3
The Politicisation of Freedom of Religion or Belief - for Better and Worse
Venue: Lysebu Conference Centre, Oslo
Date: 26th – 27th October
Wednesday 26th October:
Focus on Declarations on FORB: their Aims, Uses, and Shortfalls
09.30 – 10.00 Welcome speech
Lena Larsen, Director of the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief Welcome speech. Recalling the 1998 Oslo Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief - The Declaration and what it led to.
Aspirations for the conference.
10.00 – 11.30 Session1 Key Note Speech
Heiner Bielefeldt, UN special rapporteur
From the Oslo Declaration to today’s situation. How FORB is interpreted now. The politicisation of FoRB for better and worse.
Comment by Tore Lindholm, NCHR and Oslo Coalition
Discussion
11.30 – 11.45 Short Break
11.45 – 13.15 Session 2 The Marrakech Declaration
Towards an Islamic embrace of non-discrimination; the Marrakech Declaration and Commitments to Action
Vebjørn Horsfjord, Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo
Muhammad Khalid Masud, Former Chairman of Council of Ideology, Pakistan
13.00 Lunch
14.00 – 15.30 Session 3 The ASEAN Declaration
Accepting Contrasting Systems for Protecting FORB: What are the Challenges?
Michelle Staggs Kelsall, Human Rights Resource Centre, University of Nottingham will present a paper written together with Jaklyn Neo.
Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
Short comment by Brett Scharffs, Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, Brigham Young University
15.30 – 15.45 Short Break
15.45 – 17.30 Session 4: Political Engagement in FORB
Kishan Manocha, Senior Advisor for FoRB at OSCE/ODIHR
Engaging Parliamentarians; The 2014 Charter for Freedom of Religion or Belief
Ed Brown, Secretary of Norwegian Parliamentarian Group
On International Religious Freedom Acts
Jeremy Gunn, International University Rabat, on IRFA reports
Thursday 27th October: Focus on Existing Tools
9.30 – 12.00 Session 1: Documentation
Documenting Persecution: Mapping Reports on Religious Intolerance
Mark Lattimer, Director for International Minority Rights Group
Katayoun Kishi, Pew Center
John Kinanhan, Forum 18
Lene Wetteland, Helsingfors Committee
12.00 Lunch
13.00 – 14.30 Session 2: FoRB - Current Dilemmas
Nazila Ghanea, University of Oxford
Kishan Manocha, Senior Advisor for FoRB at OSCE/ODIHR
Open floor discussion
14.30 – 14.45 Short break
14.45 – 16.15 Sesjon 3: A New Instrument?
The Case for a Preventive Approach to FoRB
Malcolm Evans, University of Bristol
Comment by Cole Durham, International Center for Law and Religion
Studies, Brigham Young University
16.15 – 18.00 Where next?
Discussion, Summary and Conclusion
The Working Group: Presentation of Guidelines on the Promotion of FoRB, based on concrete examples of lessons learnt
Lena Larsen, Director of the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief
Open Forum:
Politicisation of FORB for Better and Worse: Priorities for the Future.
Friday 28th October, 10.00 – 13.00
Venue: Nobel Peace Centre
The Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief in cooperation with The Council for Religious and Life Stance Communities (STL), Nobel Peace Centre and Canadian Embassy
10.00 - 10.15 Welcome by Liv Tørres, Nobel Peace Centre and Inga Bostad, Director of the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights
10.15 - 10.30 Introductory remarks by Bishop Emeritus Gunnar Stålsett
From the Oslo Declaration on Freedom of Religion or Belief to the Current Guidelines
10.30 – 11.40 Presentation of Guidelines for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief Lena Larsen, Director of the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Norwegian Center for Human Rights
Comments by Nazila Ghanea, University of Oxford and Mark Lattimer Director for International Minority Rights Group
Questions and answers
11.40 - 11.55 Coffee break
11.55 – 12.05 Short speech by the Canadian Ambassador, Artur Wilczysky
12.05 – 12.55 Politicisation of FORB for Better and Worse, Priorities for the Future in Norway
The Norwegian Government will present a White Paper on policies for religion and belief next year. What are the major challenges and pitfalls of such a White Paper? Panel moderated by Aslak Bonde.
In the panel:
Hanna Bjurstrøm, Equality and Discrimination Ombudsman
Marta Bivand Erdal, Senior researcher, PRIO
Rita Helgesen, Leader of the Norwegian Association of Graduate Teachers
Majoran Vivekananthan
12.55 - 13.00 Concluding remarks by Ingrid Rosendorf Joys, Executive Chair STL
The Conference is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fritt Ord Foundation, and the International Center for Law and Religion Studies. The Open Forum is supported by Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Fritt Ord Foundation