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Polish FM to chair UN debate on religious freedom

22.08.2019 07:30
Poland’s foreign minister was on Thursday scheduled to chair a United Nations debate in New York on religious freedom.
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz presides over a UN Security Council debate in New York this week on challenges to peace and security in the Middle East.
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz presides over a UN Security Council debate in New York this week on challenges to peace and security in the Middle East.Photo: Tymon Markowski/MSZ

The debate was set to be one of the highlights of Poland’s turn at the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in August.

The Polish foreign ministry has tweeted ahead of the gathering that "governments have a special responsibility to protect and promote religious diversity" in the face of an "unprecedented rise in the number of acts of religious violence."

In another Twitter post, the Polish foreign ministry cited research according to which it said "harassment against religious groups or individuals was reported in 187 countries."

"The most widely targeted groups were Christians and Muslims, the two largest religious groups in the world," the tweet said.

Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz was last month quoted as saying that Poland has always been a country of religious freedom and tolerance.

Czaputowicz in July took part in a ministerial conference in Washington hosted by the US Department of State and focusing on the advancement of religious freedom.

Czaputowicz said at the time, as quoted by public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency: "For centuries, Poland has provided safe shelter for people of different faiths: Greek Catholics, Russian Orthodox, Protestants, Jews and Muslim Tatars."

He told the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom conference that freedom of religion was among fundamental values ​​for Poland, according to the IAR news agency.

Poland this year spearheaded a United Nations initiative to condemn acts of violence based on religion, according to the country’s foreign ministry.

The UN General Assembly at a session in New York in May unanimously adopted a resolution designating August 22 as international day to commemorate victims of violence based on religion.

Poland's Czaputowicz was quoted as saying at the time that “the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, which is commonly referred to as the right to freedom of religion or belief, is a universal right of every human being and the cornerstone of many other rights.”

(gs/pk)

Source: IAR