Recommendation 1987 (2011) Final version

Combating all forms of discrimination based on religion

Author(s): Parliamentary Assembly

Origin - Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 25 November 2011 (see Doc. 12788, report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, rapporteur: Mr Pantiru).

1. Referring to its Resolution 1846 (2011) on combating all forms of discrimination based on religion, the Parliamentary Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

1.1. strengthen its action against discrimination based on religion or belief;

1.2. continue dialogue with representatives of religious communities and of humanist and philosophical movements, in particular through the “annual exchanges on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue”;

1.3. identify and disseminate examples of good practice in respect of safeguarding and/or developing religious pluralism;

1.4. when supervising the execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights on freedom of religion, notably those concerning registration of religious communities and acts of violence based on religion, ensure their speedy execution;

1.5. call on those member states which have not yet done so to sign and ratify Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 177);

1.6. pursue co-operation with other international organisations, in particular the European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the United Nations and its Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, with a view to promoting coherent interpretations of the freedom of thought, conscience and religion and the implementation of common policies in the field of combating discrimination based on religion.