Amendment No. 13 | Doc. 13441 | 09 April 2014

The protection of minors against excesses of sects

Signatories: Mr Valeriu GHILETCHI, Republic of Moldova, EPP/CD ; Mr Viorel Riceard BADEA, Romania, EPP/CD ; Ms Ana GUŢU, Republic of Moldova, ALDE ; Mr Cezar Florin PREDA, Romania, EPP/CD ; Mr Johann WADEPHUL, Germany, EPP/CD

Origin - 2014 - Second part-session

In the draft resolution, paragraph 6.2, replace the words "excesses of sects affecting minors, where appropriate in crime and/or other statistics" with the following words:

"violations of the law by religious, spiritual or esoteric groups affecting minors, where appropriate in crime and/or other statistics; while doing that, ensure that no discriminatory arbitrariness is entered in the process of gathering data;"

Explanatory note

There is no reason to discriminate against religious minorities or new religious movements labelled as "sects" when such excesses should be punished the same way in mainstream groups. This process needs to comply with the fundamental principle of non-discrimination.