Mexico's Congress to Host Forum on Religious Intolerance
With over 200 cases of religious intolerance registered in Mexico during the current presidential term, human rights experts and authorities have called for a forum to be hosted in Mexico City to address the issue.
According to an announcement, the forum, initiated by a congresswoman, will provide professional assistance to pastors and church leaders to prevent and solve issues regarding religious intolerance. The event is scheduled to be hosted by Mexico's Congress on Friday.
The congresswoman, Rosario Brindis Alvarez, member of the Human Rights Commission of the current legislature, said she has "documented over 225 cases of intolerance and religious discrimination that occurred in the last four years, ranging from murder to the expulsion of children from federal schools accused of different ideological preferences."
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Alvarez is carrying out these forums and workshops to aid pastors in taking legal action against religious discrimination, she added.
The National Commission on Human Rights, the National Council to Prevent Discrimination and specialists in the field will participate in the event.
The forum is the beginning of a series of activities designed to train worship leaders and ministers whose congregations are suffering or have suffered the violation of individual rights on grounds of religion, Alvarez added.
While the government generally respects religious freedom, there have been some restrictions and abuses, according to the U.S. State Department's latest International Religious Freedom Report.
In March 2010, five evangelicals were arrested in Ixtlán de Juárez, Oaxaca, for failing to contribute to a local Catholic festival. After their release, local authorities forced them to leave the community.
The National Commission on Human Rights registered a complaint against local authorities in the same municipality who in August 2009 allegedly burned down an evangelical church and threatened to lynch approximately 70 evangelical Christians, including 25 children. Local authorities also prevented evangelical families from participating in the federal assistance program "Oportunidades." The Oaxaca Human Rights Commission denounced these actions and issued a recommendation to local authorities to uphold religious freedom and train local officials in religious tolerance, but tensions reportedly continued.
