This is even more likely if religion or belief overlaps with other tensions e. Further, religion or belief may motivate or intensify conflict when it is politicized, when religious leaders support violence, or when a society maintains an aggressive discourse on religion or belief.
Grievances over religious discrimination may also motivate violence, but additional research is needed to confirm when and where this holds true. And to sustain conflict, conflict leaders may strategically exploit religious differences—to justify violent action, expand their support base or combatant pool, and harness the authority and resources of religious institutions. Knowing this, policymakers should be looking at these dynamics when analyzing a conflict, planning interventions to protect civilians, identifying potential spoilers to peace, innovating conflict resolution strategies, and developing future early warning indicators.
By doing so, policymakers can better understand how religion affects conflict in different contexts, potentially leading to new strategies for conflict mitigation. Gregory: When it comes to religious restrictions and violence, what we can say with confidence is that there is a positive correlation between the presence of FoRB restrictions and violent conflict—in other words, they can be found in similar environments. There is, however, no robust evidence that FoRB violations directly cause violence, which is why we see severe religious and belief restrictions in both conflict and non-conflict settings.
That said, many experts agree that higher restrictions on religion and belief can create an enabling environment for religion-related violence, as perpetrators may be less likely to face negative consequences.
This seems especially likely in contexts where legislation is lax or lacking on prohibiting violence based on religion or belief, and where the judicial system does not consistently prosecute those who defy such laws. As such, religious restrictions could serve as a risk factor for violent targeting based on religion or belief. Gregory: Absolutely! The intended audience of this report is indeed individual UN member states.
This report highlights pragmatic opportunities for member states to take action at the United Nations, whether it is through the Human Rights Council, General Assembly, or Security Council. Mainstreaming language on the role religion and belief can play in conflict and in peacebuilding into related agendas , including protection of civilians; women, peace, and security; children and armed conflict; and countering violent extremism;.
Supporting country-specific action to protect civilians where violence based on religion or belief is high or severe, such as in contexts where related atrocities have occurred.
Gregory: The G7 has a history of bringing attention to pressing global concerns that then motivates further global action—and FoRB should be no exception. The G7 can use their important platform to shine a light on this problem in plain sight through a thematic declaration, and by doing so, signal and strengthen their own commitments on protecting FoRB for all. The G7 should also work together to ensure that action on FoRB is actively inclusive of all religions and beliefs, with action not solely focused on Christianity or Islam as can be the tendency.
For instance, some UN member states have used freedom of religion or belief to justify discrimination based on gender or sexuality. It also recognizes that open, respectful dialogue on religion and belief can prevent and counter religious tensions and violence. It also allows for national application by calling for governments to integrate these action points into domestic agendas, such as by countering religious profiling, preventing discrimination by civil servants, and appointing a section of government to help resolve tensions between religious communities.
The resolution is also of immense scope, with some FoRB experts criticizing it for being overly piecemeal and equating issues of diverse importance e. And of late, it appears that the agenda may be struggling to keep up its political momentum, with the Istanbul Process—its supporting intergovernmental mechanism—meeting irregularly and self-reports on progress from member states low.
One step should be to strengthen language on reporting in the corresponding annual resolutions adopted by the Human Rights Council and General Assembly. Since , a mere 10 states to date have reported on action to speak out against religious intolerance, and only 49 states have reported on criminalizing incitement to imminent violence based on religion or belief.
Member states can also take advantage of upcoming dates to reinvigorate action on this vital issue area, such as around the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief on August 22, the fortieth anniversary of the General Assembly Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief adopted in November , and the thirtieth anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities adopted in December Those member states that are part of the Human Rights Council should also lead efforts to convene the Istanbul Process annually including this year!
To reinforce and motivate the work of the Istanbul Process, the Human Rights Council could host a follow-up briefing event to share outcomes and lessons learned from it.
Gregory: Getting countries that are serious FoRB violators to take meaningful action on this issue area is hard. This may be most applicable for the Security Council, where the veto power is a key consideration. And if forward action is blocked, diplomats and activists should use their networks and platforms to apply greater political and public pressure on inhibiting member states.
Member states supportive of FoRB must speak up and address serious violations, regardless of where they occur, as civilian welfare depends on it. And above all, diplomats must ensure that proposed action maintains international human rights standards, including as relates to gender and sexuality. I would urge the Security Council to address this concerning phenomenon through thematic or country-specific resolutions. A thematic resolution can serve to define the problem, condemn rising and sustained violence based on religion or belief, call on member states to build domestic prevention capacity, enhance monitoring and reporting to the Council e.
The latter could include calling for the Secretary-General to report on this issue in country-specific reports or in the Protection of Civilians annual report, and to conduct ad hoc thematic reporting when religion-related conflict drivers arise. And in terms of country-specific resolutions, the Security Council should call attention to the role religion may play in perpetuating conflict and draw special attention to related atrocities.
Similarly, it should highlight the positive role religion or belief plays in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Ultimately, this report aims to give government policymakers the knowledge and practical ideas they need to advance action at the United Nations to prevent and counter violence based on religion or belief.
In January, as talk of COVID swirled around us, I began to take a detailed inventory of our supplies and made sure we were heavily stocked. My focus was keeping enough cleaning and sanitizing supplies to keep us all healthy and in turn keep our families safe. They get full credit. Overnight, sanitizing wipes and our normal disinfecting cleaning supplies became unavailable. In addition, we now needed enough supplies to clean the cars six times a day off-going officers wipe the car down prior to turning it over to the on-coming officer and the on-coming officer wipes the car down again, as they reload it with their gear.
The car is effectively sanitized six times per day.. Essentially, three police officers occupy a vehicle in a hour period. We purchased over 20 spray bottles and using the ethanol supplied by EHS produced the hand sanitizer. Now a spray bottle is placed in every vehicle and refilled when appropriate. Every member of the Yale PD has gone above and beyond during this time, especially in helping with supplies and, most importantly, keeping the vehicles and our office clean.
I think for anyone who has a routine like we have, this has not been a difficult adjustment. As police officers, we come in contact with many individuals. So those cleaning products, hand sanitizers, gloves, and masks are essential for all of us and our families. If we stay safe, we keep our families safe. My focus was to keep the germs away from the YPD family, the Yale community and, in turn, their families. Any other anecdotal stories to share as a result of this pandemic?
In fact, I have only ever had positive experiences working at Yale. Recently, I was outside in the yard with my daughter and the sun was out. A small cloud passed by blocking the sunlight. My daughter said wow that little cloud blocked the entire sun out. Mind you she is five. I also feel that this whole thing has been a sort of spiritual message telling all of us to slow down. What positives do you see coming out of the whole pandemic, shelter at home, new normal?
More appreciation and kindness towards each other. Appreciating little things like being able to go wherever you want, anytime you want. I recently went into a local restaurant to get a coffee. The owner told me an anonymous donor had started a tab for first responders.
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