Kent Hill addressed the role of international actors in assisting religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East as part of a panel of experts with experience in the region. Hill was joined in the discussion by Christine van den Toorn, Director of Institute of Regional and International Studies at the American University of Sulaimani, and Sherri Talabany, President of SEED Foundation.
The address came as part of a day-long conference that brought numerous speakers from the region to provide a first-hand account of the situation to inform policymakers about the continuing travail of religious and ethnic minorities threatened by the Islamic State, and to galvanize long-term thinking about addressing this crisis
The event was jointly hosted by the U.S. State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom and the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs.
![Kent Hill, Executive Director, Religious Freedom Institute](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57052f155559869b68a4f0e6/1476825944351-K9BD0GDR08U8L9HI8R1K/KH+RFP+event.png)
THE RFI BLOG
![Featured image for “Myths of Religious Nationalism in America and Abroad”](https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Rumi-Forum-Article_PMarshall.png)
Myths of Religious Nationalism in America and Abroad
![Featured image for “France’s Olympic Hijab Ban Violates International Law And Exacerbates Tensions”](https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/hijab-scaled.jpg)
France’s Olympic Hijab Ban Violates International Law And Exacerbates Tensions
![Featured image for “RFI Briefs USCIRF on Lessons from 25 Years of U.S. Designating Religious Freedom Violators”](https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/USCIRF-CPC-SWL-Map.png)
RFI Briefs USCIRF on Lessons from 25 Years of U.S. Designating Religious Freedom Violators
![Featured image for “Thought Police: Protecting the People from Prayer”](https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screen-Shot-2024-07-24-at-5.52.51-PM.png)
Thought Police: Protecting the People from Prayer
![Featured image for “A Religious “Delaware”: Establishing a State Haven for Religious Corporations”](https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screen-Shot-2024-07-19-at-5.01.49-PM.png)
A Religious “Delaware”: Establishing a State Haven for Religious Corporations
CORNERSTONE FORUM
![Featured image for “Challenges to Religious Freedom in Iraq and the Critical Need for Action”](https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG_3666.jpg)
Challenges to Religious Freedom in Iraq and the Critical Need for Action
![Featured image for “Public Bioethics & the Failure of Expressive Individualism”](https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/headshot.jpg)
Public Bioethics & the Failure of Expressive Individualism
![Featured image for “Religious Liberty in American Higher Education”](https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/031623-Jennifer-Lichter-002-e1682974563353.png)
Religious Liberty in American Higher Education
![Featured image for “Scotland’s Kate Forbes and the March of Secularism”](https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Jerry-Li-Pic01.jpg)
Scotland’s Kate Forbes and the March of Secularism
![Featured image for “70 Years of Religious Freedom in Sweden: Prospects and Challenges”](https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Jacob-380-e1447190060158.jpg)