UN Special Rapporteur due Aug 31

UN Special Rapporteur Heiner Bielefeldt will visit Bangladesh from August 31 to September 9 to assess the state of freedom of religion or belief in the country. “I’m keen to learn more about the efforts to eliminate root causes of violence, intimidations and vigilantism in the name of religion and developments in promoting and protecting religious freedom, especially initiatives of inter-religious dialogues, following the first country visit by my predecessor in May 2000,” Bielefeldt said. He said it will also be a timely opportunity for him to assess the freedom of religion or belief in relation to issues of gender, women, children, and in particular, religious minorities or indigenous communities, according to a message received here from Geneva on Thursday. The Special Rapporteur will present a report with his conclusions and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in 2016 after the visit, according to a news agency.
- biplab