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Reply to Recommendation | Doc. 14408 | 02 October 2017
The protection of the rights of parents and children belonging to religious minorities
1. The Committee of
Ministers has carefully examined Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 2101 (2017) on “The protection of the rights of parents and children
belonging to religious minorities” and brought it to the attention
of the governments of member States. It also forwarded it to the
Ad Hoc Committee for the Rights of the Child (CAHENF) and the Steering
Committee for Educational Policy and Practice (CDPPE), for possible
comments.
2. The Committee of Ministers underlines that freedom of thought,
conscience and religion is a fundamental right enshrined in the
European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR, Article 9), the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, Article 14), as well
as other key international and European human rights instruments.
The ECHR also covers a specific aspect of freedom of religion, namely States’
obligation, in the exercise of any functions which they assume in
relation to education and to teaching, to respect the right of parents
to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own
religious and philosophical convictions (Article 2 of Protocol No.
1). With regard to the aspects concerning religious minorities,
the Committee of Ministers refers to the provisions of the Council
of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities and the work of the European Commission against Racism and
Intolerance (ECRI).
3. The Assembly recommends the drafting of “guidelines on how
member States should effectively provide reasonable accommodation
for deeply held moral or religious beliefs of individuals, while
ensuring respect for the rights of others”. In this connection,
the Committee of Ministers would underline that the extensive case
law of the European Court of Human Rights on freedom of religion
provides comprehensive guidance to States in this area. Additionally,
the opinions and reports of monitoring bodies such as the Advisory
Committee of the Framework Convention and ECRI, and the recommendations
issued by the Committee of Ministers on the basis of the monitoring
conducted by the Advisory Committee, have addressed these issues
frequently and also provide guidance to national authorities.
4. Finally, the Council of Europe’s action in the area of the
rights of the child guide member States in ensuring that children’s
rights are protected and promoted without discrimination and in
all spheres of life, in line with relevant international and European
standards and with the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of
the Child (2016-2021).
5. The Committee of Ministers therefore considers that appropriate
guidance is already available and does not believe that it is necessary
to draw up additional guidelines.