OHCHR and the “Faith for Rights” framework

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OHCHR and the “Faith for Rights” framework

The Beirut Declaration and its 18 commitments on “Faith for Rights” have been referred to by several UN bodies, including the:

The “Faith for Rights” framework has also been used by faith-based actors and civil society organizations. For example, the G20 Interfaith Forums in Buenos Aires and Osaka yielded the policy recommendation to reduce incitement to hatred by supporting religious leaders and faith-based actors in fulfilling their human rights responsibilities as summarized in the Beirut Declaration and its 18 commitments (see also the High Commissioner’s statement at the G20 Interfaith Forum in Bologna in 2021 and the webinar in 2023). 

Also referring to the Beirut Declaration, the Global Forum on Faith Action for Children on the Move called in its action plan for designing and implementing projects and initiatives aimed at promoting respect for and understanding of minority groups, including those with different beliefs, faiths and religions, to reduce violence, xenophobic narratives and nurture peaceful societies. Furthermore, the religious track of the Cyprus Peace Process organized a “Faith for Rights” seminar in Nicosia, discussing the role that faith communities can play in combatting human trafficking and supporting victims. Arigatou International published a multi-religious study entitled “Faith and Children’s Rights”, which also draws upon the Beirut Declaration.

Several online tools on the “Faith for Rights” framework have been developed together with partner institutions:

Coronavirus crisis

In March 2020, the Statement by Religions for Peace on Coronavirus Crisis “encourage[s] faith actors to use the online #Faith4Rights toolkit. Now that we all have more time to reflect, you will find that this toolkit offers concrete ideas for learning, teaching, preaching and design community development projects. It also proposes several cases to debate, including a hypothetical case concerning reactions to an epidemic by religious and political leaders.”

In its Call for joint action in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020), the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women referred to its “peer-to-peer learning webinars, in collaboration with Religions for Peace and other partners to explore how various faith communities can scale up collaboration around the diverse challenges posed by COVID19 with a human rights-based approach with respect to women and girls. These webinars will use the #Faith4Rights toolkit as a resource.” (click here for more information on the webinars of 14 May 2020, 21 July 2020, and 27 May 2021). The European Union Gender Action Plan III , which was issued in November 2020, also notes that “the EU should support mobilisation of religious actors for gender equality in line with the Faith for Rights framework”.

At a virtual global consultation with faith actors in May 2020, the High Commissioner noted that the challenges related to COVID-19 may be followed by other tests for humanity and for our universal values: “Joining diverse faith actors within a shared vision and framework, we hope to nourish a community of practise, learning from each other and stimulating promising initiative based on human rights and mutual collaboration and respect.” In the context of the “Global Pledge for Action by Religious Actors and Faith-Based Organizations to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic in Collaboration with the United Nations”, a series of monthly peer-to-peer learning webinars is held in 2020 and 2021; please see the invitation letter, video message, concept note and snapshot of recommendations.

OHCHR workshops and public statements

OHCHR has co-organized several workshops and webinars to explore further the relationship between religions, beliefs and human rights:

Furthermore, OHCHR officials have raised the “Faith for Rights” framework in the following public statements:

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