Two weeks after the beginning of the second presidency of Donald Trump, defenders of religious freedom urged the new administration to prioritize the promotion of religious freedom worldwide in its foreign policy agenda over the next four years.
The Summit of International Reluvian Freedom (IRF) began on Tuesday morning in Washington DC (United States), with a discussion panel on how foreign aid, deterrence and solid relationships with leaders with leaders foreigners can promote peace, security and religious freedom worldwide.
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Hundreds of people from dozens of countries representing many religions attend the conference to discuss ways in which religious leaders, legislators and others may end religious persecution.
The speakers of the conference will include Vice President JD Vance, the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, religious leaders of various religions and defenders of religious freedom.
The main confessions represented in the conference are Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. Several smaller confessions that face persecution, including members of the Bahaí Faith, the Yazidi faith and the Falun Gong religious movement, also have a strong presence at the summit.
“(We are in) a moment of tremendous challenge and huge opportunity,” said Annie Boyajian, co -president of the Freedom House human rights group, during the inaugural panel.
Boyajian was accompanied on stage by Scott Flipse, director of policies and relations with the media of the Executive Commission of the United States Congress on China; and David Beasley, former director of the United Nations World Food Program.
Boyajian expressed a cautious optimism about the new administration and said Trump “did a tremendous job” on religious freedom during his first term as president. However, he also expressed his concerns about freezing by the White House of subsidy programs of the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
“Many programs that benefit religious freedom and people of all religions have been suspended,” Boyajian said.
Boyajian urged Marco Rubio, Secretary of State for the United States, to “not throw the baby together with the bath water” by reassessing the subsidies of the State Department and accelerate the review of suspended subsidies that have implications for religious freedom , emphasizing: “There are really lives at stake.”
“It is up to us to help protect others that are the subject of these aggressions,” he said.
During the discussion panel, Flipse, the Panel’s expert, shared his confidence in Trump’s effort for “being a peacemaker” and argued that the defense of religious freedom is directly related to the president’s security and pacification objectives .
“(Create) social stability between religious groups in places where there is conflict,” he said, helps “create paths for peace.”
Flipse stressed the importance of providing personnel to the State Department, emphasizing “placing people who know their priorities … (and) how common sense will be in foreign policy.”
Similarly, Beasley, from the UN World Food Program, said officials “cannot simply hit with a hammer” when they negotiate with foreign leaders who restrict religious freedom, and added: “You have to have time to play the heart”.
Beasley talked about their negotiations with the Taliban leaders in Afghanistan and the huti leaders in Yemen when he directed the World Food Program, saying that many of those leaders are “victims of their own propaganda many times”, but that “respect (their) religion ”And appealing to religious leaders in their faith to discourage religious persecution is an effective strategy.
“I can’t tell you how many problems we have solved simply respecting others (and giving them) the opportunity to be heard,” said Beasley.
However, he also said that the use of deterrent measures such as the threat of cutting aid can also push leaders to reduce the persecution of religious freedom.
The IRF Summit brings together representatives of some 90 American and international organizations associated, including the Catholic University of America, the Family Research Council, Alliance Defending Freedom International and Infense of Christians.
Together with the 2025 summit, the partners also published A seven -page document that listed some of the main priorities of the organizers for the Trump administration.
They urged the administration to ensure that humanitarian funds are destined to religious communities that suffer persecution and restore the United States refugee admission program, prioritizing religious minorities. They also requested that the White House use foreign aid to promote religious freedom and impose more severe sanctions on governments that violate religious freedom.
The organizations also jointly asked the Trump administration to monitor religious freedom in Syria while the country establishes their new government after the rebels overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad. They also urged to closely monitor religious freedom in Iran.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.
Tyler Arnold
Tyler Arnold is a reporter of the National Catholic Register. He previously worked at The Center Square and has published in various media, including The Associated Press, National Review, The American Conservative and The Federalist.