Working to promote freedom of conscience for every person, no matter who they are or where they live.

July 2003

Dear Members of the IRLA Boards:

We are already in July and I need to share with you some information about the past six months. I hope you are all well and I want to thank you for your support.

  1. IRLA Gets the NGO-UN ECOSOC Consultative Status The IRLA received notice in May 2003 that it now has NGO-UN ECOSOC Consultative Status. This is the result of the work of my associates: Wintley Phipps who began the research, and Richard Lee Fenn who made the first step in the UN-DPI recognition process. Jonathan Gallagher and Viola Hughes worked hard to get the status. In order to help the IRLA obtain recognized status they took several trips to New York, where they made and maintained many contacts at the UN. I would also like to thank our volunteers in New York who also worked hard to help the IRLA become recognized: Matt Mills, Samantha Burchard, and Mindy Rahn. And now it's done! What does it mean? As IRLA representatives we will be able to speak during the Plenary Session of the Human rights Commission and of course have better access to the government delegations. It is a great step which will give more credibility to our work.

  2. Liberty Tour in USA In January and February all of our team was involved in a tour to promote Liberty Magazine and religious freedom in the U.S. I was invited to speak in Beaverton (Oregon) January 25th and in Auburn (Washington) February 1st. February 14-23rd I gave several lectures in California: Yucaipa on February 15th, Pacific Union College on February 18th, Weimar Institute on February 20th, and Fresno on February 22-23rd for a great rally. My colleagues Brad Newton and Alan Reinach afforded me the privilege to be introduced at the opening session of the California Senate by Senator Knight. Religious freedom has a very good team of promoters in California.

  3. Training Seminar in Moscow Victor Krushenitsky organized a training seminar, March 3-7th, for IRLA experts from the countries of the former Soviet Union. As usual, Victor did a great work. I spent three days with them.

  4. International Symposium in Bulgaria From Moscow I flew to Sofia to participate in an international symposium organized by the International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty (IADRL). Secretary General Maurice Verfaillie and his Bulgarian team did an excellent work. Among the speakers were Rosa Maria Martinez de Codes, Jean Bauberot, and Rik Torfs. I was interviewed by the National Radio.

  5. Romanian Tour We drove to Bucharest from Sofia with Pastor Dumitrescu and Viorel Dima. From March 11-18th we gave lectures in several cities and participated in three symposiums for regional authorities. Viorel has organized symposiums in 35 Romanian cities since 2001. In Bucharest we met with students and gave TV interviews. The special programs in churches made this tour very interesting. Once more Viorel Dima and his team did a wonderful work. The Union of Adventists and its President, Adrian Bocaneanu, were very supportive.

  6. Liberty Dinner on Capital Hill James Standish organized, with the support of the IRLA and Liberty Magazine, the First Annual Liberty Dinner on April 2, 2003. Keynote speaker Ambassador-at-Large John Hanford eloquently addressed several pertinent religious liberty issues in his speech. Six ambassadors attended the dinner and more than 30 ambassadors were represented. We also had several legislators present. I had the privilege to give special IRLA/Liberty Awards to Congressman Christopher Smith, Attorney Lee Boothby and Victor Krushenitsky. James and his team did very well.

  7. Washington Coalition On April 30th, we hosted the 4th Washington Coalition chaired by Ambassador Robert Seiple. A very interesting analysis about the current situation and the future of China was given by Professor Carol Hamrin, an expert on China. The next meeting is planned for November 6, 2003.

  8. Visit of the Ambassador of Morocco We had the privilege to welcome His Excellency Azziz Mekouar, the newly appointed Ambassador of Morocco to the United States at the IRLA World Headquarters on May 2, 2003. Ambassador Mekouar is interested in the work of the IRLA and the challenges to religious freedom in the world.

  9. Trip to Cyprus I was in Cyprus May 5-9th to prepare for the annual meeting of the Conference of the Secretaries of the Christian World Communions. I was the guest of the Orthodox Monastery of Kikko.

  10. First International Symposium in Kazakhstan From Cyprus I went to Almaty, Kazakhstan, May 9-15th, with Mitch Tyner. The program was well- prepared and useful: training seminars on religious freedom, lectures in churches, meetings with government officials, and the organization of the IRLA chapter in Kazakhstan. We held a symposium on May 14th where most religions were represented. The symposium was well-covered by the media and the IRLA received the support of the Oslo Coalition. We had an opportunity to talk with the President of the Oslo Coalition and to plan a few common projects. Then Mitch and Victor went onto Uzbekistan to establish our IRLA chapter there.

  11. Meeting in Geneva with the Catholic Theologians I was in Geneva May 19-22nd for the working group of the SC/CWC as the new secretary and for a meeting coordinated by Bert Beach between the Adventists and the Catholic theologians. Religious freedom was not absent from our conversation.

  12. IRLA 5th Meeting of Experts Our 5th Meeting of Experts was held June 9-11th at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. Professor Rosa Maria Martinez de Codes lost her mother the day she would have come to Leuven, therefore she and Professor de le Hera were unable to attend the meeting. Professor Jacques Robert joined us and brought his warm presence. Rik Torfs and his team did a great work and everything was perfect. The final text and the details of the meeting are on our website www.irla.org along with the pictures and report by Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. The next Meeting of Experts is planned for June 17-20th in the Castle of Klingenthal near Strasbourg.

  13. An IRLA Affiliated Association in "Paradise" On the beautiful island of Tahiti, we have an IRLA affiliated association, and I had the privilege to attend their board meeting. Their main work has been to help students and workers who have problems due to religious convictions. Fortunately French Polynesia has a culture of tolerance; the people are religious but they also accept religious pluralism. While there, I shook the hand of President Gaston Flosse in his "palace".

  14. Visit of the Ambassador of Bulgaria We had the privilege to welcome Her Excellency Elena Borislavova Poptodorova, the Ambassador of Bulgaria to the United States, for a special luncheon on July 8th. James met her in Washington and invited her to visit us. All the guests greatly enjoyed listening to Her Excellency speaks perfect English with a British accent. She is also fluent in Italian and French. During her remarks, she expounded intelligently on the Bulgarian legislation and the progress it has made for religious freedom.

  15. Visit of Imam Ilgar Allahverdiyev During my trip to Tahiti, IRLA President Denton Lotz and the IRLA team welcomed IRLA Azerbaijan President Imam Ilgar Allahverdiyev to our World Headquarters. (See www.irla.org). We now have Muslim officers in several of our IRLA chapters.

  16. Russian Delegation of 35 Civil and Government Leaders Visits IRLA IRLA board member Professor Cole Durham hosted a group of 35 experts from Russia in our world headquarters. This visit was part of the Open World Program sponsored by the U.S. Library of Congress. IRLA Vice Presidents Bert B. Beach and Eugene Hsu, together with Deputy Secretary General Jonathan Gallagher, welcomed the Russian leaders.

  17. Here are some of our plans for the next couple of months:
    • July 24-27th I will be in Sao Paulo to give lectures during a seminar for 500 pastors. From there I will fly to Winnipeg where I am invited for the Lutheran World Federation World Session.
    • At the end of July, Mitch Tyner will travel to Iraq to meet with the new authorities on behalf of the IRLA. We are planning to organize a symposium in Baghdad in October.
    • The first part of August I will be in Geneva for holidays and the UN Human Rights Commission.
    • From Geneva I will go to Santiago, Chile in the latter part of August for the IRLA International Congress along with Ambassador Seiple, Prof. Cardoso, Prof. Martinez de Codes, Dr. Hsu, and Dr. Gallagher. The theme this year is "Religious Freedom: A Permanent Challenge". The congress is being organized by IRLA Chile.

Please keep your interest strong for religious freedom and visit our website at www.IRLA.org.

May God bless all of you,

John Graz
Secretary-General

Lee Boothby and Victor Krushenitsky receive awards from Dr. Graz 

Lee Boothby and Victor Krushenitsky received awards from John Graz at the Religious Liberty Awards Banquet in the U.S. Senate building.

Ambassador-at-Large John Hanford Keynote Speaker for the Religious Liberty Awards Banquet

Ambassador-at-Large John Hanford, keynote speaker for the Religious Liberty Awards Banquet.

His Excellency Azziz Mekouar who is the newly appointed Ambassador of Morocco to the United States

 

His Excellency Azziz Mekouar, the newly appointed Ambassador of Morocco.

Religious Freedom Seminar Attendees posing for a photograph during their meeting in Almaty Khazakhstan

Religious Freedom seminar attendees in Almaty.

Russian Delegation Visits IRLA Headquarters

 

Part of the delegation of Russian leaders.