IARF Endorses Statements on Women’s Rights and Minority Religious Identity

The International Association for Religious Freedom recently affirmed its commitment to global human rights and interfaith collaboration by endorsing two significant international statements focusing on gender equality and the protection of religious minorities.

Supporting Gender Equality & Civil Society

IARF proudly joined over 100 NGOs in endorsing the International Women’s Day 2025 statement, initiated by Soroptimist International and the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO). This collective action highlights the power of collaboration in advancing women’s rights. This endorsement aligns with IARF’s ongoing commitment to advancing gender equality (SDG 5), demonstrated by our participation in the recent 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) in New York, which focused on reviewing the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The statement is being shared with UN officials and member states to amplify its message.

Read the full statement: International Women’s Day 2025 Statement.

Advocating for Minority Religious Identity at the UN

Aligning with our mandate, IARF also supported a joint statement delivered at the 58th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council on March 21, 2025. Presented during the dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, the statement addresses the critical challenges minorities face when their religious identity is not properly acknowledged or respected in legal processes.

It highlights how forced declarations of incorrect faiths or prohibitions on changing religious affiliation restrict fundamental rights and calls on States to ensure religious identity serves as a basis for empowerment, not marginalization.

These endorsements reflect IARF’s core mission and our active engagement using our ECOSOC consultative status to advocate for religious freedom and human rights for all.

Esther Suter

Rev. Dr. Suter is an ordained minister in the Swiss Reformed Church, with a diverse background spanning various roles and engagements. She has served as a pastor, university hospital chaplain, and volunteer pastor in a disadvantaged area of Manhattan, New York. Her passion for ecumenism and interfaith dialogue led her to focus on Peace and Reconciliation, particularly through her involvement in partnership programs between the Federation of Swiss Reformed Churches and Presbyterian Churches in South Korea. Throughout her career, Rev. Dr. Suter has embarked on significant journeys to Latin America and Africa, undertaking projects such as establishing a shelter for street children in Santiago de Chile during a military dictatorship. She has also been an active participant in various United Nations World Conferences of Women and served as a delegate for the World Council of Churches. Her commitment to women's rights and human rights has led her to engage with organizations like the International Association of Liberal Religious Women and the International Association for Religious Freedom, where she serves as an NGO representative at the United Nations. In 2018, Rev. Dr. Suter co-founded Swiss Interfaith Women, a member of the International Association of Liberal Religious Women. Under her leadership, they organized an interfaith and intercultural Youth Camp focused on religion, art, and peace for young women. Additionally, she has made notable contributions during the COVID-19 lockdown by promoting her Doctoral Thesis in Systematic Theology on Fritz Buri's existential understanding. Rev. Dr. Suter's diverse interests encompass women's rights, feminist theology, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, nuclear disarmament, peace advocacy, language proficiency (German, French, English, Spanish, Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Chinese), and Chinese medicine.

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