Translation of an opinion piece published in Altinget.dk written by:
- Peter Fischer-Møller, Bishop Emeritus, Chair Danish Mission Council and Thinktank for persecuted Christians.
- Søren Dosenrode, Professor and Parish Priest, Board Member of the Think Tank for Persecuted Christians), and
- Filip Buff Pedersen, Senior Political Advisor, Center for Church-Based Development Cooperation (CKU).
Freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right – recognized in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and conventions, as well as the EU’s human rights convention. Nevertheless, millions of people around the world are increasingly subjected to discrimination, harassment, violence, imprisonment – and in the worst cases, murder – because of their religion or belief. This also occurs in countries that receive development aid from the EU or have profitable trade agreements with the EU. At the same time, freedom of religion or belief is a priority in Danish foreign and development policy – a priority that is to be implemented through strengthened international cooperation. In other words, Denmark’s EU presidency presents an obvious opportunity to put an end to the neglect of the right to freedom of religion or belief within the EU context.
The EU’s Guidelines for the Promotion and Protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief, adopted in 2013, have been an important tool – but unfortunately one that often remains unused at the bottom of the toolbox. Denmark should therefore push for the implementation of these guidelines and for the publication of an annual, publicly accessible report detailing the EU’s activities.
Another concerning development is that the EU’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief – a key figure in promoting freedom of religion or belief internationally – has remained vacant since November 2024. This is untenable. The position must be filled as soon as possible, and it should come with a strengthened mandate, additional resources, and a dedicated team of staff capable of carrying out the task professionally and systematically – both internally within EU institutions and delegations, and externally in interactions with other countries and actors.
The EU also has an important tool in its development cooperation (INTPA). But for the efforts to have real impact, the funding must match the ambition. Denmark should therefore work to ensure that the EU doubles its support for programs and partners working to strengthen freedom of religion or belief in developing countries.
Furthermore, we must ensure that all EU delegations and diplomatic missions understand and can respond to the specific challenges in the countries where they operate. This requires that training in promoting freedom of religion or belief becomes mandatory and is offered biannually – both to EU personnel and to diplomatic staff from member states. NORFORB’s training platform is already a well-tested tool, developed in collaboration with the EU, of high quality and ready to be rolled out more broadly.
Finally, Denmark must insist that freedom of religion or belief becomes a fixed element in the preparation of trade agreements and in the human rights dialogue that is part of these agreements. Economic cooperation must never come at the expense of fundamental human rights.
Denmark has a long tradition of defending human rights. That comes with responsibility. Together with the EU, we must be a global voice for freedom of religion or belief – and Denmark must use its presidency to ensure that this voice does not fall silent but instead becomes stronger and clearer.
