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Attacks on places of worship in Manchester and Peacehaven did not arise in a vacuum. Political leadership is urgently needed. 

Posted on by cswpress in International Arenas, UK Government

A man drives a car into a crowd of people outside an Orthodox synagogue on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. He proceeds to attack those gathered outside, fatally stabbing one before being shot dead by police, who also tragically killed another whilst attempting to neutralise the attacker. 

Two days later, two individuals in balaclavas set fire to the entrance of a mosque and a car parked outside it in what police are treating as a hate crime. Mercifully no-one was killed, with the two people who were inside the mosque able to escape.

At CSW, our work often involves reporting on attacks like these on places of worship in a number of countries – and often particularly in situations of conflict – around the world.  

Continue reading “Attacks on places of worship in Manchester and Peacehaven did not arise in a vacuum. Political leadership is urgently needed. “ →

For authorities in Cuba’s prisons, the right to freedom of religion or belief is a tool to manipulate 

Posted on by cswpress in Cuba, Latin America

It has been understood for decades that conditions in Cuba’s maximum-security prisons are terrible. They have only grown worse over the past few years as the entire country has experienced an economic and infrastructure crisis, with critical shortages of food and medicine across the country alongside the repeat failure of the island’s entire electrical grid, sometimes for days at a time.  

Since 1989, the Cuban government has refused access to the International Committee of the Red Cross to monitor or assess prison conditions. Prisoners are held in unhygienic, sometimes overcrowded conditions, in cells infested with mosquitoes and bedbugs. The food served to prisoners is unpalatable, riddled with insects and worms, and low in nutrition. Despite rampant disease, including tuberculosis, dengue, and dysentery outbreaks, throughout the prison facilities, medical attention is inadequate, if provided at all.  

During the hot and humid summer months, temperatures inside the cells can rise to dangerous levels. Multiple former political prisoners have told CSW that the only water they had extremely limited access to, both for drinking and personal hygiene, was cloudy or dirty.  

Continue reading “For authorities in Cuba’s prisons, the right to freedom of religion or belief is a tool to manipulate “ →

Para las autoridades de las cárceles cubanas, el derecho a la libertad de religión o creencias es solo una herramienta de manipulación

Posted on by cswpress in Cuba ES, español, Latin America ES

Durante décadas es bien sabido que las condiciones en las cárceles de máxima seguridad de Cuba son terribles. Estas condiciones no han hecho más que empeorar en los últimos años, , pues el país entero está hundido en una crisis económica y de infraestructura, agravada por la escasez de alimentos y medicamentos en toda la isla, aunado a los repetidos fallos de la red eléctrica de la  nación, a veces durante días. 
 
Desde 1989, el gobierno cubano ha negado el acceso al Comité Internacional de la Cruz Roja para supervisar o evaluar las condiciones carcelarias. Los presos se encuentran recluidos en condiciones insalubres, a veces de hacinamiento, en celdas infestadas de mosquitos y chinches. La comida que se les sirve es insípida, plagada de insectos y gusanos, y de bajo valor nutritivo. A pesar de la proliferación de enfermedades, como la tuberculosis, el dengue y los brotes de disentería, en las instalaciones penitenciarias, la atención médica es insuficiente, o incluso nula.

Durante los calurosos y húmedos meses de verano, las temperaturas dentro de las celdas pueden alcanzar niveles peligrosos. Numerosos ex presos políticos han declarado a CSW que el agua a la que tenían acceso,  tanto para beber como para su higiene personal, estaba extremadamente limitada, además de turbia o sucia.  

Continue reading “Para las autoridades de las cárceles cubanas, el derecho a la libertad de religión o creencias es solo una herramienta de manipulación” →

How the education system perpetuates religious intolerance in Pakistan, and how it could be a route to change 

Posted on by cswpress in Asia, Pakistan

‘No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate.’ 

These oft-quoted words of Nelson Mandela have proven all too true in far too many contexts throughout human history, as indeed they do in a very literal sense in Pakistan today. 

While hatred can be ‘learned’ in many ways – from one’s family, or cultural background, or even from negative experiences with the object of said hatred – in Pakistan the teaching of hatred, specifically religious intolerance, is embedded in various forms into the very fibre of the country’s education system. 

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How to tune into freedom of religion or belief during party conference season – and have your say 

Posted on by cswpress in International Arenas, UK Government

The UK is currently in the middle of party conference season, when all the political parties gather to discuss policy ideas and their respective visions for the country.  

The Green Party, Liberal Democrats and Reform have already held theirs. Labour and Conservative conferences remain. 

For those of us committed to defending human rights, and freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in particular, this season is about more than party gatherings and internal discussions. It is an opportunity to observe how political leaders are shaping policy at home and abroad in real time – and to engage, challenge, and push for FoRB to be central in those debates. 

Continue reading “How to tune into freedom of religion or belief during party conference season – and have your say “ →