The Farnesina hosts the Conference “Freedom of Religion or Belief: promoting peaceful coexistence through human rights”, organized by IDLO (International Development Law Organization) in conjunction with the Directorate General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI).
At the core of the conference is the presentation of the IDLO Report “Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Law: current dilemmas and lessons learned”, the fruit of a project financed by the Directorate for Development Cooperation of the MAECI. The report aims to make a contribution to the international debate on the principles of religious tolerance and equality, which is the groundwork underlying the freedom of religion or belief in different national legal orders.
The event is divided into two sessions.
The first session will be introduced by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mario Giro, and schedules contributions by the UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, the President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice and former chairman of the United States Commission of International Religious Freedom, Katrina Lantos Swett, and the Director General of IDLO, Irene Khan. The session will be moderated by the Director General for Development Cooperation of the Foreign Ministry, Pietro Sebastiani.
The second session, more technical in nature, will be moderated by Silvio Ferrari, professor of Law and Religion at the University of Milan, and envisages contributions by the President of the Islamic Religious Community of Italy (CO.RE.IS.), Yahya Pallavicini, the Director of the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute, Rev. Nathan Walker, by Paolo Naso, Coordinator of the Studies Commission of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy (FCEI), and Giancarlo Penza, Focal Point for the International Affairs at the Comunità di Sant’Egidio.
