The 10th International Conference on Children’s Rights and Religious Beliefs: Autonomy, Education, Tradition, was held in Geneva on 2 and 3 May 2019.
The religious landscape is changing. Article 14 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) calls on States Parties to respect “the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” This provision forms part of a broader set of rights that must be implemented holistically for the benefit of all children.
Can children’s autonomy, a religious education that is caring and respectful of their individuality and evolving capacity to make choices, and the requirements of a secular state be easily reconciled? What benefits might children’s rights gain from defining the responsibilities of religious actors?
The issue of children’s freedom of religion receives little attention in academic and professional circles. This international conference aimed to stimulate reflection on a complex subject in the context of a changing religious landscape, highlighting children’s right to exercise their rights autonomously, in accordance with their age and degree of maturity.
Among more than 20 speakers, Sheikh Khaled Bentounes took part in the roundtable discussion entitled “Children’s Rights, Family and Religion.” On this occasion, he spoke about passing on a Culture of Peace to children from an early age.
Photo captions: Professor Philip D. Jaffé, Director of the CIDE, and Sheikh Khaled Bentounes.
(From left to right) Dr Michael Wiener, OHCHR; Sheikh Khaled Bentounes; and Mr Ibrahim Salama, Director of the Human Rights Treaties Division at OHCHR.
