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Secretary General

Message from the Secretary General - April 2002

International Religious Liberty Association
Legal Meeting, April 17, 2002

1. Remarks from the Secretary General

The International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA) is becoming one of the major non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the field of religious freedom. The United Nations invited members from the IRLA to the Consultative Conference of Madrid on Religious Tolerance and Education. The High Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission, Mary Robinson, asked the officials there if she could speak with a representative from an NGO working for religious tolerance. The organizers at the United Nations proposed thatshe speak with members of the IRLA, saying: "It is the best!" It is a generous compliment, but it also is a good sign that we are on the right track. I had the privilege of speaking with Mary Robinson and her Advisor, Professor Kevin Boyle, in a private meeting. She stated that associations such as ours are very important after September 11, as bridge-builders between people from different faiths and beliefs.

Let me share with you what the IRLA has accomplished this year:

1) The reconstruction of the website www.irla.org has been completed.
2) We changed the design of our journal Fides et Libertas, and published the fourth issue.
3) With the North American Religious Liberty Association (NARLA) and IRLA-Peru, we organized two international meetings: the Bermuda Conference and the Lima Conference.
4) With the University of Extremadura and the Ministry of Justice of Spain, we organized the third Meeting of Experts on Religious freedom and Tolerance in Education. From this meeting, the Ministry of Justice of Spain published a book on the subject.
5) In August, we collaborated with our Yugoslavian Chapter in the first symposium on religious freedom there. For the first time, Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, and Adventists spent three days together working on the theme of religious freedom. We brought six experts on religious liberty to the meeting and met the Minister of Religious Affairs. The timing was excellent as the government was working on a new religious law.
6) Two important meetings were organized in Washington with Ambassador Robert Seiple and the new Ambassador-at-Large on International Religious Freedom, John Hanford. Twenty-five representatives from NGOs and religious organizations attended the first meeting, and 42 attended the second. A third meeting is planned for December.
7) We hosted many representatives from 13 European countries at our headquarters with supper and some words from Dr. Jan Paulsen.
8) Our association co-sponsored a symposium on "Proselytism and Religious Freedom" with Andrews University.
9) We collaborated with Andrews University to create the International Center of Government and Religion. Andrews University has launched a new Master's program in Religious and Government Relations. We thank the History Department for this initiative.

As we look forward to our Fifth World Congress in Manila, June 10-13, we want to thank God for His blessings, and the General Conference for its support.

We increased our visibility in New York with two interns working from our United Nations office. In Geneva and in Washington on Capitol Hill, Dr. Gallagher and Attorney James Standish are expanding our strength and representation, making our organization more visible. We now have offices in downtown Washington and in New York, and may increase the number of our interns.

I would like to thank Viola Hughes, who assists with media relations; Don Robinson, our treasurer; Mitch Tyner, our Legal Advisor; and our Vice-Presidents, among them Robert Nixon and Dr. Bert Beach-our expert in interchurch relations.

Every year we publish the World Report on Religious Freedom. It is one of our best tools to inform international organizations and governments about persecution and religious freedom violations. Most of our Division correspondents send us the information we need, but some are modest in sharing information.

World Congress
Among our guest speakers at this Congress, we will have experts on International Religious Freedom coming from Asia, Europe, Russia, and the United States. We are privileged to have the United Nations Special Rapporteur, a representative from the Human Rights Commission, Ambassador Robert Seiple, with us. We hope to have the current President of the Philippines and two past Presidents, Mrs. Aquino and Mr. Ramos. We will have the President of the Senate and representatives from different religions such as Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.

Our program will provide opportunity for the NGOs to share religious liberty problems they are facing in their countries. A Hearing Committee will also be studying some cases of violations against religious freedom.

The World Congress will be followed by the first meeting of the International Association of Adventists in Public Affairs (IAAPA), a Festival of Religious Freedom, and an International Training Seminar for Public Affairs.

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