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Resolution 2328 (2020)
Prevention of violence and discrimination against religious minorities amongst refugees in Europe
1. Refugees and asylum seekers are
entitled to adequate protection in accordance with international humanitarian
law and human rights standards. Uprooted from their home countries,
these migrants may only bring with them their cultural practices,
traditions and faith, the attachment to which becomes all the more important
to the preservation of their human dignity, and indeed to their
physical and psychological integrity.
2. The Parliamentary Assembly considers that the beliefs and
religious practices of migrants and refugees need to be taken into
account as an essential factor in successful reception and integration
policies. The Assembly therefore calls on member States of the Council
of Europe to express their political will to ensure greater protection
to refugees and asylum seekers in Europe by preventing religiously
motivated violence and discrimination.
3. The prevention of violence and discrimination against religious
minorities amongst refugees and asylum seekers in Europe requires
actions at all levels – international, European, national and, most
of all, local. States should make greater efforts to alleviate tensions
and to create a climate of respect and the means to live in dignity
for refugees and asylum seekers.
4. The Assembly recalls its Recommendation 1962 (2011) on the
religious dimension of intercultural dialogue and invites member
States to promote partnerships between the Council of Europe, religious institutions
and humanist and non-religious organisations, seeking to encourage
the active involvement of all stakeholders to promote the fundamental
values of the Organisation, particularly in the context of their
asylum policies.
5. Member States should foster interreligious and interfaith
dialogue in the context of asylum procedures, resolve faith-based
conflicts inside refugee reception centres and temporary accommodation
facilities more effectively and with greater respect for the dignity
and rights of refugees and asylum seekers, and promote good practices
and grass-roots initiatives encouraging interreligious dialogue
and peaceful living together, in a gender-sensitive manner. Measures
should include the following:
5.1. fostering
interreligious and interfaith dialogue in the context of asylum:
5.1.1. the Assembly reiterates its call for the development of
a pan-European platform on the religious dimension of intercultural
dialogue and suggests that attention be devoted to interreligious
dialogue in the context of asylum and migration policies;
5.1.2. member States should set up and support the work of interreligious
dialogue platforms at national and local levels and, in particular,
their involvement in the reception and integration of refugees and
asylum seekers in Europe;
5.1.3. prejudice, racism and hate speech in refugee facilities
should be combated, for example by the establishment of inclusive
dialogue processes in such locations, using the expertise of third-party
intermediaries, ethno-religious mediators and dialogue facilitators;
5.1.4. special training should be provided to mediators, community
leaders and other relevant stakeholders, including volunteers, to
promote interreligious dialogue and better social cohesion. This
training should include a gender perspective dimension;
5.1.5. access to interfaith dialogue programmes should be facilitated
for refugees and asylum seekers living in reception centres, thereby
fostering a better understanding of the cultures and beliefs of
others and creating a space in which to build trust;
5.2. resolving faith-based conflicts inside refugee reception
centres and temporary accommodation facilities more effectively
and with greater respect for the dignity and rights of refugees
and asylum seekers:
5.2.1. to ensure freedom of religion
is respected, member States should provide specific training for
personnel in reception centres and temporary accommodation facilities,
in order to enhance their knowledge of the different religions of
residents, including information about religious celebrations, prayer
times and the facilities needed in order to enable the practice
of religions. Training should also include courses on interfaith
mediation;
5.2.2. training and information sessions should be provided to
residents of reception centres and temporary accommodation facilities
at the time of their arrival and periodically during their stay.
The sessions should cover international and national law on freedom
of religion, information on religious practices in the host country,
workshops to prevent religious radicalisation and arrangements for
religious practices at the centre;
5.2.3. complaints procedures should be available in centres to
enable residents to challenge religiously motivated discrimination.
National hotlines for complaints regarding religiously motivated
discrimination could be set up, with trained staff able to evaluate
situations and react swiftly. These hotlines should be connected
with interreligious mediators and the police to enable them to immediately
intervene and provide support to the alleged victims;
5.2.4. reception centres and temporary accommodation facilities
for refugees and asylum seekers should have a dedicated office for
receiving complaints and provide the opportunity to file a complaint
anonymously. States should also guarantee the possibility to anonymously
file complaints to the police;
5.2.5. in cases of complaints with regard to religiously motivated
attacks or discrimination, the safety of the alleged victim must
be the priority. Complaints should activate a protection procedure:
the victim must be immediately transferred to a safe place, such
as an alternative centre, before a thorough investigation is carried
out. Such procedures should be gender sensitive;
5.2.6. police officers should be fully trained to investigate
religiously motivated crimes. Police administrations should designate
contact persons in police headquarters to handle faith-based conflicts
inside refugee reception centres and temporary accommodation facilities;
5.3. promoting good practices and grass-roots initiatives fostering
interreligious dialogue and living together:
5.3.1. local
initiatives and good practices that foster interreligious dialogue
should be promoted, by connecting representatives of various religious
groups among refugees and asylum seekers and putting them in contact
with the local community of the host country. Such initiatives could
include meetings with the leaders of the different religious communities;
meetings with the members of religious faiths in their different
places of worship, with the aim of promoting mutual knowledge of
aspects of ritual, modalities of worship and socialisation; and
participation in religious celebrations of the different communities
present;
5.3.2. active participation by women in intercultural dialogue
should be encouraged, including in its religious dimension, in the
context of asylum. Women asylum seekers should be empowered to act
as agents of change, in accordance with Assembly Resolution 1615 (2008) and Recommendation 1838 (2008) on
empowering women in a modern, multicultural society;
5.3.3. children’s awareness of common points shared by different
faiths should be raised, thereby promoting dialogue and better understanding
of other religious beliefs through education. Both formal education
and non-formal learning should be provided on different religions
and non-religious belief systems in classes for refugees as well
as in the local schools of host countries.