Activities of Wajid KHAN related to 2018/2155(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on EU Guidelines and the mandate of the EU Special Envoy on the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU PDF (363 KB) DOC (59 KB)
Amendments (23)
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas FoRB implies the right of the individual to choose what to believetheir beliefs or lack of them, the right to leave or change one’s religion and convictions without any constraints, and the right to practise and manifest the religion of one’s choice, whether individually or in community and whether in private or in public; whereas the manifestation of religion or belief can be expressed in worship, teaching, practice and observance; whereas FoRB entails the right of believers’ communities to preserve their ethos and to act in accordance with it, and the entitlement for their religious organisations to have recognised legal personality; whereas protecting individuals adhering to any religion or none and effectively addressing violations of FoRB, such as discrimination or legal restrictions based on religion or belief, are primordial conditions to ensure that individuals may enjoy FoRB on an equal basis;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief are also protected under Article 18 ICCPR, whereas holding or not holding a religion or belief is an absolute right and may not be limited under any circumstances;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas FoRB is indivisible, is interdependent on and interrelated to fundamental freedomsreedom of expression and other human rights, and is a cornerstone human right that protects the core of human dignitytogether they play an important role in the fight against all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the unfettered exercise of FoRB directly contributes to democracy, development, the rule of law, peace and stability; whereas violations of FoRB are increasingly widespread, affect people in all parts of the world and may exacerbate intolerance, often constituting early indicators of potential violence and conflicts;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas states have a primary role in ensuring FoRB, and must ensure that their legal system provide adequate and effective guarantees of freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief to all, and that these provisions are properly enforced; whereas states must exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and punish acts of violence, or the threat thereof, against persons based on their religion or belief, as well as ensure accountability in case such violations occur;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas religious restrictions and hostilities, imposed by governments or societies, still persist in many countries; whereas certain religious minorities have faced heightened threat and persecution from state and non-state actors; whereas human rights defenders around the world fighting for FoRB are coming under increasing threat and attacks;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that religion or belief is an important undeniable pillar of human identityfreedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief is a universal human right, greatly impacting all individuals and societies, and is therefore a realityprinciple that must not be neglected or denied in policies but requires proper recognition and addressing;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Affirms that the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, commonly referred as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), as a fundamental human right and a founding value of the EU, has to be duly protected, promoted and safeguarded by all actoreverywhere, including in EU member states; underscores the duty of states to guarantee FoRB and treat all individuals equally, without discrimination on the basis of their religion or belief; including persons holding non-theistic or atheistic beliefs, religious minorities and indigenous people; in order to preserve peaceful, democratic and pluralistic societies that are respectful of diversity and beliefs;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Deplores the fact that some countries have, enforce or seek to introduce penal laws providing punishment for blasphemy, conversion or apostasy, including the death penalty; deplores the fact that such laws are often used as a form of anti-minority oppression, as well as political oppression, also draws attention to the situation of some other countries facing or being at risk of conflicts of a religious dimension; calls for the EU to prioritise in its foreign policy efforts towards all the countries concerned with a view to the repeal of such discriminatory laws;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the fact that the Special Envoy has developed effective working networks within the Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament, as well as with other stakeholders; deploregrets, however, the fact that the Special Envoy’s mandate was not established and consolidated with sufficient human and financial resources;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Council and the Commission to strengthen the Special Envoy’s institutional mandate and capacity, by earmarking funding and human resources adequate to the Envoy’s duties, developing a systemic institutionalisation of working networks established by the Special Envoy within all relevant EU institutions or establishing the position of the EU Special Representative for FoRB;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – introductory part
Paragraph 12 – introductory part
12. Calls on the Council and the Commission to reflect on creating the EU Special Representative for FoRB; considers that the competences andSuggests that the role of the Special Envoy should be expanded to include competences such as enhancing the visibility, effectiveness, coherence and accountability of the EU’s FoRB policy outside the EU, providing the European Parliament, the Council, the Vice- President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Commission with an annual progress report and a comprehensive implementation report on the mandate ofat this Special Representative should include:e end thereof and working in close cooperation with the Council Working Group on Human Rights (COHOM);
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point a
Paragraph 12 – point a
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point b
Paragraph 12 – point b
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point c
Paragraph 12 – point c
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point d
Paragraph 12 – point d
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point e
Paragraph 12 – point e
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls for the term of office of the Special Envoy to be extended to a multi- year term, corresponding to the term of the Commission, subject to a mid-term review;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Commends, in this respect, the efforts made to date by the EEAS and the Commission to provide training on religious literacy to EU officials and national diplomats; stresses, however, the need for broader and more systematic training programmes which would raise awareness of and increase the use of the EU Guidelines among the EU’s and Member States’ officials and diplomats and strengthen cooperation with the Special Envoy; asks for churches and religious communities and associations, as well as non-confessional organisations, human rights and civil society organisations to be involved in this training process; calls on the Commission and the Council to earmark resources for establishingprovide adequate resources to such training programmes;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Underlines the responsibilities fulfilled by human rights focal points within all EU Delegations and CSDP Missions; calls for the designating of FoRB-specific focal points in every EU Delegation and CSDP Mission; calls for more resources to be allocated to EU Delegations and CSDP Missions so as to allow them to carry out their work of promoting FoRBmonitoring, assessing and reporting situations of concern with regard to respect for FoRB in third countries;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Stresses that the EU’s policies in the fields of peace, security and conflict prevention and development and cooperation face challenges, for which solutions can be devised with the participation of churches, religious leaders, academics, religious communities and associations or faith-based organisations, as well as non-confessional organisations, and human rights organisations that are a critical part of civil society; acknowledges the importance of being mindful of the diversity of churches, religious communities and associations and faith-basedfferent religious identities of the organisations which perform actual development and humanitarian work for and with communities; calls on the Council and the Commission to incorporate, where relevant, objectives and activities relating to the promotion and protection of FoRB into the programming of funding instruments linked to those policies, namely the EDF, the DCI, the ENI, the IcSP and the IPA;