“Understanding how religious actors can promote human rights requires us to appreciate what religion is and how it works,” said Ms. Rachel Bayani, representing the The Bahá’í International Community (BIC) Brussels Office at an event organised by the Brussels Representation of the German Protestant Church (EKD), entitled More than a Commitment to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FORB)  - The Role of Religious Actors in Promoting Human Rights. Chaired by the Senior Church Council of the EKD office, Ms. Katrin Hatzinger, the panel included Ms. Merete Bilde of the European External Action Service and Ms. Sabine Dreßler of the Human Rights, Migration and Integration department of the EKD.

Ms. Merete Bilde pointed out the fact that religion is not an aspect of society that is disappearing over time as society progresses in its scientific thinking. “We know that this is not the case,” she addressed. “Religion is still very much relevant. This makes freedom of religion or belief a right embedded in human rights.”

Ms. Rachel Bayani highlighted that “engaging with religion does not simply mean that we know technical and historical facts about a particular religion. It means that we understand how religion can awaken in whole populations capacities to contribute to the advancement of society. Whether as EU institutions, civil society actors or religious organizations, we need to know how to tap into that capacity.”