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Danish Forum for Freedom of Religion or Belief

In 2018, the Danish Forum for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) was established in connection with the Danish Government’s initiative for Freedom of Religion or Belief. The aim of the Forum for FoRB is to gather relevant Danish actors from all faith-based and secular civil society backgrounds in Denmark, including academia, religious institutions, and others who wish to engage in and discuss the Danish efforts on freedom of religion or belief abroad.


Summary of the previous meeting in the danish forum for freedom of religion or belief  Danish forum for freedom of religion or belief, 28 May 2024 

The latest meeting of the Danish Forum for Freedom of Religion or Belief took place on 28 May 2024 at the Danish Institute for Human Rights. The theme was “Exploring intersectionalities between the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), 
Indigenous peoples’ rights, climate change and environmental protection”.

Participants included a delegation representing the Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN) in Cambodia, civil society organisations, representatives from human rights organisations and others, who work within the field of freedom of religion or belief. The meeting was moderated by Julie Koch, Secretary General for Danmission.

Special Representative for Freedom of Religion of Belief, Karen Grønlund Rogne, welcomed the Forum, emphasizing the value of sharing experiences and knowledge on working with FoRB.

Martin Rosenkilde Pedersen, Programme Director, Danmission, presented Danmission's project with the PLCN. The project highlights the complexities of working with FoRB and environmental protection in a Cambodian context where the right to FoRB is restricted, and the rate of deforestation is very high. The Cambodian delegation explained the importance of protecting the places of worship in the forest since they are sacred to the Indigenous population and that this objective is conflicted by deforestation as well as restrictions imposed by authorities in accessing sacred sites and practising the Kuy people's faith traditions.

The FoRB project was therefore essential in both protecting natural resources and understanding Indigenous practices and identity.

The Deputy Director of the Essex Human Rights Centre and former UN Special Rapporteur on FoRB, Ahmed Shaheed, shared important insights into how it can be crucial to engage with human rights and intersecting issues, including the specific complexities of human rights and Indigenous peoples. Danmission's former Cambodia director, Ernst Jürgensen, added specific examples from his work in Cambodia. He explained how government restrictions on community access to the Prey Lang forest left Indigenous communities with no choice but to practice their religion outside the forest.

Questions during the Q&A session focused on the situation of both FoRB and Indigenous peoples' rights, how deforestation has affected the situation of Indigenous peoples, and how to protect the forest areas and communities with support from either Danmission projects or EU projects.

The meeting provided a good opportunity to broaden the scope of the Forum by focusing on concrete examples of projects which promote the rights of FoRB on the ground.