The Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief (OC) was established in 1999 following the Oslo Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief (1998). The conference was hosted by the Norwegian Council of Religious and Life Stance Communities welcomed over 150 attendees representing religious and life stance communities, governmental bodies, and academic institutions from all over the world. Among the attendees were also U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Mary Robinson and the Norwegian Prime Minister Mr. Kjell Magne Bondevik present during the event.
At of the end of the conference, the participants unanimously adopted the Oslo Declaration on Freedom of Religion or Belief, which reaffirms the right of every individual to freedom of religion or belief.1 Thus, with an aim to promote the right to freedom of religion or belief as a common good for everyone in every society, the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief was established to carry out the mission set forth by the Oslo Conference.
The focus on the OC over the last 25 years
Over its 25 years of existence the OC has actively promoted Freedom of Religion or Belief (FORB) as a human right by facilitating a discursive space in which actors involved can explore the intersections between religion and human rights; teaching and competence building in cooperation with partners; and, publishing scientific research and resource materials for those working to advance FORB. Under the leadership of Dr. Lena Larsen, the OC has built up a wide and international network of partners.
In the last few years the team has grown and Jennie Holck-Clausen has joined, who has spearheaded projects such as the ‘Legitimate Limitations to the Freedom of Religion or Belief’ project (Legitimate Limitations to the Freedom of Religion or Belief - Norwegian Centre for Human Rights). The project looks at the possible arbitrary and discriminatory restrictions on FORB created, often through a lack of clear understanding, by authorities through legitimate limitations prescribed by law that are necessary to protect a short list of legitimate aims. This is just one of the projects that the OC works on to promote FORB as a human right.
Another project, working with a completely different approach, is the ‘New Directions in Islamic Thought’ project. Many Muslims in the world today experience discord between their beliefs with the imperatives and pressures of the modern world. How should they handle the tension between their roles as private citizens and their religious affiliation and identities? In this project the OC team works together with a global team of partners and Muslim experts to build knowledge, spreading new ideas and strategies within Islamic reform thinking. This effort includes the publication of books, academic articles and informational resources. Topics such as Gender and equality in Muslim Family Law, and Challenging Blasphemy and Apostasy Laws have resulted in publications and pamphlets. (New Directions in Islamic Thought - Norwegian Centre for Human Rights)
'Which Belief, Whose Freedom', the OC anniversary conference
To commemorate the 25 years of the OC, the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights held an anniversary conference to celebrate the work of the coalition. On 5 November 2024 the conference Which Belief, Whose Freedom? was held at Litteraturhuset in Oslo. Several of the OC’s partners were invited to present, and the audience consisted of a variety of participants representing religious and life stance communities, students, government officials, and colleagues from Norway and abroad.
5 November 2024 Litteraturhuset, Oslo by Sunniva
The conference opened with opening remarks from Prof. Ragnhild Hennum (Dean of the Faculty of Law, UiO) and Prof. Nina Reiners (Acting head of department, NCHR, UiO). Lena Larsen then reflected on the history of the OC, who described, to an applauding audience that her initial appointmentas a “daunting task” however a great honor.
Prof. Nazila Ghanea (U.N. Special Rapporteur on FORB) gave the first keynote speech of the day. She addressed that religion is being misused as a pretext for violence and described this as a leading problem in the field. She then went on to portray FORB as a dance. Ghanea says that religion comes in different forms, we can choose when to engage and when to simply watch from the outside. “A dance calls on us to decide when to do it solo (…) when to let others work together, or when to join forces”.
During the second session, panelists Prof. Zainal Abidin Bagir, Prof. Thiago Alves Pinto, Mariam Gavtadze and Prof. Brett Scharffs, led my moderator Barbara Sivertsen, addressed practical implementation challenges of FORB, and reflected on their own work within the field. Gavtadze spoke about how many people see FORB as conflicting with other rights. “You are left alone in the Human Rights conversation, discussion about FORB is not always wanted at the table when human rights are discussed”, she noted. This perspective continued to be a point of discussion throughout the day.
After lunch, coffee and interesting conversations, session three on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Gender was initiated by Prof. Vibeke Blaker Strand who spoke about the legal challenges at the intersection of gender and religion. A followingpanel included contributions from Prof. Ziba Mir Hosseini on religion, gender and feminism, Lies Marcoes-Natsir on combating child marriage through knowledge building and textbooks, as resource materials for advocacy towards the government, as well as campaigns on the grassroots and Blaker Strand. The panel was followed by a video presentation by Prof. Thomas Arntzen on gender and sexuality in Orthodox Christianity. Ziba Mir Hosseini underlined the importance of conversations on difficult subjects. “The more you discuss, the more you learn. And the more you learn, the less you are afraid (of religion)”.
The conference concluded with Prof. Jeroen Temperman, giving a keynote which examined the future of FORB; ‘Looking into the Glass Bowl: Religion, Technology and Human Rights’. Lena Larsen then offered concluding remarks, including a few words of reflection on the last 25 years and emphasizing the OC's focus on ensuring that the right to FORB includes the right not to follow any religion. It is a human right which just as much entails the right not to take a religion as the right to follow a religion. Through its work, the Oslo Coalition continues to affirm and promote FORB as a flexible, individual right. It is a dance, and an individual choice to decide to engage or not.
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1 Oslo Declaration on Freedom of Religion or Belief, 1998