The following text is the speech by Andrea Benzo, Italian Special Envoy for the Protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief and Interreligious Dialogue, held on 1 November 2022 at PaRD’s Annual Forum on Religion and Sustainable Development 2022.
Dear excellencies,
dear members and leadership of the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD),
dear guests of PaRD’s Annual Forum 2022,
I am very glad to have the chance to address the PaRD’s annual forum and to share some comments on the link between freedom of religion or belief, interfaith dialogue, and sustainable development.
Considering its unique cultural and historical background, Italy has always acknowledged the impact of religion on public life and placed freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) at the heart of its foreign policy. Preventing marginalization, discrimination, and violence on grounds of religion or belief or lack thereof is an imperative for any country that seeks stability, development, and prosperity both domestically and internationally. If any person is denied the right to participate in public life on account of religion or belief, society becomes fragmented, divided, and impoverished. This is precisely the reason why FoRB protection is and should remain in everybody’s interest, be it governments or religious institutions, be it larger or smaller communities.
We should not pursue the protection and the promotion of FoRB on a purely intergovernmental basis. To advance this universal right, we should partner with religious and belief actors as well as with civil society at large in a more systematic way with a view to take the views and the expectations of people and communities into account. Only through a multistakeholder approach can we break silos, spot existing gaps, and make full use of all tools available. To be more effective, such dialogue should not involve only leaderships but also the grassroots level.
FoRB and interfaith dialogue are two mutually reinforcing objectives. The lack of one will inevitably jeopardize the achievement of the other. When it is conducted in the absence of FoRB, interfaith dialogue will have little impact on people’s lives.
To play a meaningful role in advancing the SDGs, religious or belief actors and communities need to be granted their right to organisational autonomy and to be able to operate without any undue restriction. At the same time, people need to be protected from any discrimination on grounds of religion or belief if they are to be both enablers and beneficiaries of sustainable development.
This is particularly critical when it comes to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To play a meaningful role in this domain, religious or belief actors and communities need to be granted their right to organizational autonomy and to be able to operate without any undue restriction. At the same time, people need to be protected from any discrimination on grounds of religion or belief if they are to be both enablers and beneficiaries of sustainable development.
Climate action is no exception to this. FoRB is key to environment protection for at least two reasons. First, indigenous people play a key role in safeguarding the environment and in raising collective awareness on environmental issues. Restricting their fundamental rights will ultimately have a negative impact on the environment itself. Second, religious or belief actors can mobilize energy and resources to engage people on climate action. To do so, leaders and community members need to be able to fully play their role in society.
I believe there is wide potential for platforms like PaRD not only in developing partnerships between states and religious or belief representatives or communities but also in fostering interfaith initiatives with a view to expand and operationalize the link between FoRB, interreligious cooperation, and sustainable development as part of one single dimension.
I believe there is wide potential for platforms like PaRD not only in developing partnerships between states and religious or belief representatives or communities but also in fostering interfaith initiatives with a view to expand and operationalize the link between FoRB, interreligious cooperation, and sustainable development as part of one single dimension.
Thank you!
