The Role of Parliamentarians in Combating Religious Persecution

Co-organized by IPPFoRB and adl’s task force on middle east minorities.

Wednesday 21st April 2021 | 9.30 AM EST/15.30 CEST | Zoom

Parliaments and parliamentarians have a unique role to play in combating religious prejudice, hate, and persecution. Besides legislative oversight and drafting laws, elected representatives at the regional, national, and supranational levels can also facilitate dialogue and build coalitions for advocating diversity and pluralism. In this webinar, panellists will reflect on their unique experiences of working with regional, national, and supranational legislative bodies to fight religious persecution in the Middle East and beyond.

Moderator: Sharon Nazarian (Anti-Defamation League Senior Vice President for International Affairs, ADL Task Force on Middle East Minorities co-chair)

Panellists:

• David Anderson (IPPFoRB Chair, former Canadian lawmaker),
• Farahnaz Ispahani (Former Pakistani lawmaker, IPPFoRB member, ADL Task Force on Middle East Minorities member)
• Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman (The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representative to the United States)
• Aykan Erdemir (IPPFoRB steering committee member, ADL Task Force on Middle East Minorities co-chair, former Turkish lawmaker)