Quê Me Quê Me: Action for democracy in Vietnam & Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
Vietnam Committee on Human Rights and the International Campaign for Tibet
cordially invite you to the conference:
“Freedom of Religion or Belief & Human Rights:
Vietnamese and Tibetan Buddhism under threat”
on Wednesday, July 11, 2018 from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
at the US Commission on International Religious Freedom
(Government Printing Office (GPO) Building)
732 N. Capitol Street NW, Washington D.C.
Speakers include Dr. Tenzin Dorjee, USCIRF Chairman, Congressman Alan Lowenthal (tbc), Congressman Chris Smith (tbc), Kristina Arriaga, USCIRF Vice-Chair, Arjia Rinpoche, former abbot of Kumbum Monastery in Tibet and head of Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center, Bloomington, Indiana, Vo Van Ai, President of VCHR, Matteo Mecacci, President of the International Campaign for Tibet, Robert Herman, Vice-President of Freedom House, Todd Stein, Senior Policy Advisor to Representative Chellie Pingree, and experts and human rights defenders from Europe, Asia and the US.
The Conference will feature panel discussions on “Religious Freedom and American Foreign Policy”, and “Strategies to Promote Freedom of Religion or Belief in Closed Societies: The Cases of Vietnamese and Tibetan Buddhists”. These sessions will explore freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in many aspects: the importance of a proactive FoRB component in US foreign policy; transatlantic and international cooperation in advancing FoRB; violations of FoRB and trade considerations; initiatives to support prisoners of conscience; FoRB and democracy; the role of Buddhism in promoting a civic culture of human rights, dignity and diversity in Vietnamese and Tibetan communities, and beyond.
We invite you to join us at this Conference and share your ideas and best practices on how to promote freedom of religion or belief in this region.
Seating is limited, please RSVP to rsvp@savetibet.org or penelope.faulkner@gmail.com
Presentation of photo ID is required to enter the building.
