Sharing good practices in promoting inclusion, diversity and pluralism
A side event at the 37th Session of the UNHRC
6 March 2018, 11:00 – 12:30
Room XXIV, Palais des Nations
More than six years since the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted its landmark Resolution 16/18, intolerance on the basis of religion or belief is an issue of growing global concern.
The UN Secretary General has called on all people to speak out against hatred and to recognise the importance of diversity, whilst the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned that “hate is being mainstreamed”. These trends make the commitments of HRC Resolution 16/18 more pertinent now than ever.
We must do more than promote “tolerance”: fostering values of inclusion, diversity and pluralism is essential to address the root causes of discriminatory hate, and requires the engagement of all stakeholders. Open space for discussion, challenge, and debate is essential to this, yet such space is shrinking.
Join ARTICLE 19, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of religion or belief and the Permanent Mission of Canada to the UN in Geneva, with other cosponsoring States, to discuss what can be done at national level to promote inclusion, diversity and pluralism, and how international human rights mechanisms can more effectively drive forward an implementation agenda on this issue.
Welcome
Giuliana Natale, Director of Inclusion and Religious Freedom, Global Affairs Canada
Panel
Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of religion or belief, UN
Tahmina Rahman, Regional Director, ARTICLE 19 Bangladesh and South Asia
Saloua Ghazouani, Regional Director, ARTICLE 19 Tunisia and MENA
Myo Win, Executive Director, SMILE Education and Development Foundation, Myanmar
Moderator
Thomas Hughes, Executive Director, ARTICLE 19