European Commission appoints special envoy for defending believers’ rights

Mairead McGuinness. Photo: rte.ie

The European Commission has appointed Mairead McGuinness as Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the European Union. The former European Commissioner for financial services will now take responsibility for defending freedom of religion as part of fundamental human rights, an Irish media outlet reports.

The post had remained vacant for the past year after veteran Belgian diplomat Frans van Daele stepped down. Human rights advocates and members of the European Parliament had previously sharply criticized Brussels over the prolonged delay in making a new appointment, saying it gave the impression that EU authorities had little interest in protecting the rights of believers.

Dutch MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen said the new special envoy faces “significant work across the globe.” In his view, urgent attention must be given to the severe violence and persecution faced by Christians in Nigeria and neighboring countries, the situation of religious minorities in Syria, and anti-conversion laws in Pakistan and India.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that a court in Finland had convicted an MP over a Christian booklet criticizing LGBT ideology.

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