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A human rights leader speaks at an event the Church helped organize in France.
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The history of the human rights movement shows that the NGO (nongovernmental organization) community has played a vital role in persuading governments to enforce human rights standards.
Since its beginnings, the Church of Scientology has fought to bring an end to governmental discrimination, while working with government officials to bring about increased implementation of human rights principles.
“Deprogrammer” Ted Patrick, a felon with multiple convictions. Thanks in large part to the Church of Scientology, deprogramming has all but stopped in the United States.
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In examining how intolerance is created, the Church of Scientology International found it necessary to look into the activities of certain groups that agitate against all new and minority religious movements and that often operate as an arm of the government or state church.
To date, the Church has documented the illegal activities of members of these vested interest groups in Spain, Britain, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, and Germany and has provided the information to the authorities.
In March 2000, the Church of Scientology in France helped to form CAP — the Coalition of Associations and Individuals for Freedom of Thought. CAP is made up of 30 minority religious and spiritual groups, and its aim is to document religious discrimination and bring it to the attention of human rights organizations.
Martin Weightman, Human Rights Director Europe, speaking at a conference.
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CAP issues a regular newsletter and holds public hearings around the country in which individuals come forward and describe the human rights abuses — the only such forum in France. It also maintains a website at
www.coordiap.com
In an overview of religion in Europe, no country serves as a better example of the struggle regarding democratic concepts of religious freedom than Germany.
For many years, German federal and state governments practiced a policy of discrimination against minority religions that was widely criticized by international human rights agencies.
Mr. Martin Weightman at a conference of the OSCE. On his right is renowned actress and Scientologist, Anne Archer.
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Although undeniable progress has been made since, in large part due to the Church’s work that led to more than 45 reports by human rights bodies criticizing the German government for religious intolerance, much remains to be done.
In May 2003, the Church took part in a delegation to visit Germany to look into multiple reports about the mistreatment of religious minorities. The delegation, led by Reverend N.J. L’Heureux, Moderator of the Religious Liberty Committee of the National Council of Churches in the USA, was made up of representatives of different religions.
The Ministry of Interior in Hamburg. Hamburg’s intelligence apparatus had been directed at peaceful religious organizations.
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The delegation found evidence that German intelligence resources have been deployed to spy on peaceful religious organizations. Ironically, while the Hamburg intelligence apparatus was misdirected in this manner, it failed to spot that the World Trade Center terrorists were planning their deadly assault in its midst.
In its 2004 Concluding Observations on Germany’s Adherence to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Committee welcomed the positive developments while expressing concern about continuing violations of the religious freedom article of the Covenant.
Members of the delegation that visited Germany in 2003 to investigate governmental religious intolerance.
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The European Commission is also concerned about ensuring that effective safeguards against discrimination are in place in Germany.
On April 29, 2004, in response to a question from a member of the European parliament, the European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs indicated that “the Church of Scientology and other religious communities in Germany” are protected from discrimination in the work place under the terms of EU directive 2000/78/EC, which prohibits discrimination based on religion or belief, in relation to employment. The Commission has sent a warning letter to the German government over its failure to incorporate the directive into domestic law as it was required to do by December 2, 2003.
Meeting with government officials and religious leaders from a variety of faiths to discuss religious intolerance in Germany.
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In addition to all the above, the Church, through its Human Rights Department, has made numerous submissions on the subject of religious freedom to international, intergovernmental and other human rights bodies, including the U.S. State Department, the United Nations, UNESCO, OSCE and the Council of Europe. The number of personal contacts and written representations to the above organizations number in the hundreds each year.
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