Ms. Maureen Ferguson, Commissioner of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) participated as a keynote speaker in the 4th edition of the NGO Coalition of Faith and Freedom Summit held September 24-25 at the Latin American Parliament in Panama City of 40 international speakers and participated by Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Scientologists, indigenous Mayans, Sikhs, Hindus, non-believers and others.
In a compelling speech at the Faith and Freedom IV “Practice What We Preach” Summit in Panama, Commissioner Ferguson called for a renewed commitment to religious freedom around the world. His remarks, delivered during the final panel of the conference on FoRB by Diplomacy, highlighted the essential role of diplomacy in promoting this fundamental human right. She shared the panel with FRI Secretariat founder and CEO Greg Mitchell, Ivan Arjona-Pelado, David Trimble, Jan FigelIL Bouchra Boudchiche of the Moroccan Embassy, and Archbishop Thomas Schirrmacher.
Ferguson opened his speech with warmth and enthusiasm, encouraging the audience and other speakers to dig deeper into discussions focused on free speech. religion or belief through diplomatic efforts. She noted that USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan advisory body established by Congress in 1998, dedicated to monitoring and reporting on conditions of religious freedom around the world. “We defend this essential freedom internationally for people of all religions and beliefs, as well as for those who choose not to follow any religion or belief,” she said.
In his speech, Ferguson outlined key steps governments can take to ensure their foreign policy prioritizes religious freedom. She urged nations to establish independent agencies to assess conditions of religious freedom abroad, saying: “This independence will help ensure that competing diplomatic priorities will not influence or influence assessments of agency..” She highlighted USCIRF’s role in this process, noting that the commission issues an annual report documenting religious freedom violations around the world, including the plight of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang and the persecution of religious minorities in Nicaragua.
Ferguson stressed the importance of accountability in combating religious freedom violations, referencing the International Religious Freedom Act, which requires the U.S. State Department to designate countries with serious violations as particularly of concern (CPC). “When a country is designated as a CCP, the law requires our president to take one or more policy actions to hold that country accountable,” she explained.
She also shared three key lessons learned from U.S. diplomatic efforts to protect religious freedom. First, she emphasized the need to build partnerships with like-minded governments to combat violations, citing the United Nations Human Rights Council Nicaragua resolutions condemning persecution in Nicaragua as a successful example of collaboration international. “The support of this broad coalition helped the Human Rights Council create a group of experts to report on violations of religious freedom and human rights in Nicaragua,” she said. note.
Second, Ferguson emphasized the importance of direct communication between governments regarding religious freedom violations. “Such direct communication provides a good opportunity to raise the cases of people harassed, detained or imprisoned on the basis of their religion or beliefs,” she said, emphasizing that advocacy involves not only condemning bad behavior, but also to encourage positive change.
Finally, she called for stronger relationships between governments and civil society organizations, which often constitute the first line of defense against emerging violations. “Civil society groups are often the first to recognize emerging violations of religious freedom and draw global attention to them,” she noted, highlighting their invaluable role in developing measures. effective protection.
Before concluding, Commissioner Maureen Ferguson introduced a vital resource developed by USCIRF: a victim list that tracks cases of individuals persecuted because of their religious beliefs. “There are well over 2,000 profiles in this searchable database,” she revealed, inviting governments and civil society partners to use this tool to advocate for victims.
In her closing remarks, Maureen Ferguson expressed gratitude for the opportunity to speak and reflected on her personal journey. “One of the greatest proofs of the existence of God is the obvious and ugly example of the existence of evil,” she shared, acknowledging the challenges faced in the fight for religious freedom. However, she also celebrated the presence of goodness and truth among the participants, saying: “Being with all of you has just been a wonderful experience of the universality of the good, the true and the beautiful.”
Ferguson’s impassioned speech resonated deeply with the audience, leaving them inspired to continue his vital work in support of religious freedom for all.
The Faith and Freedom Summit IV was organized by a coalition of NGOs dedicated to promoting religious freedom and peaceful coexistence, and brought together many personalities such as the OAS representative in Panama. HE Rubén Farje, Reverend Giselle Lima (Coordinator of the Panama Round Table on Religious Freedom in Panama, Mr. Ivan Arjona-Pelado (recently appointed Chair of the NGO Committee on the FoRB for the United Nations in Geneva and who presented the website www.whatisfreedomofreligion.org of the Church of Scientology), Mr. Jan Figel who is the former EU Special Envoy for the FoRB, and it was opened and closed by the Minister responsible for the Interior and Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs of the Government of Panama, as well as ambassadors from different countries.
Originally published in The European Times.
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