As stated in the Resolution A/RES/73/296 of the General Assembly of the United Nations, on the International Day of Commemoration of the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, celebrated every August 22, condemns violence directed at individuals, including persons belonging to minorities religious, on the basis of or in the name of a religion or belief. Similarly, such provision deplores all acts of violence committed against people, their homes, businesses, properties, schools, cultural centers or places of worship, and all attacks committed in and against places of worship, sacred places or sanctuaries, because of religion or belief.
However, it is pertinent to recognize and give due weight to those acts of intolerance and violence that, although not based on religion or belief, do affect the free exercise of the right to religious freedom and even endanger the human security of religious leaders or the integrity of their temples of worship, turning them into real victims.
Addressing this reality is possible thanks to a comprehensive understanding of the Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rightsthe General Comment 22 of the Human Rights Committeethe article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rightsand the Article 12 of the American Convention on Human Rights.
When the state of religious freedom in the region (of believers and non-believers) is analyzed, a common impression is that, at least at the normative level, there are guarantees for the protection of the right to religious freedom, except in those countries with an authoritarian tendency. However, even in democratic countries in Latin America, there are various contexts in which religious leaders, active laity, religious groups and even confessional organizations see limited not only the right to religious freedom -in its public and collective dimension- but also to a multiplicity of interdependent rights, such as the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association, conscientious objection, free transit, life and personal integrity, among others.
One of these scenarios is related to the vulnerability of religious leaders in areas co-opted by organized crime; situation identified in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, The Savior, Haiti, to name a few. In these cases, religious freedom may be threatened by non-state actors who are mostly not religiously motivated. The activities of religious leaders or groups are targets of retaliation to the extent that they represent a threat to the stability of criminal groups in a given area. In most cases, the risks to which religious leaders or groups are exposed are the result of conflicts not religious. However, this does not mean that multiple dimensions of the right to religious freedom are not affected. This is why various civil society organizations, as well as the academy, have seen the need to highlight this problem not only in national instances but also in the regional system of human rights protection.
Another scenario has to do with violations of the right to religious freedom of indigenous communities in two ways: on the one hand, as a result of external factors, which can put at risk, for example, the worldview and the protection of ancestral lands, so important for the indigenous spirituality; and, on the other, when pressure is exerted on religious minorities within these communities.
In other words, every time an individual decides to convert to another religion or abandon syncretic practices in an indigenous community, the convert is exposed to all kinds of threats, reprisals and exclusion. In this sense, it is not only possible to speak of religious minorities within a minority group such as the indigenous communities, but of religious minorities discriminated against within the indigenous community. This is a problem persistent in Colombia and Mexico and greater efforts are needed by the States of the region to identify the existence of this phenomenon, especially in those countries with large indigenous populations.
We can mention a third scenario in Latin America, typical of countries in which the authorities have weakened democracy and the rule of law in order to remain in power. Due to the authoritarian tendencies of governments such as the Cuba, Venezuela either Nicaragua, various repressive measures can be identified, backed by a legal legal system; although on many occasions, illegitimate and applied arbitrarily to anyone who questions the postulates of the party in power.
In this scenario, religious leaders or faith-based organizations that consistently denounce the cited regimes for human rights violations become targets of politically motivated religious freedom violations. So, any religious leader known or associated within the opposition the party in power is harassed or pressured even through violent means. In this way, religious activities are hampered or interrupted, and places of worship vandalized. Usually, none of those affected can find an instance, at least at the national level, in which such illegal actions are denounced or the guarantee of their rights is demanded.
Finally, we must also consider that, at times, the expression of religious beliefs, points of view and teachings of the same religious groups is constantly subject to scrutiny. The messages, usually Christian, in defense of marriage or the family from religious principles are sometimes presented as discriminatory speeches or hatred towards minority groups. On the other hand, in various countries of the region, some government authorities and radical secular groups seek censor the freedom of expression of confessional actors, in the public sphere, with the argument of a misunderstood principle of secularism or of the separation between church and state.
In certain contexts, followers of a particular religion or faith face criticism, insults, limits on their freedom of expression, not to mention occasional physical attacks and even acts of vandalism on their temples. This, coupled with anti-discrimination policies or regulations, which usually entail criminal or administrative sanctions, has on some occasions led to the self-censorship. Starting from a research exploratory study carried out by the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Latin Americain which approximately 40 people who profess the Christian religion (Catholic and non-Catholic) from Colombia and Mexico were interviewed, it has been identified that this phenomenon is configured when a person cannot or does not feel free to openly express their faith or Christian convictions or when they cannot express their points of view based on their beliefs; for example, on issues related to marriage or family, especially when they go against the prevailing culture as this can lead not only to possible sanctions legal, but also social harassment.
As described, the state of religious freedom in the region presents various challenges. Many of them are still not recognized by the Member States or even by the religious groups themselves, much less at the inter-American or universal level. It is enough to review the country reports prepared by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to realize that in general, the right to religious freedom is not part of the analysis. Although at the Universal level there is a greater focus on the protection of this right, the different problems already described are still not considered.
In order to fulfill the mandate of the General Assembly, it is of the utmost importance to expand education on human rights, especially the right to religious freedom, in order to understand its multiple dimensions. Only in this way will it be possible to identify when we are facing specific or potential violations and when we are facing victims of violations of this right, even when the reason for the conflict does not lie solely or by itself in the beliefs or professed religion, but have a direct impact on your exercise. Furthermore, it will be possible to deepen efforts to promote a culture of respect for diversity and tolerance for the plurality of religious expressions.