FoRB – Recognising our differences can be our strength: Enhancing transatlantic cooperation on promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief (Policy Briefing – summer 2016)
SUMMARY
As the global environment for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) continues to deteriorate and as more governments and organisations on both sides of the Atlantic step up their commitment to FoRB advocacy, increased coordination becomes more urgent. This policy brief seeks to build on current transatlantic cooperation on FoRB by suggesting a shift of policy emphasis: stressing the diversity of Europe and North America as a strategy to enhance transatlantic cooperation on the promotion of FoRB worldwide.
ABOUT THIS BRIEFING
This policy brief is the result of two transatlantic policy dialogues on ‘Freedom of Religion or Belief and Foreign Policy’, funded by a ‘Bridging Voices’ grant from the British Council awarded to the University of Sussex and the University of Notre Dame, in partnership with the ReligioWest ERC Project of the EUI and the Department of Law ‘Cesare Beccaria’ of the University of Milan. The first dialogue was convened by Wilton Park in England in February 2015 and the second in October 2015 by Georgetown University in Washington, DC: https://www.wiltonpark.org.uk/conference/wp1383 http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/events/international-religious-freedom-toward-a-model-of-transatlantic-cooperation
KEY RECCOMENDATIONS
1 Draw upon transatlantic church-state differences as an asset
2 ‘IRF’ vs ‘FoRB’ – Be mindful of the subtle differences in language
3 Seek collaboration between ‘religious freedom’ and ‘religious engagement’
4 Upgrading the listening mode – enhance knowledge of and training on FoRB
5 Build coalitions and new multilateral strategies to engage FoRB violators
6 Bolster the nascent multinational and transnational FoRB networks
7 Share stories of struggling with religious diversity
AUTHORS
Fabio Petito, University of Sussex
Daniel Philpott, University of Notre Dame
Silvio Ferrari, University of Milan
Judd Birdsall, University of Cambridge
Argomenti: Rapporti & Dossier