By Liviu Olteanu, PhD, Secretary General of the International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty
Her Excellency Ms. MARIJA PEJCINOVIC BURIC, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe (CoE), exchanged ideas in Strasbourg with Dr. Liviu Olteanu, Secretary-General of the AIDLR on the influence of the CoE upon all its 47 countries
Strasbourg, 2nd October 2019
The importance of the pillars of the Council of Europe - Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law - and how to provide international support, was the subject of the meeting between the Honorable Marija PEJCINOVIC BURIC, the new Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, and Dr. Liviu Olteanu, Secretary-General of the International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty. During their meeting, the AIDLR Secretary-General, expressed his strong support on the mandate of the Secretary-General, and by means of education, fostering the Council of Europe’s pillars in all territories as a solution for peace and harmony for all people and nations. The Secretary-General of the AIDLR congratulated the CoE Secretary-General Ms. Pejcinovic Buric for her message delivered at the Parliamentary Assembly where she said: “Member States and Council of Europe bodies must demonstrate complete and unconditional respect for legal standards and obligations under international law. More widely, greater focus is needed on some long-term recurring trends in our member states. These include restrictions on civil society and human rights defenders, persistent gender inequality and gender-based violence…”. During the meeting that took place on 2 October 2019 in Strasbourg, Dr. Liviu Olteanu offered the Secretary-General of the CoE, the AIDLR’s 70th Anniversary journal, “Ambassadors for Liberty, Hope and Peace”, together with two books belonging to the ‘Conscience and Liberty’ collection: “Diplomacy and Education for Religious Freedom: theRole of preventive diplomacy and education on changing mindsets and fostering sustainable development goals (SDGs)”, and “Religion Freedom’s Influence on Peace and Security”; these journals and books are good practice tools of in the arena of human rights, fundamental freedoms, peace and security, that can help the countries of the Council of Europe, amongst others, focusing on the defense of the principle of freedom of conscience for all people.
