The Global Crisis in Religious Freedom: State of Play and Recommendations

PROGRAM

Welcoming Remarks
Jacqueline Halbig von Schleppenbach, Executive Director, International Catholic Legislators Network – Western Hemisphere
Dr. Thomas Farr, President, Religious Freedom Institute

Panel 1: The Global Crisis in Religious Freedom: State of Play
Kellie Fiedorek, Legal Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom
Ismail Royer, Research and Program Associate, Religious Freedom Institute
Nina Shea, Director, Center for Religious Freedom, Hudson Institute
Moderator: Jacqueline Halbig von Schleppenbach, International Catholic Legislators Network – Western Hemisphere

Panel 2: What Can Be Done? 
Anuttama Dasa, International Director of Communications, International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Marcela Syzmanski, EU Liaison, Aid to the Church in Need
Balakrishnan Baskaran, Legal Counsel – India, Alliance Defending Freedom International

Remarks
Representative Jeff Fortenberry, U.S. House of Representatives

Keynotes
Jan Figel, European Union Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief
Ambassador Sam Brownback, U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom

The Religious Freedom Institute in partnership with the International Catholic Legislators Network-WH on May 8, will host a special event with a distinguished lineup of experts discussing current challenges and opportunities in the crisis of religious freedom.

Genocidal, violent persecution of Christians and other religious minorities is spreading around the world. Religious freedom is in global decline.

What is being done to help the persecuted?

What is being done to get in front of the problem? How can we stem the decline in religious freedom?

Religion-related terrorism affects us all – Christian, Muslim, Jewish and other minorities worldwide. It impacts the homeland. Can U.S. international religious freedom policy undermine terrorism?

Does the decline of religious freedom in the West, including in the United States, reduce the effectiveness of Western foreign policies in addressing religion related terrorism and persecution?

What is the proper role of U.S. foreign policy? What can NGOs do to change the situation?

Come and hear the answers to these and other questions important to us all! Please join us.

The ICLN-WH and RFI bring together world renowned experts to present and discuss these issues, presented through two moderated policy panels.

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

• Anuttama Dasa, International Director of Communications, International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Advisory Board, Religious Freedom Institute
• Marcela Szymanski, EU Liaison, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Editor of ACN’s biennial report, “Religious Freedom in the World”
• Balakrishnan Baskaran, India, ADF International

ORGANIZERS

The ICLN brings together men and women in elected office and appointed positions who wish to integrate their Catholic faith with their vocations as office holders. Faith, fellowship and formation are the three pillars of our organization.  Our gatherings are designed to encourage, inform and educate on the issues most important to Catholics in the public square.

In 2016, the ICLN-Western Hemisphere was established as a regional office for the purpose of offering faith, fellowship and formation to Catholics and other Christians in this hemisphere.

The ICLN-WH is a strictly non-partisan and entirely independent network of Catholics in elected and appointed office. For more information, please visit www.icln.at.

The Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) is committed to achieving broad acceptance of religious liberty as a fundamental human right, the cornerstone of a successful society, and a source of national and international security. It achieves this goal by convincing stakeholders in select regions that religious freedom can help them achieve their own goals—political, economic, strategic, and religious. Action Teams establish a presence in each region to build coalitions and work toward making religious freedom a priority for governments, civil society, religious communities, businesses, and the general public. Learn more at www.religiousfreedominstitute.org.