Parliamentarians explore opportunities for mutual dialogue and cooperation to advance freedom of religion or belief in the Western Balkans

At the launch of the ’Strengthening the Protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief in Western Balkans: A Roadmap for Parliamentarians’ report this month, parliamentarians from the Western Balkans region discuss ways to build mutual dialogue and cooperation, across political and religious lines, at the national, regional and international level, to advance the right to freedom of religion or belief for all in the broader region.

‘’Through IPPFoRB, we as parliamentarians are encouraged to find ways to engage and work together with fellow parliamentarians in other countries to advance freedom of religion or belief, which is a key ingredient to building equal and peaceful societies.’’, Vesna Markovic, Member of Parliament, Serbia

The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion is a universal human right and enshrined in international and regional treaties, frameworks and mechanisms such as Article 18 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Many countries guarantee the right to freedom of religion or belief in their national constitutions and legislative frameworks.

Western Balkans is home to a myriad of ethnicities, religions and cultures. ‘’The coexistence of such diverse identities, beliefs and practices in the region is not only to be appreciated but also protected, maintained and promoted for all, by all. ‘’, Besa Ismaili, Professor and Former Member of Parliament, Kosovo

READ THE ROADMAP

The Roadmap, which is authored by Dr Mine Yildirim (NHC Head of Freedom of Belief Initiative and member of ODHIR Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief) and commissioned by the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (IPPFoRB) provides a way forward for parliamentarians in the region to help increase the impact of their work in promoting freedom of religion or belief for all.

The IPPFoRB is a global network of current and former parliamentarians who are committed to advancing the right to freedom of religion or belief for all. The network has regional parliamentarian networks in Southeast Asia and Africa and provides capacity-building, parliamentary resources and advocacy support on freedom of religion or belief to parliamentarians in different parts of the world.

Amongst other things, the Roadmap recommends parliamentarians use parliamentary mechanisms as effective means of addressing issues related to this human right together with national and regional cooperation.

‘’This Roadmap is a good operational tool for parliamentarians in the region to not only think about national-level problems, but to go beyond and find ways to engage and work together with fellow parliamentarians from neighboring countries so that solutions are based on regional cooperation.’’, Vladimir Gjorchev, Former Member of Parliament, North Macedonia
‘’There will always be challenges when working on this topic. The Roadmap is a starting point for all of us as current and former parliamentarians to join forces and look forward to building safe, inclusive and non-discriminatory environments, so that everyone can live an equal and dignified life.’’, Senad Sepic, Former Member of Parliament, Bosnia and Herzegovina