Countering hatred on the basis of religion or belief: The need for transformative responses from States and civil society
Feb 16, 2024 — 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) is pleased to partner with the Baha’i Community of Canada, the Canadian Interfaith Conversation and the Nonreligion in a Complex Future Project to present this event:
Countering hatred on the basis of religion or belief: The need for transformative responses from States and civil society
Professor Nazila Ghanea, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, will share key findings from her forthcoming mandate report to the Human Rights Council. This report addresses the advocacy of hatred on the basis of religion or belief observed around the world, and calls for greater efforts to counter hate speech; promote freedom of religion or belief; foster interfaith and intercultural dialogue; and protect religious and belief minorities while upholding all human rights.
About our speaker
Nazila Ghanea
Ms. Nazila Ghanea assumed her mandate as Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief on 1 August 2022.
Ms. Ghanea is Professor of International Human Rights Law and Director of the MSc in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford. Prior to that, she was Senior Lecturer at the University of London (2000-2006), and she has also previously taught in the People’s Republic of China (1993-1994). She has researched and published widely in international human rights law and served as consultant to numerous agencies.
Though her nearly 30-year career has been rooted in academia, Ms. Ghanea’s academic work has often connected with multilateral practice in international human rights law. She has contributed actively to networks interested in freedom of religion or belief and its interrelationship with other human rights, and advised states and other stakeholders. In her professional activities, she has taken every opportunity to support the promotion and application of principled understandings of human rights, including freedom of religion or belief. She has supervised well over 100 master’s dissertations and doctorates and served on doctoral panels internationally. She has also co-authored a 700-page publication by Oxford University Press that addresses freedom of religion or belief and is focused on the UN record.