Missionary Activities and Human Rights
Project group: Sven Tore Koster - Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations, Egil Lothe - the Norwegian Buddhist Association, Dag Nygaard - The Council of Religious and Life Stance Communities in Norway, Gard Lindseth - Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations
Referansegruppe: Lars Gule - the Norwegian Humanist Association and the Oslo College, Bjørn A. Wegge - Norwegian Missions to the East, Ernst Harbakk - Areopagos, Gerd Marie Aadna (Stavanger Missionary College), Vedbjørn Horsfjord (European Council of Religious Leaders), Thom Arne Hellerslia (Lawyer), Senaid Kobilica (Islamic Council)
The aim of this project is to contribute, on the basis of human rights, to the prevention of conflicts arising from missionary activities.
The project group aims to promote knowledge among missionary organisations of the statements issued on missionary activities from the UNHRC, the European Union Human Rights Tribunal and other commissions and committees.The group also aims to raise awareness of how the human rights ethic ensures the rights of the individual where missionary activities are a source of conflict, and commits religious organisations to respect these rights.
Background Paper on the Work of the Working Group (Framework Document)
Aims and Objectives of the Working Group
The project: Code of Conduct for Missionary Activities
The activities of people promoting various religions and worldviews have frequently given rise to conflicting views. On the one hand such activities can in some cases violate the human rights of the target group or contravene the ethical standards governing the relations between followers of different religions or worldviews. On the other hand activities defined as missionary activities are in some cases subject to draconian measures by local and national authorities – thereby violating the human rights of those who conduct such activities. Conflicts connected to missionary activities constitute a very sensitive aspect of inter-religious relations that have led to various forms of violence.Through an inclusive process of seminars, meetings and internet communication, the Oslo Coalition project group on Missionary Activities and Human Rights has, since 2006, been exploring how considerations of ethics and human rights may lead to commonly agreed norms for missionary activities. This has resulted in the formulation of the first draft of an ethical Code of Conduct for Missionary Activities, which was sent out to hearing, and was available on the website for comments from January 2008. This Code of Conduct is not intended as a set of rules to be followed by all, rather as a stimulation to, and perhaps a tenplate for, internal discussion on the ethical sides of their activities within those organisations that have missionary activities as one of their main aims.
In 2009:
The Code of Conducts has been redrafted in reponse to the input from the international conference in November 2008 (see below). The new edition will be discussed and finalised at an international editing committee meeting in Oslo in June 2009, after which it will be disseminated to institutes and organisations all over the world in the hope that it will be used as a starting point for discussion for individual organisations to create their own Codes
In 2008:
- At the Håndverkeren Conference Centre, Oslo, 25th. and 26th. November 2008 an international conference was held to discuss the drafted "Code of Conduct for Missionary Activities" before the editing for the final official version. The intention was to ensure representation of a broad specter of religious organisations involved in missionary activities and researchers that have studied related cases. At the same time we used the opportunity to show the products of other similar cooperative activities, notably the “Agreement on Religious Conversion” signed by the Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations and the Islamic Council of Norway.
For the conference rapport click here, and for the appendixes to the report, click here. - The Draft Code of Conduct for Missionary Activities draft version was translated into Sinhalese, and discussed in Sri Lanka. Read more here.
- It was also the main topic of meetings with the relgious heads of 6 Buddhist monasteries during the visit of OC representatives to Mongolia, see report here.
In 2007:
A seminar entitled "What is Christian and Muslim Mission?" was held in Oslo in June. Participants were given a presentation of Christian missionary work and of Muslim missionary work, the philosphies behind them and how they are carried out in practice. The discussion addressed the question of human rights in relation to missionary work in the light of the presentations. For a report of the seminar (in Norwegian), see here.
In the course of 2007, through a series of meetings and e-mail interchanges, a first draft of a "Code of Conduct for Missionary Activities" was drawn up.
Earlier projects:
Please note: some of the links below link to our old website. Please use the arrows on your browser to come back to this website.
- International Workshop on Missionary Activities and Human Rights, August/September 2006:
Report from the workshop (.doc)
Workshop programme (.doc)
Background for the workshop
Press report from the conference (in Norwegian) ("Misjoneringsom menneskerett" Vårt Land 06.09.06)
- Report from fact finding mission to Sri Lanka
- Report from fact finding mission to Aserbajdsjan, januar 2006
