BELIEVERS, NOT RELIGIONS, HAVE HUMAN RIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 000067 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/17/2028 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KIRF VT SUBJECT: BELIEVERS, NOT RELIGIONS, HAVE HUMAN RIGHTS REF: A. A) STATE 93981 ¶B. B) VATICAN 66 CLASSIFIED BY: Rafael Foley, Political Chief. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Believers, not religions, have human rights, according to the Holy See's point person on human rights. The Holy See opposes the Defamation of Religions resolution and is skeptical about a UN special session on religion. End summary. ¶2. (U) Pol Chief met on September 11 with Monsignor Christophe El-Kassis, Director for Human Rights at the Holy See Section for Relations with States, to discuss U.S. human rights priorities for the Third Committee of the 2008 UN General Assembly (ref. A). Previously, DCM had delivered the same demarche to the Holy See's Deputy Foreign Minister (ref B). Religions do not enjoy human rights -------------- ¶3. (C) El-Kassis said the Holy See shares U.S. concerns regarding the "Combating Defamation of Religions" resolution that the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC) is expected to present to the UNGA's Third Committee. He stated that the resolution addresses religion as if religions, rather than individual adherents, had rights. This is the wrong approach, because human rights belong to believers, i.e. the human person, not to religion per se. It is appropriate to ask --on ethical and moral grounds-- for the responsible exercise of freedom of expression and avoid unnecessarily offending the beliefs of the followers of the great religions of the world. It is not/not appropriate to approach the issue from a legal perspective that may lead to restrictions of basic freedoms, El-Kassis concluded. Can UN member states speak in the name of religions? -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) El-Kassis also expressed skepticism about the value of a UNGA special session on religion, and about the contribution that the UN can make to inter-religious dialogue. The UN is a political body made of nation-states. Nation- states cannot speak on behalf of religions. Only religious leaders can speak authoritatively about their own religions. The UN can and should facilitate dialogue, including among religious leaders and their followers. However, El-Kassis added, it is not clear that a UNGA special session on religion would advance this goal. Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) While the Holy See holds a generally positive view of the UN as a body to promote peace and development, it sees no advantage in endorsing the organization's forays into religion. The Vatican is concerned that countries with Muslim majorities will promote an exclusively Islamic worldview at the UN. This would put Christianity at a competitive disadvantage because countries with Christian majorities are secular and endorse no particular religion. For Holy See officials, giving governments a platform --such as a UNGA special session-- at which to address religious issues would reinforce a close association of politics and religion unlikely to lead to greater protection and promotion of religious or other freedoms. ¶6. (C) A challenge for the USG is that, although it shares our views on many of these issues, the Holy See is unlikely to actively lobby other delegations to oppose the defamation of religion resolution or the special session on religion. The Holy See believes that its role as an observer at the UNGA is to offer general principles to guide member states' positions, rather than to lobby for or against resolutions. End comment. GLENDON