IRF Summit 2024:Religious Freedom Under Threats In Japan, Other Democracies-Panelists
LAGOS JANUARY 2ND (NEWSRANGERS)-Religious freedom violations by totalitarian and repressive governments are widespread, but an uptick in violations and threats to religious freedom within and from democracies has advocates increasingly concerned.
Several speakers and events Wednesday at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit — the world’s premier annual gathering of international religious freedom advocates and activists — spotlighted examples of this growing trend.
A midday event featured panelists of various faiths speaking against attempts by the Japanese government — a democracy — to dissolve the Family Federation. Speakers included former IRF Ambassador at large Suzan Johnson Cook, Lantos Foundation President Katrina Lantos Swett, Washington Times opinion columnist Charlie Hurt and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
A victim of the religious persecution occuring in Japan, Reverend Luke Higuchi, spoke ahead of the panel and said, “I am worried that Japan is in a crisis of religious freedom.”
During the panel, Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett observed:
“Friends don’t let friends drive drunk, and right now Japan is getting into the car drunk when it comes to its treatment of this community. It’s not ok for the government of Japan to target a faith community for collective punishment, to abandon its commitment to democracy and human rights by seeking to curtail the religious freedom rights of its citizens. It’s not ok for the government of Japan to encourage a campaign of defamation and slander against a disfavored community.”
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich remarked:
“The core value of being able to approach God without interference really underlies all freedom. A government which can block you from approaching God can block you from anything, and that’s why religious freedom is at its heart the very foundation of a free society.”
“We have to make sure the Japanese government understands that this is a key test of the future of Japan, a key test of the future of religious liberty, and that to close down an organization as a deliberately political act of retribution is a profound undermining of the very basis of freedom.”
A special afternoon breakout session focused on religious freedom violations occurring specifically in western democracies, while other events highlighted violations in democracies such as Nigeria and India.
IRF Summit Co-Chair Katrina Lantos Swett and former IRF Ambassador at Large Suzan Johnson Cook outlined these issues in a RealClearPolitics oped in September.
The IRF Summit is supported by dozens of diverse partners, including the Religious Freedom Institute, Lantos Foundation, International Campaign for Tibet, Multifaith Neighbors Network, Aspen Institute Religion and Society Program, ADF International, Meta, and the International Republican Institute, among others. The IRF Summit aims to bring greater attention to religious freedom violations and to create a powerful and diverse coalition of groups to advance the cause of religious freedom around the world.
International Religious Freedom Summit gathers a powerful, broad coalition of religious, human rights and civil society groups that advocate for religious freedom for all people, everywhere at all times.
Samuel Brownback served as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom (2018-21) and is co-chair of IRF Summit.
Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett is president of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, former Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and is co-chair of IRF Summit.
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Posted by News Rangers
on Feb 2 2024. Filed under International, National.
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