Promoting the Realization of Freedom of Religion or Belief in Southeast Asia
7:30pm, Thursday 1 October, 2015
Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand
Penthouse, Maneeya Center Building
518/5 Ploenchit Road (connected to the BTS Skytrain Chitlom station)
Free Admission
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Join the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Dr. Heiner Bielefeldt, for an informative overview on the current status of freedom of religion or belief in Southeast Asia and how we could work towards the fuller realization of this right in the region.
Across Southeast Asia, recent examples have shown how the right to freedom of religion or belief is increasingly denied and under threat. In some instances, it is the regressive and discriminatory legislation that aims to protect particular groups or to tightly control religion. While in other cases, it is the extreme interpretation of religion or belief, and the targeting of minority populations and religious sects. The denial of this basic right has reportedly taken severe forms that result in death, disappearance, long prison sentences, or in the flight of thousands across borders by land and sea.
In these cases, it is the religious minorities that have disproportionately been affected and should such problematic legislation, policies or extreme interpretations continue to be used, it is believed that this could further perpetuate the climate of religious intolerance in the region. The issue of freedom of religion in Southeast Asia is of critical importance yet it is far too rarely discussed.
Which is why from 30 September to 1 October 2015, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), and Boat People SOS (BPSOS) organized a conference in Bangkok to discuss pressing concerns on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief. The Special Rapporteur was one of the key speakers - Click here for more information about the conference: http://l.forum-asia.org/
Media contacts in Bangkok:
• Leong Tsu Quin, Associate International Legal Adviser of International Commission of Jurists, email: quin.leong@icj.org or tel. no.: +6681 134 0481
• Ian Stuart, Operations and Partnership Coordinator of BPSOS, email: ian.stuart@bpsos.orgor tel no.: +66 2 116 0405
• Betty Yolanda, Country Programme Manager of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), email: betty@forum-asia.org or tel. no.: +66 2 637 9126 ext. 303