- 2020-02-05 —
The establishment of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) in Washington, D.C., created to promote Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that all peoples have freedom to believe or not believe, to change faith, to meet alone for prayer or together for worship.
At its inception, the Alliance had 27 founding members. They published a declaration, written in cooperation with the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) that set out the guiding principles of the Alliance. The ministers of the alliance meet once a year on a rotating basis. [Forbes Magazine; Joint Statement; Website]
- See Press Statement and Declaration of Principles for the International Religious Freedom Alliance.
- 2022-04-20 — The International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance issued a statement noting "with grave concern the increased pattern of repression and discrimination against members of the Bahá'í community" in some countries around the world. The statement is the first time the Alliance, also known as IRFBA, has made a direct intervention on challenges facing Bahá'í communities as a result of religious prejudice. Specific countries where Bahá'ís are persecuted or discriminated against were not named in the statement but the description of the challenges made it clear that the statement was written in support of the Bahá'í communities in Iran, Qatar and Yemen. [Statement on Bahá'ís]
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