Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland
November 16 & 17, 2020
The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has affected citizens of countries all over the world. A lot of people lost their loved ones, but the pandemic has also influenced public health, labor market, economy and social live. There is no single person who was not affected by the pandemic in some way.
However, persons belonging to minority groups are among the most exposed and vulnerable to those disruptions. We need to be aware that the actions that are being undertaken during the pandemic can endanger rights and are in some cases used to justify repressive changes to legislation, disinformation campaigns as well as to increase hate speech or stigmatization of minority groups, including persons belonging to religious minorities.
On 16 and 17 of November 2020 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Mr. Zbigniew Rau, will convene the "Third Ministerial Conference to Advance Freedom of Religion or Belief." High-level representatives of states and multilateral organizations, civil society and religious leaders will meet to discuss the situation of religious minorities and how to support them in order to achieve mutual understanding and cooperation between members belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities… more
