The IRF (International Religious Freedom) Summit 2024 ended on January 31.
On January 31, Hòa Hảo Buddhist and former prisoner of conscience Nguyễn Bắc Truyển spoke at the summit.
In September 2023, he was released after serving 6 years of his 11-year prison sentence in Vietnam, and sent directly into forced exile in Germany with his wife Bùi Thị Kim Phượng.
Alongside the main programmes of the IRF Summit, BPSOS also held panel discussions, some in English and some in Vietnamese, with speakers from different religious communities: Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, and Cao Đài followers. They spoke about state-controlled religious organisations in Vietnam (Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, The Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics, and the 1997 Cao Đài sect), religious persecution and persecution against indigenous communities, human trafficking, and the plight of Vietnamese refugees in Thailand.
Apart from Vietnamese advocates of religious freedom, BPSOS’s panel discussions had the participation of IRFBA (International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance) Chair Robert Rehak; Fiona Bruce, the UK’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief; representatives of USCIRF (US Commission on International Religious Freedom), ADF International (Alliance Defending Freedom), Jubilee Campaign, CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide).
Trent Martin (21Wilberforce), Robert Rehak (USCIRF Chair, Ambassador and Special Envoy for Holocaust, Interfaith Dialogue and Freedom of Religion, Czech Republic), Katrina Lantos-Swett (President of the Lantos Foundation, former USCIRF Chair), and Mervyn Thomas (Founder President at CSW and Chair of UK FoRB Forum).
There were also panellists speaking about religious freedom in other countries such as Burma, Laos, Tibet, and Sri Lanka.
Especially notable was the presence of Tri-Ân Phạm, an 18-year-old FORB champion, who had been advocating for the release of human rights defender Nguyễn Bắc Truyển since the age of 12.
She gave an inspiring presentation on the global campaign for religious prisoners of conscience.
Tri-Ân Phạm next to Dylan Schexnaydre (USCIRF) and Lizzie Francis (ADF International).
BSPOS also held panel discussions on youth-led projects, and resources and opportunities for young advocates of freedom of religion or belief. At the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance Ministerial Conference in Prague in November 2023, for example, young advocates were put front and centre and encouraged to organise everything and to come up with their own initiatives.
The panellists spoke about their own experiences and challenges; offered advice; and called for young people to step up and speak out for religious freedom and human rights.
All these discussions were livestreamed and can be viewed again here.
