CSW welcomes the appointment of Mairead McGuinness as the new EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) outside the EU.  

The appointment comes after over a year of vacancy and repeated calls from civil society and the European Parliament for the position to be filled, and was confirmed on 26 March in an EU news statement.

Ms McGuinness has been a prominent figure in the leadership of the EU institutions over the last decade, having served in the last College of Commissioners (2020-2024) as Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services, and the Capital Markets Union; and prior to that as First Vice-President of the European Parliament.

While the EU’s human rights policy is overseen by the European External Action Service (EEAS), the Special Envoy position falls under the authority of the European Commission. The EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Kasja Ollongren, will continue to guide the implementation of EU activity on freedom of religion or belief in third countries, in keeping with the Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2027.

CSW’s Europe Liaison Officer Jonathan de Leyser said: ‘After another long wait for the mandate to be filled, we are pleased that an appointment has been made, and congratulate Ms McGuinness. Having recently held very senior roles within the EU institutions, we look forward to seeing how she will advance the mandate, with good coordination across the EU institutions. We look forward to working with the Special Envoy to develop further the EU's proclivity and capacity to promote the human right to freedom of religion or belief around the world.’