"Freedom of religion or belief is also a human right that is constantly being misunderstood. It is not about any religion, church or institution claiming their rights. And I am not a Commissioner for Religion. It is about the freedom of every individual to manifest their religion or belief, either a
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lone or in community with others, or to change it, or to not have any a religion or belief. Raising awareness of this and providing input for debates both in the political sphere and in society is one of the aims of the Third Report on the Global Status of Freedom of Religion or Belief [...] The report explores new ground above all with its thematic focus on the freedom of religion or belief of Indigenous peoples. There are about 5,000 such groups of people worldwide, with an estimated total population of more than 470 million. With this focus our report ties in with a report by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, developing the topic further. In the process of drafting the report, I realised that we are doing pioneering work, because there was and still is the belief that Indigenous spirituality has nothing to do with freedom of religion or belief.
The report provides an opportunity to look in a different way at conflicts over land and infrastructure that involve Indigenous communities. And to develop an understanding that often such conflicts are not just about resources but in fact have to do with Indigenous peoples’ belief that all natural things have a spirit or soul. My personal learning curve on this topic is closely connected with Indigenous communities in Guatemala and my experiences with conflictual infrastructure projects. When I visited Guatemala many years ago, I had difficulty understanding why people staged fierce and violent protests against small-scale hydropower plants that were actually environmentally friendly. Today I know that the areas surrounding a small river were regarded as important spiritual places, with Indigenous communities believing that the forest had a soul, and that interfering with nature there without giving any thought to the spiritual implications was not acceptable." (Foreword, page 3)
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"Freedom of religion or belief is an essential human right. Not a superordinate right, but not a marginal right either. It is closely intertwined with other rights such as freedom of opinion or assembly, or the right to be protected against discrimination. And that is the objective of my efforts: to
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embed this right firmly at the centre of the human rights agenda. There is still a long way to go to achieve this [...]
This report is about advancing the debate and it also enters new territory. It builds on the work done by my predecessor, Markus Grübel, but there are also some aspects where the report has been developed further. This is also reflected in the number of focus countries, which has been increased from 30 to 41. The German Parliament, the Bundestag, had asked for the country section to be expanded, and we were happy to comply with that request. Enlarging the range of countries covered by the report provides an opportunity to do two things at once: offer a regular report on developments in individual regions, and expand the focus in the light of new challenges. Among the focus countries that have been added this year are Armenia, Belarus, Guatemala, the Central African Republic, Lebanon, the Maldives and Syria. For some of them, the decision to add them was taken in the light of recent developments. With these aims in mind, the report will continue to be submitted at regular intervals as intended by the Bundestag, building on a solid basis of data and information.
The report explores new ground above all with its thematic focus on the freedom of religion or belief of Indigenous peoples. There are about 5,000 such groups of people worldwide, with an estimated total population of more than 470 million. With this focus our report ties in with a report by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, developing the topic further. In the process of drafting the report, I realised that we are doing pioneering work, because there was and still is the belief that Indigenous spirituality has nothing to do with freedom of religion or belief. The report provides an opportunity to look in a different way at conflicts over land and infrastructure that involve Indigenous communities. And to develop an understanding that often such conflicts are not just about resources but in fact have to do with Indigenous peoples’ belief that all natural things have a spirit or soul. My personal learning curve on this topic is closely connected with Indigenous communities in Guatemala and my experiences with conflictual infrastructure projects. When I visited Guatemala many years ago, I had difficulty understanding why people staged fierce and violent protests against small-scale hydropower plants that were actually environmentally friendly. Today I know that the areas surrounding a small river were regarded as important spiritual places, with Indigenous communities believing that the forest had a soul, and that interfering with nature there without giving any thought to the spiritual implications was not acceptable." (Preface, page 2)
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"Este libro refleja nuestros esfuerzos por ofrecer, desde múltiples perspectivasdisciplinares, un enfoque crítico al concepto de desarrollo a partir del diálogo entre los retos de la realidad socioambiental, los aportes de la Iglesia católica y las disciplinas específicas de los autores. Frente
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a las graves crisis socioecológicas vigentes globales se torna urgente esta crítica, para, a partir de allí, favorecer la reflexión acerca de los modos venideros de gestión de la convivencia en la casa común." (Descripción de la casa editorial)
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"This book critically examines directed social change theory and practice while presenting a conceptual framework of development communication to address inequality and injustice in contemporary contexts. This third edition features significantly revised and updated chapters to include the latest sc
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holarship on, and practices of, media and communication for development. It explores empowerment and social justice to individuals and communities around the world in the context of increasing globalization. Tracing the history of development communication, it looks objectively at diverse approaches and their supporters, and goes on to provide models for the future. It also offers a new chapter presenting the authors' framework foregrounding empowerment and social justice as goals for development communication in the 21st century." (Publisher description)
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"Primarily and immediately these churches are not aimed at development or politics; they are not NGOs or elements of civil society promoting the rights of a particular group, so it would be a mistake to judge them exclusively on criteria appropriate to such bodies. They are religious bodies, with re
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ligion understood in a traditional African as opposed to a “disenchanted” Western way. However, as I have shown, that does not mean they have no public effects, even considerable effects in the realms of development and politics. Among the enormous variety of Africa’s Pentecostal churches, those that stress motivation, entrepreneurship and life-skills undoubtedly contribute to Africa’s development. There are many such on the continent. However, even many of these churches combine those elements with a stress on the faith gospel, the anointing of the special man of God, and an understanding of the world as pervaded by malignant spiritual forces. And most have these latter emphases predominant or at least not far below the surface. To the extent that these Pentecostal churches promote the faith gospel, the spiritual Big Man, and our subjection to malign spiritual forces, their roles are far less positive." (Conclusion, page 94)
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"According to Dissanayake, the Sarvodaya movement encompasses the ideal of the harmonious social order and the principle of self-reliance and self-transformation as envisioned and encouraged by Buddhist teaching. The Sarvodaya movement also duly asserts that the idea of development should include no
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t merely materialistic and economic advancement but also moral growth and social fulfilment. Dissanayake outlines four main approaches to communication and development and succintly states that it is the notion of self-reliance that distinguishes the Sarvodaya movement from the dominant paradigm of development communication." (Page 467)
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"This completely revised edition builds on the framework provided by the earlier text. It traces the history of development communication, presents and critiques diverse approaches and their proponents, and provides ideas and models for development communication in the new century." (Publisher descr
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iption)
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"Addressing the use of communication (interpersonal, folk, traditional, group, organizational, and mass media) in the development process, this book discusses some of the conceptual and theoretical basis for integrating communication effectively into development plans and execution. It also examines
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the rationale and practical necessity for such integration, and uses case studies to demonstrate how to positively take advantage of communication potentials and possibilities while avoiding possible dysfunctions." (https://eric.ed.gov)
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"The primary objective of this research has been to review the experiences and analyse the role of the mainline churches in advocacy in support of human rights, democracy and poverty alleviation in Africa. It has set out to identify what is the particular contribution that churches can bring to such
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advocacy, and what opportunities exist for mutual support from other organisations involved in campaigning for human rights and democratic development. In particular the relationship between church-related NGOs in Europe and the mainline churches in Africa for advocacy work is examined. The analysis is based on an examination of three issues that are considered to be critical to the effective involvement of churches in advocacy: the external linkages and relationships of the church to other groups in society; the organisational implications of engaging in advocacy; and thirdly the ideological and theological positioning of the Church. Case studies were conducted on: the role of the National Council of Churches in Kenya (NCCK) in advocating for human rights and democracy; the role of the churches in Malawi in the transition to a multi-party democracy, and the role of the churches in advocating on economic issues in Zambia." (Abstract)
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