On the occasion of the International Day Commemorating the victims of acts of violence on a Religious Basis, Italy reaffirms its strong commitment at international level to promote freedom of religion or belief and expresses the strongest condemnation of all types of violence motivated by religious affiliation or belief.
Convinced that full respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of every individual, including the freedom to profess one’s religion, to change religion and even not to have a belief without being subjected to discrimination or violence, is indispensable for the development of prosperous and peaceful societies, the commitment to freedom of religion or belief is at the heart of Italian action in the relevant multilateral fora for the promotion and protection of human rights, and is also one of the priorities of our current mandate in the United Nations Human Rights Council (2019-2021).
The protection of freedom of religion or belief and in particular the rights of religious minorities are also central to the action of the Italian Cooperation, which is involved in many scenarios around the world in projects aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of people belonging to ethnic or religious minorities and promoting their integration processes.
It is now more important than ever not to divert attention from this fundamental issue: Covid-19 emergency has in many cases aggravated pre-existing forms of discrimination against people belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, with increasing phenomena of incitement to hatred and forms of intolerance and hostility on the basis of religious affiliation or belief.
