Washington, D.C., February 2026 — The International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (IPPFoRB) brought a diverse delegation of 15 parliamentarians from Brazil, Bolivia, Nigeria, Zambia, Sweden, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Malaysia to the International Religious Freedom Summit (IRF Summit) in Washington, D.C.
A Dedicated Parliamentarian Track
IPPFoRB led a specialized Parliamentarian Track parallel to the main IRF Summit sessions, providing an exclusive space for Members of Parliament to engage directly with:
- Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
- Government officials
- NGOs
- Leading FoRB experts
This track strengthened cross‑regional collaboration and advanced policy-focused learning among legislators.
High-Level Diplomatic Engagements
The program featured several key institutional meetings, including:
- U.S. State Department, with a focused dialogue alongside
Hon. Mark Walker, Principal Advisor for Global Religious Freedom - U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
- Freedom House
- National Endowment for Democracy (NED)
- International Republican Institute (IRI)
- National Democratic Institute (NDI)
These conversations strengthened international coordination on democratic resilience and FoRB.
Strengthening Parliamentary Expertise on FoRB
A central component of the program was capacity building. Parliamentarians participated in a session led by:
- Knox Thames — international human rights lawyer, Senior Fellow at Pepperdine University, and former U.S. State Department Special Advisor for Religious Minorities.
- Aykan Erdemir — Senior Director at the Anti‑Defamation League, former Member of the Turkish Parliament, advisory board member of the FoRB Women’s Alliance, and founding IPPFoRB Steering Group member
Their session explored the role of legislators in shaping FoRB policy, oversight mechanisms, and cross-border collaboration.
Women’s Rights and Freedom of Religion or Belief
Reinforcing IPPFoRB’s long-term strategic priority on women’s rights and FoRB, parliamentarians engaged in a session led by:
- Prof. Nazila Ghanea, UN Special Rapporteur on FoRB
- Manira Alva, global gender equality and leadership strategist
The session examined the critical intersection between women’s rights and FoRB, an area frequently misunderstood yet central to inclusive human rights protections.
Capitol Hill Engagement
The program concluded with a guided tour of Capitol Hill and a meeting with the House Democracy Partnership, focusing on parliamentary strengthening and democratic best practices, and the launch of Human Rights Without Frontiers International’s Central European Forum on FoRB, at the Russel Senate Office Building.
