Dr. Montse Gas, a lecturer in the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences and the Director of the Institute of Advanced Family Studies, presented the paper «Asylum for Religious Persecution in Europe» on Wednesday, 2 October 2013, at the International Conference on Religious Diversity Governance and Territorial and Personal Law, which took place at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 2 to 4 October 2013.
During the presentation, Dr. Gas analysed religious asylum situations being experienced in Europe today. The lecturer went on to examine some of the conflicts between nations and religious creeds that have occurred in Europe in recent years, despite the high rate of free religious conversion among Europeans. Dr. Gas reflected on how to resolve and avoid such conflicts in the future.
The conference, organized jointly by the Inter-university Group for Cultural Rights and Diversity, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Universitat de Barcelona, reflected on questions such as, “Can the application of personal principles to diverse groups facilitate coexistence in a pluralist state?” There followed an objective discussion which took the current model in Israel as a starting point and considered, from a cultural and religious standpoint, the positive aspects and possible drawbacks of a system under which both territorial and personal principles coexist at the service of a pluralist society.
The discussions were an opportunity to exchange opinions and proposals aimed at resolving conflicts in which respect for human rights is at risk.
In addition to presenting the paper, Dr. Gas took part in the conference's scientific committee as a member of the Inter-university Group for Cultural Rights and Diversity.
