A set of 12 basic rules for the guidance of all states that are members of the United Nations toward the prevention of discrimination in religious matters was placed before the United Nations today. The rules were proposed by a famous Indian social scientist, Dr. Arkot Krishnaswami, who reported to the Subcommission for the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. That body, a unit of the Human Rights Commission, is currently holding its eleventh annual session here.
Religious rights of great importance to Jews in many countries around the world are included among the rules formulated by Dr. Krishnaswami. The rules relate to prevention of discrimination with regard to dietary practices, marriages, funerals, dissolution of marriages, observance of religious holidays, training of religious leaders and other such religious practices.
Today’s report by Dr. Krishnaswami was a supplement to one on the same subject which he filed with the subcommission last year. The social scientist told the subcommission that although there is an increasing trend toward freedom of religion and belief throughout the world, “those areas where discrimination remains, the problem is certainly one of great urgency.”
Dr. Krishnaswami laid stress on the problem of religious freedom for children separated from their surroundings as a result of “events such as mass migration, massacre or partition of a country.” The welfare of the child, he continued, “must be the paramount consideration, and the new situation of the child should not be used as a pretext for proselytizing.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
