EUROPEAN UNION: Religious freedom does not include violence against children

National Secular Society
June 27, 2013

EU guidelines on freedom of religion or belief

...The guidelines also explicitly oppose any religious justification to restrictions on other fundamental rights and to violence against women, children, members of religious minorities and persons on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. They point out that there are some practices, associated with the manifestation of a religion or belief (or perceived as such), which may constitute violations of human rights. The fact that the right to freedom of religion or belief is sometimes invoked to justify violations of other human rights is an EU concern; it states that, whilst it is "committed to the robust protection and promotion of freedom of religion or belief in all parts of the world", such justifications can never legitimise the undermining of human rights"

The guidelines themselves