WASHINGTON — The International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit will welcome Rashad Hussain, United States Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, as a keynote speaker to this year’s gathering. Hussain will address the summit on Thursday, June 30, and give an update on the state of religious freedom around the world.
“Religious freedom is enshrined in our First Amendment and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; it is a core American value and human right,” said Hussain during his Senate confirmation hearing. “I am humbled to be charged with the sacred calling to protect the freedom of religion of people all over the world.”
Hussain joins a growing list of speakers that includes ambassadors, members of Congress, legal experts, religious leaders from various faiths as well as civil society leaders and survivors of persecution. Among these are His Holiness the Dalai Lama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, professional basketball player and human rights activist Enes Kanter Freedom and Farahnaz Ispahani, a former member of Pakistan’s National Assembly.
“We are pleased Ambassador Hussain is joining us at this year’s IRF Summit. It has never been more important to form a broad coalition of like-minded leaders who believe religious freedom is a fundamental right. We look forward to welcoming Ambassador Hussain and learning from his indispensable work at the State Department,” said Sam Brownback, former U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom.
The IRF Summit 2022 is the second annual gathering of international freedom advocates and activists from around the world. It will highlight increasing threats to freedom of religion, conscience and belief, and it will once again offer the IRF community a chance to come together to advance shared goals for extending these fundamental freedoms to people and faith communities across the globe.
The Summit is convened by Brownback and Dr. Katina Lantos Swett, president of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice. It is supported by more than 40 diverse partners, including the IRF Secretariat, Religious Freedom Institute, Uyghur Human Rights Project, American Hindu Foundation, Open Doors, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Alliance Defending Freedom, among others, and aims to bring greater attention to religious freedom violations and to create a powerful coalition of groups to advance the cause of religious freedom around the world.
It will take place Tuesday, June 28 through Thursday, June 30 in Washington, D.C. A full list of speakers is available here.
More information on the International Religious Freedom Summit 2022 is available here.
Registration and accommodations are available here.
