World Report on Freedom of Religion and Belief
t the close of the twentieth century, discrimination and persecution of minority populations based on their communal beliefs and identities remains all too common, says Kevin Boyle, co-editor of Freedom of Religion and Belief: A World Report and director of the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex in England. Indeed, the struggle for freedom of conscience, religion, and belief continues to preoccupy many peoples of the world who daily suffer severe human rights violations, in spite of internationally recognized human rights standards and norms. Boyle discussed the World Report--funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and published by Routledge Press--at a U.S. Institute of Peace briefing on Capitol Hill on September 30.
The event, held in conjunction with the report's publication, was organized by David Little, the Institute's senior scholar in religion, ethics, and human rights, and program officer Scott Hibbard. Little, a member of the U.S. Department of State's Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad, and Michael Young of Columbia University's Human Rights Center also discussed the findings of the report, which provides a systematic survey of close to 60 countries. The report analyzes abuses of human rights, the contexts in which they occur, and existing human rights laws.
The U.S. Congress has held several hearings this fall on religious persecution abroad, and legislation to address this issue is currently under review. Similarly, the State Department established its advisory committee last year to work on these issues. Before the World Report was published, no comprehensive survey of the problem existed, Little said. The report makes a major contribution to understanding the status of human rights in the world and will be invaluable in the effort to judge human rights complaints, he concluded.
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- David Little
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