GENEVA/NEW YORK – The World Jewish Congress (WJC) on Wednesday called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to recognize as violations of religious freedom any bans or limitations on the right to practice Jewish and Muslim ritual slaughter of animals and male circumcision.
“We call on the governments of all UN member states to stop any attempts to abridge these crucial religious freedoms,” said WJC CEO Robert Singer. “We hope that the UN Human Rights Council, via its Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, will issue a clear statement that bans or limitations on religious slaughter and circumcision are attacks on fundamental liberties, and that the affirmation of those liberties will serve to deter such attacks.”
In a statement delivered before the UN Human Rights Council currently in session in Geneva, WJC decried the “increasing number of government actions that seek to condemn and ban these religious practices” and called on UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief Heiner Bielefeldt “to consider limitations on ritual slaughter and circumcision as violations of freedom of religion in his next report to the Council.” Bielefeldt is expected to complete his report next year.
The WJC statement was delivered by Lisa Rahmani, a member of the WJC’s Jewish Diplomatic Corps program. Originally from France, Rahmani now lives and practices law in Tel Aviv.
In his concluding remarks at the end of the discussion in the Human Rights Council, Bielefeldt acknowledged that "issues like male circumcision are part of freedom of religion."
Statement delivered by Lisa Rahmani on behalf of the World Jewish Congress
I speak today on behalf of the World Jewish Congress, an international organization representing more than 100 Jewish communities worldwide. The Word Jewish Congress thanks the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief for his learned, thought-provoking and practical report.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects the right of individuals and communities to manifest their religion or beliefs freely. Ritual slaughter, known as shechita, and the tradition of circumcision, which dates back thousands of years, are cornerstones of Jewish religious practice.
However, today we are witnessing an increasing number of government actions that seek to condemn and ban these religious practices.
Judaism was the first culture to teach that animals, and even plants, should be treated with respect, at a time when humanity had not begun to think in terms of animal rights. Quite conveniently, some prefer to ignore the origin of the values they claim to defend.
If opponents of shechita really cared about animals, they would have banned, for example, the cooking of live seafood in pots of boiling water; they would have banned force-feeding of geese and ducks; they would have banned hunting for sport.
But they did not. Instead they chose to attack ritual slaughter – be it shechita practiced by Jews, or halal practiced by Muslims.
In the same way, it is ironic and distressing to observe that circumcision is considered to be a mutilation when performed for religious reason, but is acceptable, and often encouraged, if performed for medical reasons.
Respectfully, we call on the Special Rapporteur to recognize that these practices are forms of religious expression; to recognize that they are not trumped by other values; and to ask him to consider limitations on ritual slaughter and circumcision as violations of freedom of religion in his next report to the Council.
Thank you, Mr. President.
