A conference on “Freedom of Religion or Belief & Human Rights: Vietnamese and Tibetan Buddhism under threat” is being held in Washington, DC on July 11, 2018 to explore the importance of a proactive freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) component in US foreign policy, including transatlantic and international cooperation, with particular reference to the cases of Vietnamese and Tibetan Buddhism.

US policy makers, religious leaders, human rights advocates, and academics will participate in two 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 Buddhism”.

The conference is being organized by Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) and the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) and held at the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Among those speaking at the conference are Tenzin Dorjee, Chair of US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Kristina Arriaga, Vice Chair of USCIRF; Arjia Rinpoche, former abbot of Kumbum Monastery in Tibet and head of Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center, Bloomington, Indiana; Robert Herman, Vice-President of Freedom House, Todd Stein, Senior Policy Advisor to Representative Chellie Pingree; Vo Van Ai, President of VCHR, Matteo Mecacci, President of ICT, and experts and human rights defenders from Europe, Asia and the US.

Members of Congress expected to attend include Congressman Alan Lowenthal, Congressman Chris Smith and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren.

* UPDATE: On account of a change in his schedule, Sam Brownback, US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, is not able to be at our conference.

WHEN: July 11, 2018 from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon

WHERE: US Commission on International Religious Freedom, 732 North Capitol Street, NW, Washington, DC

Attendance is by invitation. For more information, please contact: [email protected] or [email protected].

Phone: (202) 580 6773

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