Geneva-In an address to the Human Rights Commission in Geneva, the Holy See's permanent observer to the United Nations, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, warned that a new form of religious intolerance is emerging. It denies the right of religiously observant people to state their principles in public life.

Noting that religious freedom continues to be violated in places around the world, he said, "There is the added dimension of non-state groups taking upon themselves the initiative of discrimination and even the use of violence against religious minorities."

He reminded the assembly that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 18) states that, "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.." He went on to say that "religious freedom includes both an individual and an institutional dimension. The respect for the institutional dimension of religious freedom is necessary so as to guarantee full recognition and promotion of the individual aspect of the same right."

The archbishop reminded the Human Rights Commission of its role in the defence of religious freedom. He called on the commission to continue to "ensure that human rights norms concerning religious freedom become recognized and practised by member states."

"Religious freedom," he said, "is a cornerstone of the structure of human rights, and for this reason an irreplaceable factor in the good of individuals and of the whole society." Furthermore, the "positive role of believers in public life should be recognized" for there to exist a "healthy pluralism" and the "building of authentic democracy."

He also spoke on migration and more particularly on the trafficking of captive people. Human trafficking has become a multibillion-dollar industry. About one million people annually are illegally transported across national borders (this does not include those who lose their lives in the process).

In the new country, most, because of their irregular position, are exploited by slave-like work or sexual abuse, thus, said Archbishop Tomasi, "stripping people of their God-given dignity and fuelling corruption and organized crime."

The archbishop recommended a multilateral approach to the problem, involving international co-operation in the prevention and prosecution of trafficking and less restrictive immigration policies, combined with promotion of sustainable economic development in poor countries (Zenit, April 20, 2004).