31 January 2013
Judges have made awards totalling more than €4 million in three human rights complaints brought against France. The European Court of Human Rights Chamber judgements were published today. The decisions, which are not final affect the following cases: The Religious Association of the Pyramid Temple/Association Cultuelle Du Temple Pyramide v. France (application no. 50471/07) The Association of the Knights of the Golden Lotus/Association Des Chevaliers Du Lotus D’Or v. France (no. 50615/07) The Evangelical Missionary… read more »
15 January 2013
REUTERS The EHF welcomes the European Court of Human Rights’s judgement about supposed “Christian discrimination” and joins its member organisations BHA’s and NSS’ analysis about it : BHA applauds European Court of Human Rights in upholding equality and human rights principles against false ‘Christian Persecution’ cases The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has published its judgements in the cases of Chaplin v. the United Kingdom, Eweida v. the United Kingdom, Ladele v. the… read more »
7 November 2012
A young teenager of 14, pregnant after being raped, faced pressures, harassment and obstructiveness from public hospitals, police forces and the Catholic Church in order not to abort. Poland has just been fined by the European Court of Human Rights for “inhuman and degrading treatment” and violation of the applicant’s private life. Full story : Abortion and rape, Poland and the ECHR Posted on 04/11/2012 by Frank Cranmer The seemingly-random operation of Poland’s abortion laws has come before… read more »
23 April 2012
Hans Christian Cars represented EHF at the meeting of the EU Fundamental Rights Platform for NGOs (the FRP) on 19-20 April 2012. He reports: It was as usual thoroughly well organised with two panel discussions with invited experts and some forty workshops of which thirty were conducted by NGOs and the rest by FRA staff. In the election for Advisory Panel members, six were elected from a pool of 24 candidates. Regrettably one of these was… read more »
23 February 2012
David Pollock writes: The Vatican news agency proclaimed: “A decision by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to pass a resolution that calls for the prohibition of euthanasia, is being hailed as a major pro-life victory.” European Dignity Watch, under a headline “Council of Europe bans Euthanasia” hailed “a major victory for life and dignity of the weakest”. The European Centre for Law and Justice hailed a “Major Victory for Life in… read more »
29 January 2012
One aspect of the question of religion in society is the increasing and often strident assertion of an unqualified right to conscientious objection on religious grounds to many civic, occupational or other duties or legal restrictions. The EHF has adopted a policy on conscientious objection. It says that humanists set a high value on freedom of religion or belief. However, it draws attention to the c0nditions the European Convention on Human Rights imposes on… read more »
21 October 2011
Eytan Reif of Initiative Religion ist Privatsache in Austria has informed us of a new case about crucifixes and other religious practices in kindergartens that it is hoped will partially counter the effect of Lautsi v Italy. He writes: A new complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) was filed a short while ago in a new attempt not only to free Austrian public kindergartens of crosses or crucifixes but also to put… read more »
2 October 2011
Remus Cernea of the Asociaţia Umanistă Română informs us of a new case from Romania to the European Court of Human Rights regarding religious symbols in schools (case number 54529/09, Moise (3) c/Romania). He writes that it is quite different from the Lautsi case for at least three reasons: – the Lautsi case was lost in the Italian courts, whereas the Moise case was successful in the Romanian National Council for Combating Discrimination. The… read more »
13 April 2011
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has recommended the 47 governments in the Council to “promote a genuine partnership for democracy and human rights between the Council of Europe, the religious institutions and humanist and non-religious organisations”. To this end they should “establish . . . a place for dialogue, a workspace between the Council of Europe and high-level representatives of religions and of non-denominational organisations, in order to place existing relations on… read more »
20 February 2011
The Committee on Culture, Science and Education of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is undertaking a study on “The Religious Dimension of Intercultural Dialogue”. The EHF submitted a memorandum to the Committee and as a result was invited to attend a hearing on 18 February 2011 held in the building of the Assemblée Nationale in Paris. Keynote speakers representing the Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches, Judaism and Islam had already been invited… read more »