May 2011
IRLA Urges Stronger Action on Pakistan
The letter sent to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton refers to Shahbaz Bhatti, a Pakistani Christian politician assassinated in March, who had vowed to help reform the country's blasphemy laws.
Letter cites "deep concern" over treatment of religious minorities
Attacks on religious freedom are not only tolerated by Pakistan’s government, but are codified in the country’s notorious “blasphemy laws,” says a letter endorsed by 25 religious and human rights organizations and sent last week to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The letter, citing “deep concern” about “systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief,” calls on the US State Department to name Pakistan as a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act. The letter also urges the US government to engage in more behind-the-scenes diplomacy to encourage Pakistan to reform its blasphemy laws and to provide legal protection for non-Muslims.
According to Dwayne Leslie, IRLA deputy secretary general, there is an urgent need to bring greater international pressure to bear on Pakistan to improve its treatment of religious minorities. “Rather than protecting people of different faiths, Pakistan’s laws actually enable discrimination against the country’s Christian, Hindu, Sikh and other minority faiths,” says Leslie. “The voice of the international community—including both governments and non-governmental organizations—must be heard more clearly on this issue.” Leslie, who helped generate support for the May 17 letter to Secretary Clinton, says that the designation of Pakistan by the US as a “country of particular concern” would be a significant step forward in this effort.
More than 95 percent of Pakistan’s population is Muslim and, according to human rights organizations, members of minority faiths routinely experience discrimination, harassment and violence. Under the so-called “blasphemy laws” undermining Islam can carry the death penalty and in the past year alone, three people have been sentenced to death under these laws. In recent months, the international community has been shocked by the assassination of two prominent Pakistani politicians, Governor Salman Taseer and Federal Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who had worked to reform the blasphemy laws.
IRLA Think Tank to Explore Secular Challenge to Freedom
The University of Sydney will be the venue of this year's IRLA Meeting of Experts, which brings together leading religious freedom scholars.
International think tank will meet at University of Sydney
Could secularism be a force that’s weakening religious freedom safeguards around the globe? This is the question that some of the world’s foremost academics and practitioners in the field of religious freedom will tackle when they meet in Sydney, Australia, for the IRLA’s 13th Meeting of Experts.
The five-day gathering, which begins August 21, will be held at the University of Sydney, School of Law, one of Australia’s premier tertiary institutions, and will bring together a select group of scholars and legal experts from the United States, Europe, and the South Pacific.
Dr. John Graz, IRLA Secretary General, says these gatherings provide an extremely effective forum to explore current legal and sociological issues in the field of religious freedom.
“Over the years, IRLA Meetings of Experts have built up a significant body of academic and practical resources,” he says. “This years’ gathering promises to be both stimulating and productive, and will explore a topic of growing concern to the international religious freedom community.”
Presenters will include Carolyn Evans, Dean of the Melbourne Law School; Rosa Maria Martinez de Codes, scholar and former Spanish Justice Department official; David Little, retired professor, Harvard Divinity School; Paul Taylor, author and professor; Nicholas Miller, director of the US-based International Religious Liberty Institute; and Blandine Chelini-Pont, Professor of History, Law and Religion, at the Université Paul Cézanne.
Top Speakers Confirmed for 7th IRLA World Congress
Ambassador Robert Seiple, former US Ambassador At Large for Religious Freedom, has been confirmed as one of the 50 presenters at the 7th IRLA World Congress to be held in April 2012.
Event will feature some 50 scholars, religious leaders, and government officials
An extraordinary line-up of speakers is coming together for next year’s IRLA World Congress, says Dr. John Graz, Secretary General of the International Religious Liberty Association. He says the 7th IRLA World Congress, to be held April 24 to 26, 2012, in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, will feature an international mix of more than 50 presenters, including renowned scholars, legal experts, authors, religious leaders, and government officials.
“This promises to be both a stimulating and memorable event,” said Graz. “We’ve planned a daily schedule that provides a good balance between plenary and break-out sessions, and we plan to provide simultaneous translation in the official languages of the congress—Spanish, English, French and Portuguese—with translation in additional languages, such as Russian, as needed.”
Graz adds that a number of non governmental organizations from the United States, Russia, Europe, Africa, and South America have also announced their participation in the Congress.
Among the speakers already confirmed are Dr. Neville Callam, Baptist World Alliance Secretary General and leader of 100 million Baptists worldwide, and Ambassador Robert Seiple, former US Ambassador At Large for Religious Freedom and a keynote speaker at two previous IRLA world congresses. Other speakers include: Dr. Richard Foltin, director of National and Legislative Affairs for the American Jewish Committee; Professor Cole Durham, professor of law at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School; Professors Alberto de la Herra and Rosa Maria Martinez de Codes, of the Compultense University of Madrid; Professor Nicholas Miller from Andrews University and director of the International Religious Liberty Institute; and Dr. Denton Lotz, current IRLA President and former Baptist World Alliance Secretary General.
Other World Congress speakers will be announced as they are confirmed. On-line registration for the event begins in September.
Inter-America IRLA Gears Up for 2012 World Congress
Israel Leito, president of the Inter-America chapter of the IRLA, has pledged strong support for 7th IRLA World Congress to be held in April 2012.
Strong support may push attendance to record-breaking numbers
Leaders of the Inter-America chapter of the IRLA have pledged an all-out effort to help make the 7th World Congress, to be held next April in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, an outstanding international event.
Inter-America IRLA president Israel Leito made the commitment at a training seminar for IRLA leaders and representatives in Miami last week. Saying that he and his team would do everything possible to generate support for the three-day congress, he added: “We will make sure that every country of our region will be well represented, and we will invite the Religious Affairs Ministers of Central America, Mexico, Jamaica, the Caribbean islands, Colombia and Venezuela.”
Roberto Herrera, Inter-America secretary general of the IRLA, said the strong support of President Leito will boost attendance. He estimates that the number of participants could reach 1,000, making the 7th World Congress the largest one to date.
Cesario Acevedo, IRLA Dominican Republic president, says the congress is already generating a high level of interest among leaders and government officials in his country. Government officials from Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, and Jamaica have also expressed interest in sending representatives.
John Graz, IRLA Secretary General, said he was both impressed and thankful for the strong support expressed by the Inter America chapter of the IRLA.
The 7th World Congress will be held April 24 to 26 and will be the first such event to be held in Inter-America. Previous congresses have been held in Cape Town, South Africa, and Manila, Philippines. The event traditionally attracts religious freedom scholars, legal practitioners, government officials, human rights organizations, and religious liberty experts from around the world. Registration begins in September.