Heiner Bielefeldt Named Special Rapporteur

As the UN Human Rights Council concluded its fourteenth regular session, the German Catholic theologian, philosopher, and historian, Professor Dr. Heiner Bielefeldt was named Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur having been extended for another three years (A/HRC/14/L.5/Rev. 1), a new Rapporteur was named at the closing meeting of the fourteenth regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on 18 June 2010.  Bielefeldt, Chair in human rights and human rights policies of the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, was appointed to replace Pakistani lawyer Asma Jahangir, who has served in the post since 2004. From 2003 to 2009 Bielefeldt was director of the German Institute for Human Rights in Berlin. Heavily involved in interfaith dialogue, he is a trustee of both the Muslim Academy in Germany and the Christian-Islamic society.