The International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (IPPFoRB) is a network of parliamentarians from around the world committed to combating religious persecution and advancing freedom of religion or belief, as defined by Article 18 of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...

History

IPPFoRB was established on 8 November 2014 with the signing of the Oslo Charter for Freedom of Religion or Belief at the

Nobel Peace Center The Nobel Peace Center ( no, Nobels Fredssenter) in Oslo, Norway is a showcase for the Nobel Peace Prize and the ideals it represents. The center is also an arena where culture and politics merge to promote involvement, debate and reflection around ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. The first steering committee of the IPPFoRB was composed of Baroness Elizabeth Berridge (UK

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

David Anderson David Anderson may refer to: People In academia or science *David Anderson (academic) (born 1952), American college professor *David Anderson (engineer) (1880–1953), Scottish civil engineer and lawyer *David Anderson, 2nd Viscount Waverley (1911� ...

(

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

Abid Raja Abid Qayyum Raja (born 5 November 1975) is a Norwegian lawyer and Liberal Party politician who served as Minister of Culture from 2020 to 2021.; He was elected to the Storting as representative for Akershus in 2013 where he served as second deputy ...

(

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

Aykan Erdemir Aykan Erdemir (born July 28, 1974, in Bursa) is an anthropologist, policy analyst, and former Turkish politician. He served in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey between 2011 and 2015 as a representative from the pro-secular Republican People' ...

(

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

), Leonardo Quintao (

National Congress of Brazil The National Congress of Brazil ( pt, Congresso Nacional do Brasil) is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government. Unlike the state legislative assemblies and municipal chambers, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senat ...

Activities

In September 2015, IPPFoRB convened 100 parliamentarians from 50 countries in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, alongside the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

, and issued the New York Resolution for Freedom of Religion or Belief to "enhance global cooperation by working across geographical, political, and religious lines." At the New York meeting, IPPFoRB founder Aykan Erdemir stated that this global network is "idea for which the time is right," adding that people advocating rights should be as "outspoken, organised and transnational" as the violent extremists. In September 2016, IPPFoRB assembled 100 parliamentarians from 60 countries in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

with the attendance of German Chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...

. Since its inception, IPPFoRB parliamentarians have written advocacy letters to heads of state of Burma, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, and Vietnam. IPPFoRB steering committee members have received awards in recognition of their efforts: Aykan Erdemir was awarded the Stefanus Prize by the

Stefanus Alliance International Stefanus Alliance International (SAI) is a Norwegian mission- and human rights organization, dedicated to defending freedom of belief and religion as expressed in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The organization is based in ...

in 2015 while Baroness Elizabeth Berridge is the recipient of the 2017 International Religious Liberty Award of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies and

was named the 2018 recipient of the

International Religious Liberty Association The International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA) is a non-sectarian and non-political organization promoting religious freedom. It was originally organized by the Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders in 1893 to campaign for religious free ...

's International Award for Outstanding Leadership in Religious Freedom Advocacy.

References

{{reflist Freedom of religion International political organizations Parliamentary assemblies