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P.O. Box 741 • Amherst, New York 14226-0741 • (716) 636-4869 • Fax (716) 636-1733 www.centerforinquiry.net United Nations Human Rights Council: 27th Session (8th – 27th September 2014) General Debate on Item 9; Tuesday, September 23, 2014 Speaker: CFI Representative, Michael De Dora Discrimination Against Religious and Non-Religious Minorities Mr./Madam President, The Durbin Declaration and Programme of Action reaffirmed “the principles of equality and nondiscrimination in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” and encouraged “respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction of any kind such as … religion, political, or other opinion.” Despite this, many member states continue to discriminate against their citizens based on religion or other opinion by establishing a specific religion, or else officially recognizing only a narrow set of religions. For example, roughly 75 states around the world recognize only one religion1. Malaysia and Indonesia formally recognize six religions; China recognizes five religions; and Egypt recognizes just three religions. Many states also explicitly ban the practice and/or promotion of religions other than those recognized. These policies send the message to citizens who adhere to certain faiths, or no faith at all, that they are not members of the community; give cover to citizens of recognized religions to treat their neighbors with less respect; and allow governments to arrest and imprison people simply for belonging to a different religion, or not belonging to one at all. In this respect, we welcome the recent statement by Indonesia's new religious affairs minister, Lukman Saifuddin, that the Bahá'í religion should be recognized as country's seventh official religion2. The plight of unrecognized Bahá'ís in Indonesia is but one example of the widespread harm caused by such exclusionary religious policies. Another is the nontraditionally religious. Indonesian atheist Alexander Aan was sentenced to 30 months in prison for posting about atheism on Facebook3. Aan was also charged with lying on a government document for listing Islam as his official religion. Yet what choice did he have? State policies that bar citizens from identifying themselves according to their conscience are inconsistent with Durban. They are also inconsistent with reality: diversity of worldviews is a fact of modern human life. We therefore urge member states to find inspiration in the words of the Indonesian religious affairs minister and modify their laws to respect the rights and reflect the diversity of all individuals in their countries4. Thank you.

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http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/rachelmccleary/files/state_religion.pdf http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/new-religious-affairs-minister-supports-state-recognition-bahai-religion/ 3 http://www.centerforinquiry.net/news/center_for_inquiry_condemns_jailing_of_indonesian_atheist_for_inciting_reli/ 4 This could be accomplished either by overturning policies that recognize a specific religion or set of religions; or by allowing citizens to register under all religions and non-religions practiced in their respective countries, including secular philosophies such as humanism and atheism. 2