International Religious Freedom Summit discuss governments’ impact on religious rights

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-

The annual International Religious Freedom Summit held in downtown Washington, D.C. took a critical look at the impact of different governments across the globe on religious rights and freedom of people. The summit which discussed alleged human rights violations in India was attended by a representative of the American Sikh Council (ASC) Kavneet Singh along with a host of participants from more than 40 countries across the globe.

The participants at the conference held from January 30-31 discussed the impact on religious rights by various ruling regimes across the globe and the means to energize faith groups, civil society, and governments to identify the importance of religious freedom and religious plurality. Every major religion to the most obscure minority faith was represented at this forum.

The annual International Religious Freedom Summit was organized to create a coalition of organizations to operate together for the cause of religious freedom around the world. Another priority of the event was to increase public awareness and political strength for the international religious freedom movement. The IRF Summit 2023 featured 156 speakers and 71 organizational partners representing 29 unique faith traditions. They presented to over 1,200 attendees from over 40 countries.

Religious bigotry, erosion of religious rights, freedom of expression, surveillance of ethnic minorities, human rights violations, transnational repression, and other topics were covered in various breakout sessions during the event. Between the breakout sessions networking gatherings were held by various groups to build bridges and allyship in order to make positive change. Documentaries on various ongoing issues impacting different religions were screened in the evenings. There were 20 exhibits, focused on religious freedom and human rights, from around the world.

Former Congressman Dan Burton and the former Congressman and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich were speakers at a special luncheon. Vice President Mike Pence spoke on the issue of religious rights and its importance in today’s world.

The topic for the morning plenary session on Wednesday was, ‘Challenges for India for Non-Majority Faiths’. The speakers included Muslim, Hindu, Christian, and Sikh representatives who highlighted the ongoing pervasive human rights violations in India, with barely any justice, rather an increase in the repression across the board.

“The Indian regime is so brazen that it has started to assassinate leading Sikh activists in the diaspora, particularly in the western hemisphere. Their modus operandi is very similar to Russia and China which are primarily autocratic and have carried out similar assassinations of their diaspora,” said the American Sikh Council in a statement.

The American Sikh Council is the umbrella organization representative of Sikhs in the United States. It is an elected body of Sikh Gurdwaras and institutions. Currently, 74 Gurdwaras and other Sikh institutions across the US are members of ASC. The major governing purpose of the organization is to represent the collective view of Sikhs in the United States. ASC works to promote Sikh interests at the national and international levels focusing on issues of advocacy, education, and well-being of humankind. The council works with various civil society groups and interfaith organizations and collaborates on many issues common to communities of faith and especially impacting minorities. “It was heartening to see an increase in attendees and newer faces at the IRF Summit who are working toward a better tomorrow,” ASC said in its statement.

 

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