JULY 27- GLOBAL PANEL: Conducive Factors to Faith or Religious Belief (FoRB) Discrimination and Violence Around the World by https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo en-us 2021-07-19 10:43:42 UTC 2025-10-03 11:50:14 UTC hello@padlet.com Mamadou Boussouriou Diallo (Senateur), President, COJEDEV- Guinea globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1654630945 Mamadou Boussouriou Diallo, President of the Consortium of Youth Associations for the Defence of Victims of Violence in Guinea.  Married and the father of a 4 year old boy.
His commitment to human rights began in 2009 during the democratic transition that Guinea experienced after the death of President Lansana Conté. Alongside other young leaders of Guinean civil society, he became involved as soon as he graduated from a degree in computer engineering from the University of Conakry in 2005 to the promotion of democratic values, respect for human rights, education of young people in citizenship, non-violence and peace. He  worked as a programme officer for the joint FIDH-OGDH project for access to justice for the victims of the Conakry stadium massacres of 28 September 2009.
Long before, he participated in the documentation of human rights violations following the tragedy of 28 September 2009 alongside the Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l'Homme
of Human Rights-RADDHO as a monitor. In addition, his organisation COJEDEV has benefited for 7 years from the technical and financial support of the Global Human Rights Fund. They are members of the Guinean Coalition for the International Criminal Court where he holds the position of Secretary in charge of Communication. They provide protection to human rights activists and defenders who fight in the civic space,  the defence of public freedoms through a partnership with Freedom House.
In 2016, he benefited from a training with the International Centre for Transitional Justice before meeting the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience in September 2017 for the start of the violence prevention and community consultation project.
In 2018, he was elected Secretary General of the Coalition Nationale d'Appui à la Réconciliation en Guinée- CONAREG, which includes OGDH, AVIPA and other associations of victims of human rights violations. In September 2019, he benefited from a training course jointly organised by West African Civil Society Initiatives and the Global Human Rights Fund as part of the strengthening of strategies for collaboration between traditional grassroots organisations, social movements and Activists.


]]> 2021-07-19 10:45:44 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1654630945 Souleymane Bah, President, OGDH - Guinea globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1654631073 Geographer who started being interested in human rights in 1994. Trained at the  International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg and the Human Rights Council in Geneva. He held important  positions within the OGDH, the NGO he is currently leading.]]> 2021-07-19 10:46:03 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1654631073 Diana Abouali, Director, Arab American National Museum – USA globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1654631253 Diana Abouali is the director of the Arab American National Museum (AANM) in Dearborn, Michigan. Her career has straddled higher education, cultural heritage, and museum work. She has held a number of positions including assistant professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures (now Middle Eastern Studies) at Dartmouth College; head of research and collections at the Palestinian Museum (Birzeit, Palestine), and director of education, outreach and awareness at the Petra National Trust (Amman, Jordan). She serves on several boards and committees including ArteEast (NYC), CultureSource (Detroit), the Citizens Advisory Committee at the University of Michigan- Dearborn, and the general assembly of Taawon-Welfare Association (Palestine). Diana graduated from Wellesley College and received a PhD in History and Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University.]]> 2021-07-19 10:46:29 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1654631253 Emir Suljagic, Director, Srebrenica Genocide Memorial – Bosnia and Herzgovina globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1654631326 Emir Suljagić is a journalist, activist and the Director of the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial since 2019. Suljagić holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Hamburg. His most recent research focuses on the role the Bosnian Serb Assembly played in the process of socially constructing Bosniaks as “Turks” within the context of the genocidal policies pursued by agencies, institutions and organs under the assembly. Suljagić worked as an English interpreter for the United Nations in Srebrenica and began his career as a journalist working for the award-winning weekly Dani (Days). He worked as a correspondent for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting reporting from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Suljagić has published widely for The New York Times, the Boston Globe, AlJazeera, El Pais, Die Zeit, and Oslobođenje (Liberation) among others. Suljagić teaches International Relations at the International University of Sarajevo. His memoir Postcards from the Grave (2003) is the first account of a Srebrenica survivor to be published in English and was subsequently published in eight other languages.


]]> 2021-07-19 10:46:40 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1654631326 José Antequera, Director, Centro de Memoria, Paz y Reconciliación - Colombia globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1654631432 Lawyer from Universidad Externado de Colombia. Master in Political Studies from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. Activist. Member of the founding team of the Center for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation. Former advisor to the National Center for Historical Memory. Author of several publications. Lecturer, columnist. Representative of the victims in Colombia at the negotiation table for the Peace Agreement between the State and the FARC guerrilla. Currently Director of the Center for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation. ]]> 2021-07-19 10:46:54 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1654631432 globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662098528 From Senateur: What are the main factors behind ethnic conflicts in Guinea?

The Republic of Guinea has some 15 ethnic groups divided into social groups that share the same history, language, religion or economic activity. It has social groups grouped around languages, the most widely spoken of which are Pular, Maninka, Soussou and forest languages.
During the colonial period, the country had kingdoms that coexisted peacefully and united against colonial penetration through resistance against occupation and domination.

At independence, political parties and cultural groups were created to awaken social consciousness against the excesses of the colonial power.
We can mention among others: the Democratic Party of Guinea, the African Bloc of Guinea, the African Party for Independence of socialist obedience, cultural groups such as the Amical Vieillard, the Manding Union, the Union of the Low Coast and the Forest Union.

All of these groups agreed on the idea of independence in order to get the country out of an occupation that had lasted nearly 60 years, despite some ethnic violence that had been recorded during the 1956 legislative elections between the Democratic Party of Guinea and the African Bloc of Guinea. These events were the starting point for the instrumentalization of ethnicities by political parties.

After the historic "no" vote in the referendum proposed by General De Gaule to the overseas territories, Guinea turned to the countries of the East following the rupture of diplomatic relations with France, which were not re-established until 1976.

Under the reign of President Ahmed Sékou Touré, Guinea lived in the theory of real or imaginary conspiracies that contributed to the development of mistrust between communities. We can mention the plot of the little Touré, the plot of the teachers, the plot of Kaman-Diaby, the aggression of November 22, 1970, the plot of the traders, the plot of the Peul...

Of all these plots, the one that had an impact on social and ethnic cohesion was the Fulani plot, which led the regime of President Ahmed Sékou Touré to call for the elimination of the Peul community. Children from this community were deprived of education through the confiscation of their scholarships and other violations.


After the death of President Sékou Touré, the coup d'état by Colonel Diarra Traoré aggravated tensions between communities. All army officers of Malinke ethnicity were arrested, tortured and executed without any form of trial by elements of the Military Committee for National Recovery.

When the Baule period arrived with the opening of democracy and multipartyism, political parties were formed, unfortunately, most of them were based on region and ethnicity. The results of all the elections organized in Guinea prove this because each candidate from a locality is supported not on the basis of a program but on the basis of common ethnicity.

This is why, in light of socio-political developments, it is safe to say that one of the major causes of ethnic conflict in Guinea is related to politics. The first communal elections in 1991 saw violence between the Malinke and Kpelle in the forest region, the consequences of which are still visible because at each election we see the demons of the past awaken.]]> 2021-07-27 12:53:29 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662098528 globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662100924 In addition, religion is another cause of ethnic violence, as the influence of imams within communities is a means of propaganda and political mobilization.

The Republic of Guinea has a population whose religious beliefs are distributed as follows: 90% Muslims, 5% Christians and 5% animists.
The country has a Secretariat of Religious State attached to the Presidency of the Republic, which explains the control of political power over beliefs. The Imam of the Great Mosque of Conakry is appointed by presidential decree. 

This situation creates a kind of dependence of the religious on the political and contributes to influencing the faith of citizens.
In some of the country's prefectures, imams have very strong powers before the political and judicial authorities. They are able to change the President's mind and even prevent the execution of certain judicial decisions. Their main weapons are sermons, public lectures and mystical powers.]]> 2021-07-27 12:56:38 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662100924 globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662103354 How have Christian and Muslim religious leaders sometimes fueled violence between the different communities?

During the local elections of February 4, 2018, the imam of the main mosque of Kindia took a position against the election to the office of Mayor of the city of any citizen from another community other than the one to which he belongs. 
This contributed to the violence between Fulani and Sousou under the indifferent eye of the political authorities and the direct complicity of some magistrates.
Although the election and the political agreement gave the Fulani candidate the potential winner, the local religious authorities used their influence to impose a different reality.
In 2009, after the massacres at the Conakry stadium on September 28, Bishop Vincent Koulibaly formally took a position in favor of Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, a Christian from the same region as himself. 
For him, it was the organizers of the September 28, 2009 demonstration who were behind the violence committed at the Conakry stadium and not the military in the pay of the National Council for Democracy and Development. According to him, the objective was to tarnish the image of the country before the international community.]]> 2021-07-27 13:00:00 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662103354 globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662105367 How do we deconstruct this discourse? In the context of our Sites of Conscience, how history and memory work are essential to building an inclusive society

In Guinea, to reduce the influence of religious discourse in the political arena, administrative reforms are needed to separate the state from religion. Religious freedom must be exercised without effective control by public authorities. It is simply a matter of regulation. 
Guinea is a secular state as mentioned in the constitution, but in reality, religion influences politics and vice versa at all levels. There is even an association of marabouts recognized by the state.
Within the framework of the sites of conscience, the work of history and memory must allow us to learn from the experience of certain countries where religious discrimination, intolerance, extremism and terrorism reign.
History teaches us that human beings should not be persecuted or discriminated against on the basis of their ethnic identity, language or religion.
All human cultures must accept and respect each other for a just and peaceful world, otherwise external factors can lead to separations and break age-old ties between communities.]]> 2021-07-27 13:02:38 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662105367 globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662108493 2021-07-27 13:06:45 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662108493 globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662116389 2021-07-27 13:16:30 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662116389 globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662125571 from Diana:

The perceived religious factor is not the main trait in this conflict. This is a purely political conflict rooted in Nationhood that uses religion as a defining category. This is a conflict between the occupier forces and the occupied population. In other words, it is a political conflict over control of the land and an example of settler colonialism and apartheid. 

Since the occupation began in June 1967, Israel's policies of land confiscation, illegal settlement and dispossession, coupled with widespread discrimination, have inflicted immense suffering on the Palestinian population by stripping them of their fundamental rights.

Israel's military regime disrupts daily life in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in all its aspects. It continues to affect how and when Palestinians can - and if they can - travel to work or school, travel abroad, visit relatives, earn a living, attend a protest event, and access their farmland or even the supply of electricity or drinking water.  The rights of the Palestinian population living in the West Bank and Israeli territories are systemically violated. We are talking about a system of apartheid in which the Palestinian population is not only replaced and eliminated, erased from the territory, but in which the Palestinian population residing in Israel is not only replaced and eliminated, erased from the territory, but also faces restriction of mobility and difficulties to access basic services.

]]> 2021-07-27 13:26:54 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662125571 globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662127544 2021-07-27 13:28:45 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662127544 globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662128526 2021-07-27 13:29:33 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662128526 globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662139174 2021-07-27 13:41:09 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662139174 globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662141571 from Emir:

Violence against Bosnian Muslims lies in two overlapping processes: the reconceptualisation of Bosnian Muslims’ identity and the mainstreaming of the intent to annihilate them.

The reconceptualisation of identity refers to the process by which the victim group is portrayed as “lying outside the political community”, as “an almost superhumanly powerful enemy whose continued existence threatens the very survival of the political community”, or paradoxically as sub- or non-human, according to political scientist Maureen S. Hiebert.

Karadzic had a wealth of imagery and heritage to draw on in reconceptualising Bosnian Muslims; from the early 19th Century to the formation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia to the Second World War, “the Muslims in the Balkans sometimes became viewed as a kind of ethnic ‘fifth column’, left over from a previous era, who could never be integrated successfully into the planned future national states”, historian Cathie Carmichael wrote in her article ‘The Ethnic Cleansing of Slav Muslims and its Role in Serbian and Montenegrin Discourses since 1800’.

Islam was the element of the Bosnian Muslims’ identity that lent itself most to reconceptualisation. It was therefore used by the Serb elites to construct Bosnian Muslims as a mortal threat that must be physically removed from the projected Serb states to be built on the ruins of Yugoslavia. Both as a prelude to violence as well as when it started in earnest, the motif of ‘the Turk’ was prevalent.  

Religion is  a dangerous instrument in the hands of a cynical political class who goes after the destruction of another group. Then, the prospective of genocide rises on the horizon]]> 2021-07-27 13:43:43 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662141571 globalprogramsicsc https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662144213 from Hassoum Ceesay (NCAC- Gambia)

For a country in transition like ours,  working on a new constitution, the issue of religious diversity is crucial. In our case, secularity became a fractionalizing element that is impeding the formalisation of the new constitution, since part of the muslim population will not accept it.]]> 2021-07-27 13:46:50 UTC https://padlet.com/globalprogramsicsc/6px63zkz8wi0cbuo/wish/1662144213