A European religious freedom group wants the United Nations human rights body to examine what it claims has been a “campaign of intolerance, discrimination, and persecution of the Unification Church” in Japan following the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
A formal complaint has been filed with the UN Human Rights Committee over “a campaign of intolerance, discrimination, and persecution of the Unification Church” in Japan, where media outlets, government officials, and leftist lawyers have joined forces to blame the Church for the assassination of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The complaint, filed by the Paris-based NGO Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience (CAP-LC), asks that the UN Human Rights Committee address “the ongoing suffering” of the members of the Unification Church/Family Federation in Japan when it holds its 136th Session from October 10, 2022 to November 4, 2022.
The 22-page complaint, which mentions the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), details how “the human rights of the members of the Unification Church in Japan were seriously, systematically and blatantly violated” since the July 8 assassination, allegedly by a man who hated the Unification Church because his mother was a member and supported the Church’s activities.
The complaint tells the alarming story of how anti-Unification Church lawyers and others have used the Japanese media to twist this national tragedy into a bizarre narrative that makes the alleged assassin into a victim of the Unification Church and blames the Church for the assassination. Church members have suffered hundreds of personal attacks, assaults, death threats, acts of vandalism, and other forms of public punishment.
“UPF concurs with the CAP-LC complaint that a grave miscarriage of justice is being carried out by some misguided people in Japan,” said UPF Chairman Thomas G. Walsh. “UPF works to build peace around the world, and we abhor ‘hate speech,’ religious persecution, gun violence, and using the media to spread rumors and false allegations. We hope the UN Human Rights Committee will quickly investigate this complaint and stand up for religious freedom in Japan.”
Japan is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). According to the CAP-LC complaint, Japanese authorities, members of the media, and others are violating the ICCPR by perpetuating acts that:
–Threaten Unification Church members’ personal security, and cause religious discrimination against them in the workplace, schools and other educational establishments (Articles 9 and 18.3 ICCPR).
–Cause “arbitrary interference” in Unification Church members’ private lives, and foment slanderous attacks on their “honor and reputation” because of their religion (Articles 17 and 19.3.a ICCPR).
–Deny freedom of belief, cause discrimination against a particular religion, and/or deny an unpopular or minority group their freedom of religion (Article 18.1 ICCPR).
–Deny the right of political participation to all citizens, irrespective of their gender, ethnicity, or religion (Article 25 ICCPR).
The complaint chastises the Japanese government for operating a “telephone consultation service” for people who are “experiencing trouble” with the Unification Church. The service refers callers to “professional consultation entities including those offering legal help,” which “presumably” includes anti-Unification Church lawyers, the complaint said, adding this is “a clear case of discrimination prohibited by the ICCPR.”
Another “blatant” violation stems from public efforts to “name and shame” Japanese politicians who have attended UPF events and those of other organisations connected with the Unification Church. Article 25 of ICCPR protects both the rights of citizens to participate in the democratic process and the freedom of elected officials to “consult and cooperate with leaders and members of religions of their choice,” the complaint said.
Read a more in-depth article here: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/sep/20/rights-group-seeks-un-probe-pressure-campaign-agai/
