DECLARATION
of the International Human Rights Association
"Church against Xenophobia and Religious Discrimination"
 

The International Human Rights Association "Church against Xenophobia and Religious Discrimination" is established based on the agreement of cooperation and collaboration between its founders – legal entities and individuals, who act as international human rights defenders in collaboration with the United Nations and other international organizations. Its primary aim is to coordinate joint efforts to protect the rights and legitimate interests of believers and religious organizations that fall victim to offences. Additionally, it seeks to represent the interests of believers at the international level with the goal of safeguarding the Christian agenda in its broader sense and counteracting the erosion of human rights in the realm of religion.

The participants of this Declaration are the founders as well as any legal entities and individuals who have joined this Declaration as a confirmation of their commitment to human rights protection in accordance with the directions outlined in the Declaration.

In accordance with this Declaration, participants affirm, acknowledge, and implement the following tasks and principles in their professional, business, scientific, civic, and other activities:

1.    Safeguard human rights and freedoms using methods applicable in international legal practice, particularly the right to canonical identity – the ability to practice religious beliefs freely and express them, including by critically assessing the actions and beliefs of others, within the framework of the internationally protected freedoms of speech and religion.

2.    Protect and promote the free exercise of the right to religious belief, including the ability to perform religious services, hold mass religious processions, and freely access and practice religious activities.

3.    Support the incorporation of principles condemning xenophobia and discrimination based on religious grounds into the activities of government bodies and their officials, as well as mass media, politicians, public organizations, political parties, and religious institutions.

4.    Acknowledge that freedom of religion encompasses not only the right to believe (internal conviction) but also the freedom to profess one's beliefs, including relying on personal interpretations of religious canons and rules while maintaining the ability to deny and condemnthe behavior and beliefs of individual persons or their groups, particularly when such denial or condemnation is based on the content of religious doctrine, religious norms, dogmas, canons, and customs of religious practice.

5.    Recognize that contemporary law is subject to erosion, involving changes in the content of legal norms without actual changes in the legal provisions, often without sufficient consensus among the states that have established specific norms of international law. This erosion can occur through the introduction of contentious concepts, assessments, and judgments into the law. Participants agree to counteract such erosion using available tools to influence international organizations and other entities.

6.    Acknowledge that the United Nations and its bodies and institutions, which may face criticism for their inefficiency, nevertheless remain the primary platforms for lobbying and changing international legal standards, including those related to the permissibility of expressing religious views. This, in turn, requires vigorous participation of representatives of religious communities in shaping the legal agenda on religious matters and evaluating approaches to changing established legal concepts in the realm of religion and human rights.

7.    Agree that international law, as well as national mechanisms for legal protection, such as committees, commissions, special representatives, and other bodies of the European Union, the United States, and other countries, despite the political mainstream in their respective countries, declare the protection of religious freedom in their mandates and national legislation. This makes them accountable to their citizens, which is why they will remain platforms for protecting rights in the field of religion and lawful legal action. Participants will therefore make every effort to organize effective protection of the interests of believers and religious organizations within these structures and will legally defend their legitimate rights.

8.    Recognize as inadmissible to form any legal concepts that affect the sphere of religion and are aimed at effectively prohibiting the freedom of expression of religious views that have historically developed within major religious currents.

9.    Legally obstruct xenophobia and discrimination against believers and religious organizations and protect their rights via national and international law enforcement systems in various countries. This includes cases and situations related to the following facts:

9.1. the failure of states through their authorities and officials to fulfill obligations regarding the restitution (return) of church property to religious organizations, the legal successors of denominations that suffered from confiscation or expropriation by communist authorities and other totalitarian regimes;

9.2. attempts to seize property previously transferred by state authorities to religious organizations and believers, including through lawsuits to terminate agreements for the use of religious buildings; the refusal to extend previously concluded agreements; decisions by local authorities and self-government bodies to "terminate property rights" to land plots, including those with already constructed temples by believers; refusal or obstruction of rights extension or registration; shaping the belief among representatives of the denomination that they will be "denied anyway" in enjoyment of their rights, as they belong to a specific denomination,

9.3. attempts to cover and disguise the discriminatory deprivation or restriction of the rights of believers using pseudo-legal constructs such as "affiliation with leading centers in other states," "connection with the enemy," "unreliability," and other similar political labels that have no legal basis and constitute political extremism and defamation.

9.4. Attempts to block the rights and legal capacity of legal entities – religious organizations, through the adoption of laws and the formation of such legal enforcement practices by state authorities, leading to:

a) The impossibility of changing the leader of a religious organization, for example, due to the "non-compliance of the charter" with the legislation specifically created for these purposes, which contains a discriminatory legal construct – a norm of "law" deliberately designed  to thwart the lawful rights of a religious organization or for other reasons without an alternative legal means of exercising the right;

b) The impossibility of freely exercising rights and conducting economic activities, including the impossibility or complication of the process of formalizing and registering rights to land plots, opening bank accounts, signing contracts for the use of energy and other resources, performing notarial actions, gaining access to justice;

c) The unlawful re-registration (transfer) of religious organizations to another denomination contrary to the actual will of its governing bodies, with the active or passive involvement of representatives of government authorities in this violation.

9.5. Adoption of decisions by state authorities and actions by officials that shape a negative attitude in society towards a particular denomination, namely:

-       Non-compliance by state authorities with the principles of presumed innocence and inadmissibility of incitement to religious enmity and hatred in society, which manifests itself, among other things, in the form of public disclosure by law enforcement agencies on their official websites and later in the media of information about the religious affiliation of a person suspected of committing a criminal offence before the entry into force of a guilty verdict and without proven guilt, leading to the formation in society of an attitude towards all believers of this denomination as potential "enemies";

-       Public statements by politicians and government officials with a negative assessment of the activities of a denomination, its leaders, and believers, including formulations that may eventuate in a lasting negative attitude towards a group of persons and incitement to hatred based on a person's affiliation to a certain faith or denomination;

-       Adoption of decisions on the application of "personal sanctions" or other forms of restricting the rights of religious leaders or organizations and individual believers without the use of judicial procedures or granting them the right to judicial protection, including with the aim of "labeling" the entire denomination as "unreliable" and launching a propaganda campaign of hatred towards its believers and religious organizations.

9.6. Formation of double standards of justice, namely – ineffective actions or inaction on statements by believers of one denomination about crimes committed against them and increased activity in considering similar statements from another denomination or its supporters, as well as the formation of a practice of fictitious statements to open fake criminal cases and illegally persecute activists, human rights defenders, journalists, opinion leaders, and believers of a particular denomination, with the aim of suppressing their professional, human rights activities or exerting informational influence on believers to instill in them a sense of the futility of legal protection and lawful resistance.

10. Recognize as unacceptable and prevent any practice by state bodies, organizations and their officials, as well as other entities, media, aimed at excluding the participation of representatives of a specific religious denomination in public events or restricting access to a specific sphere of public relations and life. This includes blocking the opportunity to participate in meetings, conferences, negotiations, delegations, seminars, lectures, denying access to institutions and the education system, the penal system, healthcare institutions, especially if representatives of a particular denomination had such access or participation in the past.

11. Participants acknowledge that the International Human Rights Association "Church against Xenophobia and Religious Discrimination" is created solely to protect human rights in the field of religion and defends the right to freedom of religion and other rights associated with this freedom, allowing people from any country, regardless of the geopolitical position of their state, to unite in religious organizations and carry out lawful religious activities within the framework of such organizations freely, without facing persecution, discrimination, and deprivation of rights for belonging to such organizations.

In light of the above, in their activities related to projects of the International Human Rights Association "Church against Xenophobia and Religious Discrimination," Participants shall refrain from any public assessments and statements regarding interstate relations, geopolitical developments, events occurring in the world, and political struggles in any country. In addition, they shall not use association projects to promote any political or geopolitical doctrine.

OPEN AGREEMENT ON INTERACTION AND JOINT ACTIVITY
OF THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION
"CHURCH AGAINST XENOPHOBIA AND RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION"

Geneva

Date: 19.12.2023

Legal entities and individuals (hereinafter referred to as the "Founders"), listed in the attachment, have entered into this contract for the following:

SUBJECT OF THE CONTRACT

1.1. Under this contract, the Founders establish the human rights association "Church against Xenophobia and Religious Discrimination" (hereinafter referred to as the "Association"), which is a network of legal and natural persons interacting with each other in accordance with the principles and rules of the Association (hereinafter referred to as the "Network Interaction Principles"). The Founders of the Association are also its Participants.

1.2. The Association is a platform for coordinating and interacting with civil associations, religious organizations and leaders, human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, media, other legal and natural persons. They can be both Participants in the Association, who accept the Network Interaction Principles, and non-Participants in the Association, who engage with it via their political, legal, scientific, professional, or other activities, including with the use of informational sources, analytical databases, or other resources of the Association.

1.3. The Association is not a legal entity or a public association in terms of the Law of Ukraine "On Public Associations" but is an agreement on the coordination and interaction of individual legal and natural persons within the framework of their statutory, professional or other activities, or public position they adhere to.

1.4. The Founders approve the Declaration, which includes the tasks of creating the Association and the principles of its activities.

1.5. Legal and natural persons participate in the activities of the Association as its Participants, Partners, or members.

1.5.1. A Participant of the Association is a legal or natural person who has agreed with the Declaration and Network Interaction Principles, who is included in its composition by the decision of the Coordination Council, who has signed this contract, and actively engages in human rights or other activities under the projects of the Association. A separate agreement on interaction may be concluded with the Participant.

1.5.2. A Partner of the Association is a legal or natural person who coordinates its activities with the Association or provides support to the Association or its Participants in another form, and to whom the Coordination Council may grant the Partner status upon request.

1.5.3. A Member of the Association is a legal or natural person who has agreed with the Declaration and Network Interaction Principles and supports the activities of the Association in any form by voluntarily joining the Declaration of the Association.

GOAL OF THE CREATION AND ACTIVITY OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION

2.1. The purpose of the human rights Association is to protect the Church (believers and religious organizations) from xenophobia and religious discrimination by coordinating and strengthening the efforts of legal and natural persons, who contribute to the protection of human rights and freedom of religion, explore the religious sphere, or are interested in deriving truthful and verified information and data from the Association projects.

TOOLS AND METHODS OF INTERACTION

3.1. Interaction between the Participants of the Association shall be carried out within the projects of the Association through voluntary communication and the use of the Association Tools, both within the framework of the ongoing projects of the Participants and by satisfying requests on individual cases.

3.2. The Tools of the Association include:

- Communication of Participants within the interactive WEB platform of the Movement.

- Creation of databases of human rights violations in the religious and other spheres, manifestations of xenophobia, and verification of this data in accordance with international standards.

- Transfer of data on violations of citizens' rights to international organizations, analytical centers, and international projects that process data for states in line with the regulations of the ODIHR, OSCE, UN, and other projects.

- Publication of bulletins and human rights reports on human rights violations and their dissemination through diplomatic channels and by international organizations.

- Assistance to Participants in organizing press conferences on the platforms of the Geneva, Brussels press clubs, and other organizations, media platforms, and projects.

- Ensuring assistance to Participants and victims of human rights violations from international lawyers, law firms, human rights organizations, and experts.

- Organization of urgent appeals for protection within the regulations and procedures aimed at protecting rights under international law (European Convention on Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, etc.).

- Assistance to Participants in preparing and disseminating press releases and information among mass media, organizing international and national media campaigns.

- Assistance to Participants in interaction, preparation, and submission of complaints and lawsuits to the UN Human Rights Council, UN Human Rights Committee, UN Special Rapporteurs, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, EU committees and commissions responsible for human rights compliance and foreign policy, authorities and institutions of other countries, and international organizations that can contribute to the protection of human rights and freedoms;

- Assistance to Participants in contacts and interaction with each other, with other religious organizations, and individual religious leaders;

- Assistance to Participants in contacts and interaction with scientific and professional institutions and organizations that can make a significant contribution to the protection of human rights;

- Assistance to Participants in disseminating views and ideas that align with the goals of the Association, including through the production and distribution of audio, video, and film products, publishing books, organizing exhibitions, seminars, and lectures;

- Assistance to Participants in seeking funding for their activities or specific projects;

- Assistance to individuals who are not Participants but whose activities can contribute to the goals of the Association, including through the allocation of grants, subsidies, organization of crowdfunding campaigns and platforms, etc.

3.3. The Tools of the Association shall be implemented by individual Participants in accordance with their statutory tasks, within the scope of their professional or other activities, or status.

3.4. For the coordination of the activities of Participants and the distribution of requests and project tasks, the Coordination Council of the Association is created.

The first composition of the Coordination Council is formed by the Founders through negotiations with potential candidates and their inclusion in the composition of the Coordination Council, the list of members of which is attached to this agreement.

Each member of the Coordination Council can freely withdraw from its composition at any time.

Changes in the composition of the Coordination Council shall be made by the decision of the majority of the members of the Coordination Council, approved by the Founders of the Association. The Founders of the Association preside over the meetings of the Coordination Council.

3.5. The activity of the Association is aimed at coordinating and supporting Participants in their activities to achieve the purpose of creating the Association. Participants, in turn, provide individual assistance and support to victims, as well as interact with other individuals according to their tasks, principles of activity, and relationships.

In certain cases, the Coordination Council may recommend that a particular Participant provide urgent assistance to members of the Association if needed.

3.6. The Coordination Council establishes a mechanism for urgent protection for victims of grave human rights violations as a priority project of its activities.

NETWORK INTERACTION PRINCIPLES

4.1. Participants ensure the implementation of the following interaction principles within the Association's network:

- An interactive platform for interaction is formed within the Association's network, where public projects approved by the Coordination Council for implementation (Open Projects) are posted. As a rule, a public project has an Executive Group formed by the Participant who initiated the public project or by the Coordination Council.

- The Coordination Council within the Association's network continually processes proposals and requests from both Participants and other individuals. Each request or proposal within the project is included in a register maintained by the Coordination Council.

- Based on such proposals, the Participants jointly decide on the creation of Open Projects or establish another form of response to requests and proposals received.

- The Coordination Council makes a decision on the implementation of a particular project within the Association's network by a majority vote. In case of project rejection, a Participant of the Association has the right to implement it independently or with some other Participants but not within the framework of the Association's network platform.

- The Coordination Council may decide to implement a project in a closed format without including its data in the open part of the interactive platform.

- New Participants shall be accepted into the Association by unanimous decision of the Coordination Council.

- Upon the decision of the Coordination Council, separate legal or natural persons may be granted the status of an Association Partner. The Association Partner may participate in individual network projects under terms determined individually with them.

4.2. If necessary, Participants may regulate their activities with separate rules, regulations, or additional agreements.

TERM OF THE AGREEMENT

4.1. This agreement is concluded for an indefinite term.

4.2. This agreement can be terminated by the decision of the Founders.

4.3. Each Participant may freely withdraw from this agreement at any time.

4.4. Each Partner or member may voluntarily and without any notice terminate their participation in the Association.

SIGNATURES OF THE FOUNDERS:

(SIGNED 19.12.2023)

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