25th Anniversary Commemoration - Program

event - 1981 declaration

program

International Conference Commemorating 25th Anniversary of the Adoption of the 1981 United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief

25th November 2006
Palác Žofín, Slovanský ostrov 226, Prague 1

Morning Program

09.30 - 10.00	Registration, Coffee and Introduction to Workshops
10.00 - 12.00	Workshops in four parallel sessions
12.00 - 14.00	Lunch Break

The workshops will allow the opportunity for participants from government, civil society and representatives of religions or beliefs with some expertise and/or working knowledge of the workshop theme to consider these topics with experts in the field. The four workshops are on thematic areas that are highly topical and that challenge the realisation of the Declaration in many parts of the world. These are as follows:

• Workshop 1, Lord Mayor's Parlour: Protection of Religion or Belief vis-a-vis Freedom of Expression

  Facilitators:
  Ms Widney Brown, Amnesty International, Senior Director, International Law, Policy and Campaigns
  Mr Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, Barrister, Malaysian Bar Council

  Rapporteur:
  Professor Liam Gearon
  
  In what circumstances and to what extent can one right trump the other and why? What preventative measures, if any, can be taken to reduce the possibilities of conflict between these rights? What is the role of the media and of leaders or representatives of religions or belief communities? How can the freedom of expression within religious or belief communities be ensured?

• Workshop 2, Main Hall: Change of Religion or Belief, Enabling the Environment

  Facilitators:
  Ms Asma Jahangir, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief
  Ms Diane ‘Ala’i, Representative, Bahá’í International Community

  Rapporteur:
  Mr Michael Wiener
  
  A number of international instruments are explicit in upholding that Freedom of Religion or Belief necessarily entails the freedom to change religion or belief. This has direct implications for conversion, an act which still attracts many legal, civil, political and other penalties in many parts of the world. What can governments and leaders, or representatives of religions or beliefs, do to create a more tolerant, even enabling, environment for individuals to be free to follow the promptings of their own consciences in such matters?

• Workshop 3, Knight's Room Protection or Religion or Belief: Who benefits?

  Facilitators:
  Ms Felice Gaer, Chair, US Commission on International Religious Freedom
  Mr Alain Garay, Attorney at Law, Court of Appeal, Paris

  Rapporteur:
  Dr Alexandra Xanthaki
  
  Here the question under discussion will be whether it is only the individual that enjoys freedom of religion or belief, or whether this necessarily also enshrines a collective dimension. If so, how is the religious community to be defined? Do religions or beliefs per se benefit from protection within the human rights framework? What does this imply for the protection and role religious (or belief) leaders, their freedoms as well as their responsibilities?

• Workshop 4, Small Room Propagation of Religion or belief

  Facilitators:
  Professor Malcolm D. Evans, Professor of International Law, University of Bristol, UK
  Dr Dennis de Jong, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs

  Rapporteur:
  Dr Peter Petkoff
  
  To what extent is propagation of religion or belief protected in international human rights law? Is this protection equal in terms of both manifestation of religion or belief, or proselytism, as well as teaching of religion or belief within the community and especially to children? Are there conditions attached to the exercise of the human right to proselytism, for example in relation to the vulnerability of or relationship with the person who is the subject of proselytism? This is intimately related to the question of change of religion or belief [see b above].

Afternoon Program

14.00 - 16.00 Speeches and Question and Answers

14.00 -14.10	Welcome and introduction by Mr Karel Tesař, Tolerance 95
14.10 - 14.30	Mr Bacre Ndiaye, representing the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Director of the Human Rights Procedures Division, OHCHR, Geneva
14.30 - 14.50	Ms Felice Gaer, Chair, US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
14.50 - 15.10	Professor Theo van Boven, Professor Emeritus of International Law, Maastricht University
15.10 - 15.30	Mr Piet de Klerk, Netherlands Ambassador at Large for Human Rights
15.30 - 16.00	Question and Answer Session

Ceremonial Evening

Lord Mayor's Parlour

19.00 - 19.15	Evening Opening by Dr. Nazila Ghanea and Mr. Roman Boháček
19.15 - 19.25	Introductory Remarks by Mr. Jan Litomiský, Chair of the Czech Government Council on Human Rights
19.25 - 19.55	Audiovisual presentation by award winning photographer Dr. Tom Fox
19.55 - 20.25	Performance by the children's choir Bambini di Praga (Czech Republic)
20.25 - 20.40	Announcement of 'Prague Declaration' by Mr Piet de Klerk, Netherlands Ambassador at Large for Human Rights
20.40 - 21.10	Address by the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion and Belief, Ms. Asma Jahangir
21.10 - 23.00	Hot Buffet Reception

Dr Tom Fox

Born of English parents in Kenya and lived in Tanzania and South Africa, before moving to England at the age of 14. Took up photography soon after moving to Norfolk to take up employment at the BBSRC Institute of Food Research in 1985. Tom's photography focussed largely on creating slide shows using multi-projection formats. In 1997 he joined the Royal Photographic Society and has won awards for his slide photography and audio-visual shows. His performances have included shows screened at the Global Forum Satellite Conference to the Rio Summit in Manchester, The Royal Norfolk Show and the BBSRC's Cell City show at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, Glastonbury in 2000, University of East Angliaąs public Christmas lecture, and the launch of the Inter Faith Forum in Birmingham. He has also written and produced shows incorporating live theatre with projection performed at the Playhouse in Norwich, Richmond Theatre and Hackney, London. He has been partially deaf since birth and relies on lip-reading.

Choir

http://www.bambini.cz/

Services provided by the following companies:

www.tolerance95.cz/1981Declaration Webmaster

Mr Michal Šafus
Mr František Zeman
Real Time Solutions
and Tolerance 95.


Translation Services
Mr Roman Boháček
Across
and Tolerance 95.


Tolerance 95 Task Force
Jan Tabrizi,
Secretaries
Anna Leardi
Karel Tesař
Olya Tesařová Tarčynec