Dr. Andrew Bennett, Canada’s Ambassador of Religious Freedom, addressed the Fifth Annual All-Party Interfaith Parliamentary Breakfast on Tuesday 5 November. The Parliamentary Restaurant was filled to capacity with parliamentarians, foreign ambassadors, representatives of Canada’s religious communities and interfaith organizations, and academics.
Seven Baha’is were invited, on behalf of the All-Party Interfaith Friendship Group (APIF), by Member of Parliament Mark Adler, who served as Master of Ceremonies along with APIF’s Co-Chair, Nathalie Thirlwall, who is also a member of the Baha’i community.
During his introductory remarks Mr. Adler described the impact of the holocaust on the families of survivors – such as his own – thereby illustrating the importance of freedom of religion or belief and inter-religious understanding.
Ambassador Bennett also addressed this theme and the four core values of the Office of Religious Freedom and the Government: democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law. He pointed out the importance of the placement of the Office of Religious Freedom, now nine months old, within the Department of Foreign Affairs, in order to help inform Canada’s foreign policy in a world where the vast majority of people believe in God and practice a religion.
He spoke, too, about the increasing repression of religion in many countries, and cited the Pew Forum’s research that indicates that one out of three countries discriminates against or persecutes one or more religious communities. Consequently, the percentage of human beings now living in countries where religious freedom is circumscribed has risen from 70% of the world’s population in 2011 to 75% today.
Ambassador Bennett noted that his Office has between 15 and 20 countries “of interest” divided into three categories: those committed to an atheistic orientation, those ruled by repressive Islamic governments, and those with nationalistic, authoritarian regimes. The first three projects funded by his Office’s partnership program focus on Nigeria, Indonesia, and countries of the former Soviet Union.
In summarizing the current state of religious persecution and oppression, the Ambassador referred to the Baha’i Faith several times, often in conjunction with the most serious situations in which fundamental human rights are being violated on the basis of religious belief. He noted, too, that religious freedom is a human right that is closely allied to a number of other fundamental rights, and is the first freedom listed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The breakfast was followed by a workshop during which participants shared helpful insights with regard to how they might promote religious freedom and encourage others to do likewise.