What is “Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience” (CAP Freedom of Conscience)?

CAP Freedom of Conscience is a secular European NGO with United Nations Consultative Status, created in 1995 and dedicated to protect the Right of Freedom of Religion and Belief.

CAP Freedom of Conscience combats all forms of discrimination based on religion or belief by alerting European and International bodies.

CAP Freedom of Conscience collects testimonies of discrimination and human rights violations affecting religious or belief communities in order to disseminate them to international bodies, and in order to raise awareness and inform them as well as to generate debate on the protection of Freedom of Religion and Belief.

CAP Freedom of Conscience also advocates for any religious or spiritual group facing discrimination to have their right to Freedom of Religion and Belief recognized.

CAP Freedom of Conscience is a member of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB), European Network Of Religion and Belief (ENORB) and participate to the Civil Society Platform of Fundamental Rights created by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency DAFOH Partners in Combating and Preventing Forced Organ Harvesting

HRC 54 Written Statement Ukrainian children in search of a way home from Russia How does the child protection system work in Ukraine and in the world?

HRC 54 Written Statement Ukrainian children in search of a way home from Russia How does the child protection system work in Ukraine and in the world?

CAP Liberté de conscience and Human Rights Without Frontiers are deeply concerned about the Ukrainian children who were taken away against their will from the Ukrainian occupied territories to Russia in the framework of the war and whose parents are desperately in search of them.  Both NGOs strongly support the recommendations of the UN Secretary-General, who urges

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Oral Statement Lebanon : Item 3: General debate on promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development – General Debate

Oral Statement Lebanon : Item 3: General debate on promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development – General Debate

We are deeply concerned about cases of violations of freedom of expression and the misuse of military justice to repress activists and “political dissidents” in Lebanon.

Amendments to the Criminal Code allow the Permanent Military Court to hear civil cases related to national security, with far fewer protections for the defendants.

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CAP Freedom of Conscience involvement UNITED NATIONS

LASTEST NEWS

Statement delivered 136th session Human Rights Committee (10 Oct 2022 – 04 Nov 2022) on Ethiopia Incidents targeting the Amhara community in 2022

We are very concerned about the ethnic killings of Amharas in Horo Guduru Wellega Zone, West Wellega Zone and in Kellem Wellega Zone Oromia from June to September 2022:

Statement submitted 136th session Human Rights Committee (10 Oct 2022 – 04 Nov 2022) on Japan

The assassination in Nara, Japan, of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
on July 8, 2022, was followed by a campaign of intolerance, discrimination, and
persecution of the Unification Church, now called the Family Federation for World
Peace and Unification (we will use “Unification Church” and “Family Federation
for World Peace and Unification” interchangeably here, as most media do,
although we are aware of the historical nuances and differences). During the course of this campaign, the human rights of the members of the Unification Church in Japan were seriously, systematically, and blatantly violated.

Supplemental Statement submitted at the 136th session, Human Rights Committee (10 Oct 2022 – 4 Nov 2022) on Japan

The statement submitted by CAP-LC on the intolerance, discrimination, and persecution of the Unification Church/Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in Japan concerns an ongoing situation, whose evolution CAP-LC continues to monitor. Unfortunately, as compared to when we submitted our original statement, the situation is getting worse, and there are new elements we believe the Committee should also urgently consider.

Statement submitted 136th session Human Rights Committee (10 Oct 2022 – 04 Nov 2022) on Ethiopia Incidents targeting the Amhara community in 2022

Amhara survivors of the latest round of ethnically-targeted killings in Wellega, in Oromia region are under siege and afraid for their lives. OLF-Shene regained control of Jardega Jarte Wereda on September 24, 2022; 60 Amhara civilians were burnt alive, 200-500 were killed and more than 20,000 have been displaced.

Side Event at the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva under the “Recognize to reconcile” initiative – 6th October 2022

Normally, it is the States and their governments that are the deciders and practitioners of conflicts as well as finding the solutions, the role of the civil societies is often invisible in such development. NGO organisations tirelessly work to create the conditions that pushes international institutions and States to set aside their entrenched views in conflicts and move towards peace through give and take process.

Oral statement at the UN Human Rights Council 51st Session Arbitrary Detention the case of Cyrille Adam

Et d’enquêter de toute urgence sur le cas de M. Adam afin que lui – et tous les citoyens français – puissent espérer un procès équitable dans un délai raisonnable et puissent l’attendre dans des conditions décentes dans le respect des droits de l’homme comme la France s’est engagée à le faire.

Oral statement at the UN 51 Human Rights Council Session Massacres of and attacks against Amharas

CAP Liberté de Conscience and Human Rights Without Frontiers welcome the work of the Commission but remain deeply concerned about the massacres and attacks on Amhara civilians as in last June in Gimbi County of Oromia Region, thousands of OLA and OLF-Shene militants attacked Amharas in 10 villages with the collaboration of local ethnic Oromo residents and the passive complicity of the Oromia Region government.

HRC 51st Session Oral Statement : Heavy prison sentences for political opponents Reckya Madougou and Joël Aivo in Benin

End of last year, Joël Aivo, a law professor who challenged President Talon in the last election, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly plotting against the state and laundering money.

In May 2021, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights adopted a Resolution in which it declared to be deeply concerned by the restrictions on civic space and the crackdown on demonstrations by the army resulting in loss of lives, abuses and violations.

HRC 51st Session : Germany, Propaganda, Fake News, and Discrimination of a Peaceful Religious Minority

While Scientologists have had to fight (and win in court) against discrimination from German officials since 50 years [1] , it is since nearly 30 years, and still today in 2022, German citizens are in general life contexts required to sign declarations that they did not and will not participate in any Scientology-related activity before obtaining some public and private jobs, or before getting a municipal grant for the purchase of an eBike and so contribute to the city’s efforts on protecting the environment, as it has been happening with the City of Munich. This type of hidden coercive measure is backed up by government funded and promoted propaganda, that dehumanizes individual Scientologists, their beliefs and twists their real aims.

HRC 51st Session : Persecution of Religious Minorities Through Tax Harassment and Seizure of Property, and Reactions by International Scholars

In the Russian Federation, premises of the Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to be confiscated. Following similar decisions in other jurisdictions, on July 22, 2022, the District Court of Volgograd turned a building and a land plot belonging to the Jehovah’s Witnesses into state ownership. The fact that the European Court of Human Rights recently declared the “liquidation” of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Russian Federation and confiscation of their properties as contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights was ignored.

HRC 51st Session : About the 18 June 2022 mass massacres of Amharas at Gimbi (Western part of Ethiopia)

In 1990, Mohammed Yusuf, his wife and their children moved to Gimbi where they were given land to till and also engaged in farming.  On 18 June, Gimbi was invaded by armed men. Assuming that they would not kill women and children, Mohammed Yusuf went into hiding in a maze farm while his children and grandchildren stayed at home behind closed door.

HRC 51st Session : The Republic of Korea: The Jeongeup Murder Case and the Continued Persecution of Shincheonji

on June 18 the Christian TV network CBS broadcast a statement of the murderer, who said he had committed the crime because his ex-wife was a member of a Korean Christian new religious movement, Shincheonji. It came out that in the days before the murder the assassin went though four counseling sessions with Pastor Oh Myeong-hyeon of the Heresy Research Center, an institution specialized in fighting Shincheonji and other groups it considers “heretic,” which also supports kidnapping and forced conversion (deprogramming). Obviously Pastor Oh did not suggest that the man killed his ex-wife, but he excited his hatred against Shincheonji. To deflect blame from himself, Pastor Oh later held a press conference where he claimed that Shincheonji was responsible for the crime and should be punished. If the wife had not joined Shincheonji the crime would never have happened, he said.

HRC 51st Session : The Case of Salma Al-Shehab Sentenced to 34 Years in Prison and Women’s Rights In Saudi Arabia

A 34-year old PhD student sentenced to 34 years in prison and a 34-year travel ban afterwards, a cynical and cruel game with this number  At mid-August 2022, Salma al-Shehab, a Saudi 34-year old PhD student from the University of Leeds, was sentenced under the kingdom’s counter-terrorism and cybercrime laws to a heavy penalty: 34 years in prison and a 34-year travel ban after her release for following and retweeting messages from Saudi women’s rights activists, including Loujain al-Hathloul ranked third in the “Top 100 Most Powerful Arab Women 2015” and the winner of the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize in 2020.

43rd Session Universal Periodic Review Les conditions de détention en France

Le gouvernement français a institué un système unique en Europe de surveillance de ces minorités qui entraîne de graves manquements de l’Etat aux principes de liberté de religion ou de croyance, d’égalité des citoyens français devant les institutions nationales et de fraternité en clivant les citoyens selon leur appartenance à une minorité religieuse ou de croyance reconnue ou non et en instaurant un climat de suspicion et parfois même de haine pour les croyances non traditionnelles et non normatives.

“Recognize to Reconcile” Coalition At the 51th session of the UN Human Rights Council

Protection of universal human rights in conflict affected areas has always been the priority for the work of UN Human rights council. There is inseparable connection between protection of peace and security and human rights and human dignity. Both sustainable peace and human dignity can’t not be achieved but with Justice. The latter is a fundamental building block for the formers, thus it needs to be addressed at once. This linkage become even more important when the shadow of the fading conflict still dominates and hinder normalization efforts by the states engaged in post-conflict peacebuilding. The two-fold task presents a challenge but also provide opportunity to support transition from conflict to peace by applying the mechanism of transitional justice.1 One such important opportunity emerged in the critical region of South Caucuses with the effective transition of Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the parties signed Trilateral Statement in November 2020 which ended the war.

Reconciliation through recognition: Transitional justice and peacebuilding through civil society dialogue

Peace and justice are inevitable part of any post-conflict reconciliation. It is therefore necessary to streamline efforts aimed at strengthening the linkage between them while ensuring broad participation of civil society to this aim. This would not only serve to bringing justice and broaden the rule of law, but would also help healing wounds thereby contributing to post-conflict peace- building and reconciliation processes through the multi-stakeholder approach.

The need to address challenges to civil society participation in light of restrictions, including due to the Strategic Heritage Plan (SHP)

Civil society participation is a cornerstone of the Human Rights Council. Given continuing restrictions to civil society participation, including the Council’s adoption of efficiency measures to address the UN’s financial shortfalls; the COVID-19 pandemic2; and the ongoing Strategic Heritage Plan, we call on you to continue to ensure full participation of civil society and that civil society are fully consulted in the making of decisions that affect civil society participation and access to the Council. We are concerned that without such consultation, decisions on issues relating to participation and procedure will be taken without full consideration of all key stakeholders, to the detriment of the Council’s effectiveness.

Call for submissions International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia

CAP Liberté de Conscience, along with Human Rights Without Frontiers and other international NGOs, are very concerned about repeated massacres of Amharas in total impunity in Ethiopia as well as mass arrests by the Ethiopian federal government of Amhara activists, journalists and other critics.

42th UPR Session PAKISTAN Jan – Feb 2023 Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan

No society can claim to be idealisticly egalitarian as certain elements of every society always claim superiority over the others, either on ethnic, numerical, or religious basis and try to usurp some rights of the weaker segments, but the governing forces of the societies usually play positive regulatory role in order to quell the unruly advancements of the powerful groups in order to safeguard the rights of the minorities or those weaker segments. In modern world the States have promulgated and implemented laws to guarantee basic human rights for all of its citizens irrespective of their caste, creed or religion and many States have guaranteed these basic human rights by incorporating them in their Constitution or are otherwise accepted by the humanity, while assuring its citizens and international community that the guaranteed right would not be violated at any cost and in case of violation the aggrieved person would be allowed some kind of remedy by approaching the Constitutional Courts for enforcement of those rights.

HRC 50 Oral statement at the UN for prosecution of Patriarch Kirill

CAP Liberté de Conscience shares its deep concerns with Human Rights Without Frontiers which has documented, for the International Criminal Court, the grave responsibility of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in the outbreak and extension of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

CAP calls upon the U.N. to collaborate with the ICC which is currently busy evidencing war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine and identifying the perpetrators to be held accountable.

HRC 50 : Civil Society Appeal for Release of Russian Political Prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza

The Civil Society Coalition believes that the war in Ukraine will stop when the Russian people are able to express their opposition to it. We therefore urge the Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretary-General along with all other relevant UN human rights mandate-holders and special procedures to speak out and demand the release of all prisoners of conscience detained by the Russian Federation for the crime of opposing its aggression in Ukraine.

HRC 50 : The Two Human Rights Covenants and Freedom of Religion or Belief

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) became international law in 1976. As we all know, they are the cornerstones of the United Nations human rights system.

HRC 50 : Incidents targeting the Amhara community

HRC 50 : Incidents targeting the Amhara community

HRC 50 : Item 4 Interactive dialogue on the oral briefing of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia

Item 4 Interactive dialogue on the oral briefing of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia

Seminar Effective Parliamentarism and the Tai Ji Men Case

Hybrid forum where scholars and Tai Ji Men members will discuss the importance of robust parliamentarism in building peaceful, equitable, and inclusive societies as well as transparent and accountable institutions. They will explore the Tai Ji Men case, and iconic case where a democratic Parliament failed to keep rouge bureaucrats in check, while calling for effective parliamentarism to clarify the injustices vested on the spiritual movement and others.

CAP Freedom of Conscience involvement in Europe

From Warsaw to Paris: MIVILUDES will cease to exist on 1 January 2020

HRWF (01.10.2019) - "The European Federation for Research on Sectarianism (FECRIS) assists victims...

OSCE HIDM 2019 : Is Religious Freedom ever possible in the Russian Federation ?

Is religious freedom ever possible in the Russian Federation ? CAP LC in collaboration with the...

OSCE HIDM 2019 Prasun Prakash

HUMAN DIMENSION IMPLEMENTATION MEETING Warsaw, 16 to 27 September 2019 Working session 13:...

OSCE HIDM 2019 CAP LC

HUMAN DIMENSION IMPLEMENTATION MEETING Warsaw, 16 to 27 September 2019 Working session 13:...

Faith and Freedom summit pledge

Are you a politician, a public servant, a civil society member, or caring citizen? Do you care...

Save the date! Faith and Freedom Summit II

The Faith and Freedom Summit Coalition shares with you a "save the date" for the second event...

Faith and Freedom Summit – The pledge and purpose

The pledge and purpose The Faith and Freedom Summit is not an organization. It’s a campaign...

OSCE 2018 : COMPILATION OF WRITTEN RECOMMENDATIONS

COMPILATION OF WRITTEN RECOMMENDATIONS (Covering Working sessions 6-9) This compilation contains...

Side-event OSCE HDIM 2018 : How Universal is “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Globalization underline that the UDHR is often applied relative to regional culture, rather than securing universal principles. Especially when it comes to Freedom of Thought, Religion or Belief we find how cultural bias influence policy and law-making. What one considers a religious practice – such as devotional work in monastery – others consider criminality – in this case human trafficking.

RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION AND STATE NEUTRALITY: THE CASE OF HUNGARY

Alike other Eastern Europe countries, Hungary has adopted liberal legislation in the aftermath of the fall of Communism to consecrate freedom of religion and belief. However, subsequent political developments aimed at restoring Hungarian religious “heritage” and repressing nontraditional religious denominations. The 1990 liberal Law guaranteeing the right of freedom of conscience and religion for all and prohibiting discrimination has been replaced in 2011 by a new religion law that stripped approximately 200 religious communities of legal personality and established a two-tier system where the status of Churches is politically approved and non-recognized religious organizations are second-zone groups of parishioners deprived of the legal protection afforded to Churches.

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Transformational justice stepping on thunder? European and American Human Rights Experts Warn: Be Careful of Ruining the Democracy of Taiwan

Transformational justice stepping on thunder? European and American Human Rights Experts Warn: Be Careful of Ruining the Democracy of Taiwan

Christine Mirre, vice-chairman of CAP-LC, the French Coordination for Individuals and Organizations Freedom of Conscience, said that what she felt during this visit was that the police and soldiers who originally rescued Taiwanese from Japanese occupation turned out to be protectors. oppressor. Taiwan must really turn the page, otherwise it will be a wound that has not yet healed. This is indeed unknown to Western countries. She believes that this is indeed a big wound for Taiwan.

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Are there too many human rights mines in Taiwan? International Human Rights Forum Calls for Cancellation of Transitional Justice Timeline

Are there too many human rights mines in Taiwan? International Human Rights Forum Calls for Cancellation of Transitional Justice Timeline

Christine Mirre, vice-chairman of the French Coordination for Freedom of Conscience of Individuals and Organizations, said that what she felt during this visit was that the police and soldiers who were supposed to be protectors of Taiwan from the Japanese occupation turned into oppressors. Taiwan must really turn the page, otherwise it will be a wound that has not yet healed. This is indeed unknown to Western countries. She believes that this is indeed a big wound for Taiwan.

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Taiwan’s transformational justice is not enough! European and American human rights experts visit the 228 Memorial Hall

Taiwan’s transformational justice is not enough! European and American human rights experts visit the 228 Memorial Hall

President Tsai Ing-wen has publicly promised that transitional justice will not stop. What do international scholars and experts say about this? International human rights experts from Europe and the United States visited the February 28 National Memorial Hall on the morning of July 28 and were grandly received by the executive director Yang Zhenlong. During the exchanges, human rights experts pointed out that Taiwan’s transformational justice is really not enough. In the afternoon, the group participated in a forum co-hosted by the 228 National Memorial and the Taiwan Institute of Economics and Criminal Law to discuss “international human rights, trends in transitional justice, and history of authoritarian persecution.” Many scholars mentioned the Taijimen case, an iconic case in Taiwan, and Questioned the situation that Hou Kuanren, director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office who was a prosecutor, investigated many cases of abuse of power and law, but was not punished but was promoted. He called on the Taiwan government to restore the historical truth, face it squarely, and speed up the resolution.

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28 07 2023 A History of Human Rights, Trends in Transitional Justice, and Authoritarian Persecution Taïwan Nation 228 Memorial Museum

28 07 2023 A History of Human Rights, Trends in Transitional Justice, and Authoritarian Persecution Taïwan Nation 228 Memorial Museum

Transitional justice is a complex and essential process that a democratic country must undertake to address past human rights violations, atrocities, and injustices.

Today, we will examine the key components and strategies needed to ensure a successful transitional justice process in a democratic country like Taiwan.

We will see how the implementation of transitional justice in a democratic country can emphasize the importance of inclusiveness, accountability, restorative justice, and sustained engagement in achieving a just and harmonious society.

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The various peace and security proposals put forward by the United Nations UN Security Council on the conflict in Sudan.

The various peace and security proposals put forward by the United Nations UN Security Council on the conflict in Sudan.

The United Nations Security Council convened on 2nd June 2023, to discuss the ongoing situation in Sudan.

The members of the Security Council recalled the previous Press Statement issued on 15 April 2023, expressing deep concern regarding the continued military clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces.

I will summarize the key points and outcomes of the Security Council’s deliberations.

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The devastating impact on women of the ongoing conflict in Sudan and the crucial role they can play in the peace process

The devastating impact on women of the ongoing conflict in Sudan and the crucial role they can play in the peace process

As we all know, women, along with children, are the most vulnerable targets in wartime.

Gender-based violence and crime, such as rape and the destruction of property and lives, are the greatest threats to women, and these crimes are often overlooked and committed with impunity.

According to UN estimates, even before the fighting broke out on April 15, more than 3 million women and girls in Sudan were at risk of gender-based violence. This figure has since risen to 4.2 million.

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What is CAP Freedom of Conscience ?


The Coordination of the Associations and the People for Freedom of
Conscience is an European NGO with United Nations Consultative
Status, created two decades ago and dedicated to protect the Right of
Freedom of Religion and Belief.

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