CLF responds to United Nations’ call for input on freedom of religion and belief
By Connor Giesbrecht*
On June 1, 2023, CLF submitted a written brief (reproduced below) responding to the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief’s call for input on the topic of “promotion of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief at the national and local level”.
The submissions received by the Special Rapporteur will inform her report to the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. As an NGO in special consultative status with the UN's Economic and Social Council, CLF is grateful to have the opportunity to speak into international consultations such as these.
Specifically, the Special Rapporteur called for input on, among other topics, "challenges and best practices which arise in relation to freedom of religion or belief from a grassroots perspective". The Special Rapporteur also sought to gain a better understanding of the “actors that play a positive role in creating an environment in which freedom of religion or belief can be enjoyed”.
In our submission, CLF recommended that:
(1) Religious communities be specifically highlighted among the “key actors that play significant roles in securing freedom of religion or belief”; and,
(2) There be explicit affirmation of the need for, and importance of, legal protections both in international and domestic instruments, to ensure the autonomy, integrity, and independence of those religious communities.
In our brief, CLF explained the importance of the communal aspect of freedom of religion. We detailed the collective religious freedom protections found in international human rights documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We also described the important individual and societal benefits that churches and other religious communities provide, including their support of personal spiritual life, their contribution to humanity’s search for truth, and their contribution to a free and pluralistic society.
CLF also outlined some recent and ongoing issues related to communal religious freedom and autonomy in Canada. Among these are the two cases recently heard by the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the circumstances in which a court could intervene in a religious institution's internal governing processes. Thankfully, in both cases, the Court affirmed the autonomy of religious communities, and found that judicial intervention is only appropriate where an underlying legal (as opposed to purely religious) issue is involved. Another issue of concern mentioned in our brief is the ongoing effort by some in Canada to remove the advancement of religion as a charitable purpose. Finally, we addressed the effort by some groups to pressure faith-based health care communities to participate in medical assistance in dying, despite this conflicting with the deeply-held religious beliefs that underlie the mission of these institutions.
We look forward to reading the Special Rapporteur’s upcoming report and the opportunity to further engage on these important issues moving forward.
““[The] communal or associative aspect of religious freedom is crucial, as the existence of religious communities ensure the continuance of religion and provide tangible benefits to believers and broader society alike.””
Further Reading
Read more about CLF’s work as an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council.
Forgotten Freedoms Video (jointly produced by The Forgotten Freedoms Project and Christian Legal Fellowship): “Freedom of thought, belief, opinion, the press and other media of communication”
*Connor Giesbrecht is an incoming second-year law student at Robson Hall (University of Manitoba). He is currently a law student intern at the Christian Legal Fellowship in London, Ontario, and he co-wrote CLF’s submission to the Special Rapporteur discussed in this article.