Lawyer urges: On religious freedom, “action is needed”
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the International Day Commemorating Victims of Violence Based on Religion or Belief.
August 22nd marks the fifth anniversary of the International Day Commemorating Victims of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, as established by the UN General Assembly in 2019. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) recently interviewed Dr. Ewelina Ochab, a lawyer, author, and human rights advocate, who came up with the idea and helped secure the support of states for the establishment of the commemoration.
In September 2017, Dr. Ochab attended an ACN-organized international conference on the reconstruction of the Nineveh Plains following the destruction of Christian villages by the Islamic State (IS). That same year, inspired by people’s testimonies, and spurred by the ongoing violence against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq, Dr. Ochab called on the international community to act. “I drafted the proposal for a resolution and started approaching states to support it and make it happen,” she recalls.
The path was arduous, requiring comprehensive research, and then coalition building to garner the necessary votes. Dr. Ochab remembers that ACN was “supportive from the very beginning, also approaching states and politicians and trying to build a consensus that this is indeed needed.”
UN members from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Nigeria, and Pakistan were the primary sponsors, and they worked on the draft before tabling it at the UN General Assembly. Dr. Ochab says, “As we worked to establish the day, not only were memories of the horrific atrocities committed against Yazidis, Christians, and other religious minorities still fresh in the minds of the members, but also an understanding that in many other parts of the world, similar attacks were still taking place. It was very clear that more needed to be done to ensure that we pause and focus on the violence, which was omnipresent.”
The proposed resolution was ultimately introduced to the General Assembly by Poland, Dr. Ochab’s native country. With the support of more than 80 countries, member states of the UN General Assembly recognized the urgent need to focus more on the issue of violence based on religion or belief, and an International Day Commemorating Victims of Violence Based on Religion or Belief was established on August 22nd, 2019. “They are no longer invisible victims or survivors,” Dr. Ochab says. “This day belongs to all victims and survivors of violence based on religion or belief – past, present and future. This day should encourage and strengthen them to be agents of change.”
It has been five years since the commemoration, but Dr. Ochab warns that sufficient, concrete action has yet to be undertaken: “The situation has not improved, and worldwide, there are still far too many examples of religious violence. From Darfur to the DRC, from Nigeria to Cameroon, to Nagorno-Karabakh, and the list goes on. Also, in Iraq, 10 years after the IS atrocities, the situation for minorities in Iraq is getting worse, and the future looks bleak.”
As documented by the 2023 Religious Freedom in the World Report, an ACN publication in its 25th year, violence based on religion or belief continues to escalate in the world. As ACN noted upon the inaugural UN announcement, the June 22nd observance should be a first step toward an internationally coordinated plan of action by the UN and its member states to end religious persecution.
Dr. Ochab agrees and says that commemoration must be accompanied by action: “The international day in itself can educate, but states need to do more to actually prevent such violence. This will not happen without action. We must have strong mechanisms to ensure identifying early warning signs and risk factors, and comprehensive strategies to respond. We must ensure that all such crimes are investigated and prosecuted, and we must ensure that victims are provided with the assistance they need. Five years later, very little has been done in this direction. We need an action plan, with clear deliverables, with clear deadlines – and to implement it step by step, without any excuses.”
