n principle, European countries guarantee freedom of expression and freedom of religion, either in their constitutions or in international human rights treaties they have signed.
At no time since World War II have these fundamental human freedoms been so threatened. In some countries, the fragile guarantees embodied in national constitutions and international law are being violated, abused and reinterpreted to the advantage of the government, with a consequent decline in civil rights protections.
Although one could highlight many incidents of governmental hostility towards the principle of religious tolerance, perhaps the most ominous – because of Germany’s position in Europe – is the growing repression of religious minorities by the German government. The world has been alerted to this explosive pattern of harassment in a series of reports by inter-governmental human rights bodies, governmental human rights organisations and concerned religious organisations.
What are human rights and why are they important?
The fundamental assumption of human rights is that each individual is a moral and rational being possessing certain inalienable rights. Human rights are based on the principle of respect for the individual and his beliefs.
Processes which protect minorities and give them an effective voice are essential to a true democracy. Governments which refuse to respect individual rights rapidly descend into police states.
Europe has a long history of religious intolerance and persecution. In the last two thousand years, millions have died because their beliefs conflicted with the authoritative dogma of the time.
In the early days of Rome, Christianity was outlawed and Christians put to death unless they renounced it. In the 4th century, after the conversion of the Emperor Constantine, Christianity flourished, but when the centre of government power shifted from Rome to Constantinople, more conflict ensued. As the centuries rolled by, the persecuted became the oppressors. Heretics were hunted down by the Inquisition, tortured and killed. In the 17th century, religious intolerance led to the Thirty Years’ War which decimated Germany and spread to Spain, France and Sweden. World War II and the worst persecution in history – the horrors of the Holocaust – set a record for man’s inhumanity to man.
In the aftermath of the Holocaust, the doctrine of national sovereignty in the human rights arena was morally discredited. To prevent such atrocities from ever occurring again, the United Nations General Assembly in 1948 formulated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to establish “a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.” The aim was to ensure that each nation’s laws truly protect the fundamental rights of all its people and so make it impossible for a rogue government to run amok and persecute individuals because of their religion, race, colour, ideology, social status, property or birth.
The result was a series of human rights declarations and treaties which have been subsequently expanded and amplified.
These treaties are not theoretical. They have the force of actual law and they are binding on the governments which have ratified them. Just as certainly as there is a law to prevent theft, assault or murder, there are laws to protect the right to free speech, freedom of opinion and the right to believe in and practise one’s religion.
Continued...
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