religious freedom

International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief

On the occasion of the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief (established by the United Nations General Assembly), the UN NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief in New York will be hosting an online event highlighting the continued need for action and advocacy aimed at preventing, condemning, and seeking accountability for violence against individuals on the basis of their religion or belief.

Time: 2:15pm – 3:30pm EDT

Location: Zoom (link to be sent out to registrants the day of the event)

To register, please email INFO@UNFORB.ORG for the link by Friday, 19 August 2022.

Principal Representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the UN Bani Dugal and UN NGO Committee on FoRB President Kelsey Zorzi and will provide overviews of several recent freedom of religion or belief initiatives, including the Washington D.C.-based Summit on International Religious Freedom and the London-based Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, and related future avenues for advocacy.

Dr. Thang Nguyen, founder and President of Boat People SOS (BPSOS) will provide an overview of the violence carried out against religious minorities in Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia and will detail the Vietnamese government’s efforts to hide and punish advocacy efforts aimed at shedding light on this violence or commemorating this International Day.

Participants are invited during the Q+A portion of the meeting to commemorate victims of religiously-based violence and share information about recent violent persecution of religion or belief minorities around the world.

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CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations – for more info, please visit unforb.org. Likewise, for more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns, please visit csvgc-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust

Dear Colleague,

I am pleased to invite you to attend to the observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust on Thursday, 27 January 2022 at 12 noon in Room XX the Palais des Nations, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 60/7 of 2005. English and French interpretation will be provided. This year, due to COVID-19, the ceremony will be exceptionally organized in a hybrid format, with a limited presence in the room.

Registration is now open for this commemoration under this link https://indico.un.org/event/37258/.

Once the seating capacity is reached, the registration for in-person participation will be closed and confirmation emails will be sent. Participation in person will be possible upon presentation of the confirmation e-mail only. The event will be webcast live on the UN Web TV platform http://webtv.un.org/ as well as on Facebook (@UNGeneva) to allow interested participants to attend the event virtually. The provisional programme of the commemoration is attached. I look forward to your participation in this ceremony.

Yours sincerely,

Tatiana Valovaya

NGO Liaison Unit, Political Affairs and Partnerships Section
Office of the Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva
Palais des Nations

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Security, Peace, and Disarmament, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@yahoo.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. 

Holocaust Education in Crisis? Challenges and Responses

To mark the anniversary of the November 1938 Pogrom, The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme and UNESCO are hosting an online discussion Holocaust education in crisis? Challenges and responses to examine the implications of recent surveys about Holocaust education and possible responses to the challenges and opportunities they raise.
Discussions about Holocaust education usually focus on three main questions: what should be taught, how should it be taught, and to what end? Recent surveys have shown that historical knowledge of the Holocaust is in decline, while related dis- and misinformation is on the rise. Simultaneously, research suggests a connection between students’ positive attitudes towards human rights and activism and their exposure to Holocaust education. Our diverse expert panel considers the implications of this research for their field.
Speakers:

Gretchen Skidmore, Director of Education Initiatives, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States

Debórah Dwork, Founding Director, The Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity, Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, The Graduate Center – CUNY, United States

Stuart Foster, Executive Director of the Center for Holocaust Education, University College London, United Kingdom

Elke Gryglewski, Head of the Educational Department, Memorial and Educational Site House of the Wannsee Conference, Germany

Yael Siman, Associate Professor at the Department of Social and Political Science, Iberoamericana University, Mexico

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief, please visit unforb.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns-NY, please visit csvgc-ny.org. For more information on the Decolonization Alliance, please email President Bautista at lbautista@umcjustice.org. 

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