Institute on Religion and Public Policy
Encyclopedia
The Institute on Religion and Public Policyhttp://www.religionandpolicy.org (IRPP) is an international, inter-religious non-profit organization
dedicated to ensuring freedom of religion
as the foundation for security, stability, and democracy. President Joseph Grieboski founded the Institute in 1999. The Institute has been nominated for the numerous Nobel Peace Prizes.
The INSTITUTE's mission is to investigate international religious liberty violations, to coordinate international efforts in support of victims of religious persecution, to advocate on behalf of all fundamental human rights (specifically the right to believe and practice one’s own faith), and to educate people about their rights and how to protect/implement them.
The INSTITUTE trains all U.S. immigration judges on national and international religious freedom concerns.
International Consortium on Religion, Culture, and Dialogue
The International Consortium consists of colleges and universities that collaborate on freedom of thought. Through the Consortium, institutions of higher learning are able to network to contribute directly to understanding and resolution of the struggle for religious freedom.
Religious Freedom Country Specific Reports
The Universal Periodic Review allows the U.N.’s Human Rights Council to evaluate the human rights records of all 193 member states every four years. As part of the process, each country must gather analysis on its human rights situation from its government, civil society groups and from the population. Non-governmental organizations may submit five-page reports for consideration, and can focus on aspects such as religious freedom. THE INSTITUTE will continue to supply religious freedom reports throughout the Human Rights Council’s review process, and ends in 2011.
Roundtable with the Ambassador
The Roundtable is held once a month with a different ambassador in an informal, open, off-the-record forum.
Interparliamentary Conference on Human Rights and Religious Freedom
The Interparliamentary Conference on Human Rights and Religious Freedom (IPC) is composed of members of national and supranational parliaments from around the globe. The IPC allows members of parliaments to meet and address the issues of human rights and freedom of conscience with common understanding and background as parliamentarians.
The Conference and its members examine, monitor, and act in coordination as a body and in their respective parliaments to address either human rights/freedom of conscience situations in specific countries or territories or on major phenomena of human rights/freedom of conscience violations worldwide in thematic processes.
The main themes addressed by the IPC focus on the question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms – particularly freedom of religion, belief, and conscience – in all parts of the world. Among these are freedom of expression, religious intolerance
, the human rights of minorities and displaced person
s, trafficking in persons, and the general promotion and protection of human rights.
The IPC also identifies areas where existing standards need to be further developed to confront new and growing concerns. While not dealing with specific individual cases of violations of freedom of conscience or human rights, the Conference will review and study individual cases to determine whether or not a systematic discrimination or denial of rights of religious believers/non-believers by a government - or a systematic governmental or social persecution of religious believers/nonbelievers is underway.
The IPC uses as its guide and measure international standards of human rights and freedom of conscience. Among the paradigms used by the Conference are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
, the Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Helsinki Accords
, the European Convention on Human Rights
, and the Vienna Concluding Documents. Consequently, the Conference examines issues of implementation and legislation in national and supranational bodies to guarantee adherence to international standards.
Where problems are identified, the IPC takes action to address them. It provides expert advice, human rights seminars, national and regional training courses and workshops, fellowships and scholarships, and other activities aimed at strengthening national capacities for the protection and promotion of human rights.
During its regular annual meeting, the IPC may adopt resolutions, decisions and statements on matters of relevance to human rights and freedom of conscience in all regions and circumstances. It is assisted in this work by the Secretariat of the Conference – headquartered and staffed by THE INSTITUTE on Religion and Public Policy – working group
s established by the Conference, and a network of individual experts, representatives and rapporteurs mandated to report to it on specific issues.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
dedicated to ensuring freedom of religion
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
as the foundation for security, stability, and democracy. President Joseph Grieboski founded the Institute in 1999. The Institute has been nominated for the numerous Nobel Peace Prizes.
Vision & Mission
Following in the footsteps of Thomas Jefferson who once said, “Freedom of religion is the…most sacred of all human rights”, The INSTITUTE envisions a world where everyone has a right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief.The INSTITUTE's mission is to investigate international religious liberty violations, to coordinate international efforts in support of victims of religious persecution, to advocate on behalf of all fundamental human rights (specifically the right to believe and practice one’s own faith), and to educate people about their rights and how to protect/implement them.
Programs
Judicial TrainingThe INSTITUTE trains all U.S. immigration judges on national and international religious freedom concerns.
International Consortium on Religion, Culture, and Dialogue
The International Consortium consists of colleges and universities that collaborate on freedom of thought. Through the Consortium, institutions of higher learning are able to network to contribute directly to understanding and resolution of the struggle for religious freedom.
Religious Freedom Country Specific Reports
The Universal Periodic Review allows the U.N.’s Human Rights Council to evaluate the human rights records of all 193 member states every four years. As part of the process, each country must gather analysis on its human rights situation from its government, civil society groups and from the population. Non-governmental organizations may submit five-page reports for consideration, and can focus on aspects such as religious freedom. THE INSTITUTE will continue to supply religious freedom reports throughout the Human Rights Council’s review process, and ends in 2011.
Roundtable with the Ambassador
The Roundtable is held once a month with a different ambassador in an informal, open, off-the-record forum.
Interparliamentary Conference on Human Rights and Religious Freedom
The Interparliamentary Conference on Human Rights and Religious Freedom (IPC) is composed of members of national and supranational parliaments from around the globe. The IPC allows members of parliaments to meet and address the issues of human rights and freedom of conscience with common understanding and background as parliamentarians.
The Conference and its members examine, monitor, and act in coordination as a body and in their respective parliaments to address either human rights/freedom of conscience situations in specific countries or territories or on major phenomena of human rights/freedom of conscience violations worldwide in thematic processes.
The main themes addressed by the IPC focus on the question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms – particularly freedom of religion, belief, and conscience – in all parts of the world. Among these are freedom of expression, religious intolerance
Religious intolerance
Religious intolerance is intolerance against another's religious beliefs or practices.-Definition:The mere statement on the part of a religion that its own beliefs and practices are correct and any contrary beliefs incorrect does not in itself constitute intolerance...
, the human rights of minorities and displaced person
Displaced person
A displaced person is a person who has been forced to leave his or her native place, a phenomenon known as forced migration.- Origin of term :...
s, trafficking in persons, and the general promotion and protection of human rights.
The IPC also identifies areas where existing standards need to be further developed to confront new and growing concerns. While not dealing with specific individual cases of violations of freedom of conscience or human rights, the Conference will review and study individual cases to determine whether or not a systematic discrimination or denial of rights of religious believers/non-believers by a government - or a systematic governmental or social persecution of religious believers/nonbelievers is underway.
The IPC uses as its guide and measure international standards of human rights and freedom of conscience. Among the paradigms used by the Conference are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from March 23, 1976...
, the Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Helsinki Accords
Helsinki Accords
thumb|300px|[[Erich Honecker]] and [[Helmut Schmidt]] in Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe held in Helsinki 1975....
, the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
, and the Vienna Concluding Documents. Consequently, the Conference examines issues of implementation and legislation in national and supranational bodies to guarantee adherence to international standards.
Where problems are identified, the IPC takes action to address them. It provides expert advice, human rights seminars, national and regional training courses and workshops, fellowships and scholarships, and other activities aimed at strengthening national capacities for the protection and promotion of human rights.
During its regular annual meeting, the IPC may adopt resolutions, decisions and statements on matters of relevance to human rights and freedom of conscience in all regions and circumstances. It is assisted in this work by the Secretariat of the Conference – headquartered and staffed by THE INSTITUTE on Religion and Public Policy – working group
Working group
A working group is an interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers working on new research activities that would be difficult to develop under traditional funding mechanisms . The lifespan of the WG can last anywhere between a few months and several years...
s established by the Conference, and a network of individual experts, representatives and rapporteurs mandated to report to it on specific issues.