RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


 

 

Rights organization underscores chief problems of Russian religious liberty

STATEMENT OF SOVA CENTER AT OSCE MEETING DEVOTED TO PROBLEMS OF FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND CONVICTIONS

SOVA, 3 July 2015

 

On 2-3 July 2015, in Vienna, there was a supplementary session of OSCE [The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] and on issues of the human dimension of "Freedom of religion and convictions: Promotion of mutual respect and understanding." An expert of the SOVA Center for News and Analysis addressed the working session "Freedom of religion and convictions and promotion of mutual respect and understanding in the area of OSCE: Possibilities and challenges." We publish the full text of the speech:

 

Esteemed chairman, esteemed conference participants!

 

The SOVA center conducts monitoring in Russia of numerous problems connected with freedom of religion and convictions which allows identifying the most critical problems inhibiting the realization of religious liberty and placing under threat interconfessional harmony.

 

1. This is not the first year in which antiextremist legislation has remained as one of the chief sources of threat to freedom of conscience. Representatives of various religions have been subjected to improper prosecution in accordance with the standards of this legislation, but more often than others are various groups of Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses. In 2014 new criminal cases were opened against adherents of Said Nursi, and this year one of them was sentenced to actual incarceration. Muslim literature that is clearly not of a radical variety has been prohibited as previously. Recently publications have been repeatedly included in the federal list of extremist materials that previously had been excluded. More than once now we have pointed out the ineffectiveness of Russian antiextremist legislation for resolving problems of security, but the instruments being used undoubtedly facilitate discrimination against Muslims and their creation as the image of the enemy.

 

2.  The problem of the hijab, well known in European countries, remains acute in Russia. In a number of regions, regulatory acts have been adopted forbidding the wearing of Muslim clothing in educational institutions. Attempts by Muslims to challenge such a regulation of the government of the republic of Mordovia by judicial means were not crowned with success. Regulation of the religious conduct of citizens by regulatory methods, as the practice of Russia and other countries shows, usually becomes an attack upon freedom of conscience. However in Russia such regulation makes even more doubtful the supremacy of federal law in the sphere of human rights and the very integrity of the legal space, inasmuch as, for example in Chechnya, authorities force, contrariwise, women to wear headscarves. In addition, such prohibitions unavoidably push some Muslims toward radicalization.

 

3. A Russian law which was adopted in 2013 despite numerous protests and which made harsher the administrative, and introduced criminal, accountability for offending religious feelings, contrary to expectations, was not actively enforced in practice. However, even without this law, the authorities find ways to support those who, appealing to religious feelings, try to impact cultural life without taking into account the interests of the remaining portion of society, both believers and nonbelievers. Under pressure from radically inclined Orthodox believers in various regions of Russia, concerts, performances, exhibitions, and festivals have been cancelled and there have been instances of censorship of artistic works. A director of the Novosibirsk Theatre of Opera and Ballet who refused to reconsider the repertoire policy in keeping with the wishes of such believers was fired by decision of the Ministry of Culture. In several instances, defenders of religious feelings have gotten their way by means of physical force without facing any penalty for this.

 

4. The construction of churches, mosques, and other houses of worship always is a subject of compromise between representatives of religious communities, city authorities, and the local population. Unfortunately, in many Russian regions, starting with Moscow, such compromise more and more often cannot be found and the construction of temples very often is accompanied by conflicts. Despite legislation, Orthodox parishes manage to get allotments of land parcels in the territory of park areas, which naturally evokes protests from the populace, and the authorities often ignore instances of violation of the law. At the same time there is a clear shortage of mosques in Moscow while Muslims have not managed to get permission for construction and bureaucrats justify their refusal by appealing specifically to the displeasure of local residents. Such clear support of the interests of one religious organization to the detriment of the remaining portion of society is perceived as discrimination and facilitates the growth of tension within society.

 

Our recommendations for member states of the OSCE:

 

1. Reject the use of such instruments of protecting toleration, including religious toleration, as lists of forbidden literature. This instrument has already proven its total ineffectiveness, although it has engendered a multitude of violations of human rights.

 

2. Agree that religious toleration should be protected by the same mechanisms as other forms of toleration, and reject the creation of special standards restricting one or another freedom for the sake of preserving religious toleration in particular.

 

3. Reject any laws that interpret religious polemic as incitement of religious enmity and reconsider decisions previously adopted in this spirit.

 

4. Prevent the adoption of laws and other acts specifically restricting the public manifestation of one's religious convictions.

 

5. Develop effective mechanisms for adopting decisions concerning the construction of religious buildings. (tr. by PDS, posted 7 July 2015)


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