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Recommendation 2080 (2015)
Freedom of religion and living together in a democratic society
1. The Parliamentary Assembly, referring
to its Resolution 2076
(2015) on freedom of religion and living together in
a democratic society, and drawing attention to its Recommendation 1962 (2011) on
the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue and Recommendation 1975 (2011) on
living together in 21st-century Europe: follow-up to the report
of the Group of Eminent Persons of the Council of Europe, reiterates
its support for an integrated approach to issues relating to “living
together” and refers to the numerous proposals that those texts
contain, not all of which have been followed by practical measures.
2. Convinced of the urgent need to step up the Council of Europe’s
action so that it can better support member States’ efforts to combat
the danger that fanaticism and religious extremism, but also xenophobia
and rejection of anything different, represent to our democratic
societies, the Assembly confirms its readiness to help draw up a
comprehensive Council of Europe strategy on this subject.
3. The Assembly further considers that, in this context, the
Council of Europe should step up and make more substantial its co-operation
with the main religious communities and the main European organisations representing
the secular humanist and philosophical world. It consequently recommends
that the Committee of Ministers:
3.1. set
up a stable and officially recognised platform for dialogue between
the Council of Europe and senior representatives of religions and
non-denominational organisations in order to consolidate the existing
relations with those partners and foster active commitment by all
the stakeholders in activities to promote the Organisation’s fundamental
values, which underpin “living together”;
3.2. include this initiative among the Council of Europe’s
action priorities and develop it speedily in consultation with the
parties concerned, closely involving the Parliamentary Assembly
in it; invite, if appropriate, the European Union, the Organization
for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the United Nations Alliance
of Civilizations, and possibly other partners, to contribute to
it;
3.3. link to this platform for dialogue the holding of thematic
meetings on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue, which
should be made more operational;
3.4. develop synergies between the platform and the thematic
meetings on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue with
other Council of Europe projects and initiatives in the field of
education, culture and youth, such as the “No Hate Speech Movement
– Young People for Human Rights Online”, “Education for Democratic
Citizenship and Human Rights” and “Intercultural cities”.