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The European Union (EU) was urged this week by churches and ecumenical groups to raise questions with the Pakistan government concerning growing religious intolerance and persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan.
Representatives of church and ecumenical organizations from Pakistan and different European nations gathered in Brussels for dialogue at the headquarters of the European Union for two days of advocacy, lobbying and dialogue with various bodies of the EU in Brussels on 24 to 25 June, 2013.
The Brussels meeting was organized by the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) of the World Council of Churches and was facilitated by the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of Churches in Europe (CEC). The meeting was held in follow-up to the international hearing on the “Impact of Blasphemy Law in Pakistan” initiated by the CCIA in September last year.
Fifteen representatives of various ecumenical and church organizations engaged in dialogue with the European External Action Service of the EU, members of the European Parliament and diplomatic missions of various countries at the EU headquarters in Brussels.
Visiting the European External Action Service and MEPs Dennis de Jong and Peter van Dalen, who are co-presidents of the European Parliament Working Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief (EPWG on FoRB), members of the team urged the EU to use its institutional and diplomatic contacts to address the deteriorating situation of persecution against religious minorities in Pakistan. An increasing number of false cases have been registered there against religious minorities by using provisions in the country’s blasphemy law.
“As the EU-Pakistan strategic dialogue initiated in 2012 is an effective way for the two sides to be engaged in constructive discussions and to express shared views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, this mechanism should be used as an effective way to raise questions on human rights violations and persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan,” said Prof. Göran Gunner of the Church of Sweden.
“Partners of the Pakistani government should take the initiative to discuss this with the leaders of the new government of Pakistan and urge them to repeal the controversial provisions of the blasphemy law,” said Bishop Samuel Azariah, moderator of the Church of Pakistan and a member of WCC’s Executive Committee.
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WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs
