Our work in the area of international advocacy focuses on protecting and assisting threatened religious minorities, promoting religious freedom and other human rights, and adding a liberal religious voice to civil society in general.
A number of our members represent small religious traditions outside of the mainstream religions, and for this reason, they are often vulnerable. IARF offers them representation, a voice, and where necessary, protection. We generally support minority religious organizations to gain rights in countries where these are violated or threatened by informing them of their rights, helping them to lobby governments and international organizations, and financially supporting them. Through our local chapters, we follow developments in a number of countries, and discuss and prepare actions we can take.
In the United Nations, IARF enjoys general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), meaning that we can attend meetings of UN bodies, both in person and online, and offer comments and recommendations, both orally and in writing, on documents discussed there. We take part in meetings of the Freedom of Religion and Belief NGO Committees in Geneva and Brussels, where we meet, for instance, once a year with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief and other Special Rapporteurs. We attend sessions of the Human Rights Council and offer, often together with like-minded NGOs, comments and recommendations. Moreover, we take part in annual fora or special meetings in the UN system on minorities, non-discrimination, and related topics. Through our contacts with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, we always have the possibility to report on violations of religious freedom or other human rights.
Together with our sister organization, the International Association of Liberal Religious Women (IALRW), we are active as an NGO in the annual sessions in New York of the Commission on the Status of Women, helping to strengthen the liberal voice there and countering attempts to use freedom of religion to justify restriction of women’s rights. This includes our participation in the NGO CSW Committee in Geneva. Where possible, we similarly help counter attempts to restrict other basic human rights, such as LGBTQ+ rights or rights of other discriminated groups, on the basis of religious freedom.
In the Council of Europe, we have joined the Committee on Interreligious and Interconvictional Dialogue of the Conference of NGOs with the Council of Europe, and intend to apply for participatory status, comparable to the general consultative status at the UN.
On our website, we also publish weekly short press reports with news on religious freedom issues to inform our members and the wider public. These are sometimes complemented with an IARF position when we feel that the item is particularly relevant from our point of view and we can make a difference.