It is this failed understanding of religious freedom that has also manifested in flagrant violations of §2 of the ICCPR. Religious freedom has been denied to so many adherents of pluralist religions because the world community has for too long turned a blind eye to forced, fraudulent and coerced conversion by non-pluralist and exclusivist religions -- conversions that have been carried out for centuries in various parts of the world, including Africa, North and South America, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. And today, this collective complacency has bred a surge in international campaigns which harass, intimidate and exploit the most vulnerable segments of society by, among other ethically questionable methods, conditioning humanitarian aid or economic, educational, medical or social assistance upon conversion and overtly denigrating other religions to intentionally promote religious hatred and bigotry (hate speech) and violence. These international campaigns are responsible for creating deep and open conflict throughout the world and deny a vast majority of the world's people their religious freedom.
We at the Hindu American Foundation hold that the integrity of Article 18 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and ICCPR is endangered today as a result of the failure to incorporate more pluralist understandings of religious freedom and complacency towards forced, fraudulent and coerced conversions. As such, religious freedom, as it stands today, is perversely at odds with tolerance, pluralism and most importantly, peace within and without national borders.
We offer the following:
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to retain, adopt or change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
§1 Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have, retain or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.
§2 No one shall be subject to force, fraud and/or coersion, including but not limited to harassment, intimidation or exploitation; the conditioning of humanitarian aid or economic, educational, medical or social assistance upon conversion and/or overt denigration of other religions to intentionally promote religious hatred and bigotry (hate speech) and violence, which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
The Foundation advises that the above-mentioned changes to global understanding of religious freedom as a human right and recognition of the value of all religions is integral to mutual understanding, tolerance, pluralism and peace. Others too would agree and have agreed with this assessment; as Mahatma Gandhi prophetically said, "...it is impossible to estimate the merits of the various religions of the world, and moreover I believe that it is unnecessary and harmful even to attempt it. But each one of them, in my judgment, embodies a common motivating force: the desire to uplift a man's life and give it purpose."
Thank you for your time and kind consideration.