New York, July 28 (Just News): Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, delivered closing keynote remarks last night at the State Department’s Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom on the linkage between peace and security, human rights, and religious freedom, at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
“There is a remarkable overlap between the countries that deny religious freedom and the countries that threaten peace and security. This is why it is so frustrating at the United Nations Security Council that they don’t consider religious liberty – as well as other human rights – to be an appropriate subject for its consideration. Until the U.S. presidency of the Security Council last year, the Security Council had never had a session focused exclusively on human rights, not to mention religious rights.”
“Denial of religious freedom is so destructive because it represents the state elevating itself above the divine. In America, our rights – including the right to worship and believe freely – are outside of the realm of government. Denial of religious freedom is the ultimate authoritarianism. Limiting or denying religious freedom is a key way for governments to exert control over their people. Authoritarian governments see independent religious communities as threats to their power and, at times, their existence.”
“We will continue to forcefully advocate for religious tolerance in the international arena. Not just because so many people are being denied this right, but because defending religious freedom makes for a safer and more peaceful world for all of us. Where there is religious tolerance, there is political tolerance. And where there is political tolerance, there is peace, security, and prosperity.”
(Justnews/ys/2320hr)
