2022 Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-based Organizations in International Affairs

Mobilizing Moral Influence and Governance to End the Systemic Injustices of Racism, the legacy of Colonialism and Slavery

The 8th Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-based Organizations in International Affairs, entitled Mobilizing Moral Influence and Governance to End the Systemic Injustices of Racism, the legacy of Colonialism and Slavery will be held virtually 8:00 – 12:30 EDT on Tuesday 25 January 2022.

This Symposium will focus on the urgent need to transform our world, exposing and redressing the systemic injustices of racism, the legacy of colonialism and slavery. As a common table bringing together different stakeholders invested in the issue, it will explore how the lingering historical injustices shape the social inequalities that have been exposed by crises of global proportions including Covid-19.

The Symposium also aims to contribute to healing and reconciling our world. It will identify solutions and concrete recommendations for how the United Nations, in partnership with religious bodies, faith-based groups and other stakeholders, can address racism and advance the building of just, peaceful and inclusive societies.

Racism and concomitant concerns of racial discrimination and xenophobia, colonialism, and slavery, have become highly topical. It is necessary to change the systems that allowed, ignored, or even encouraged abuses to occur.
Customary religious norms, beliefs and practices upholding universal principles of justice, compassion and respect for one another underpin the normative frameworks that the international community has agreed upon over time to address these pressing issues.

Agenda:

• Opening Session
• Panel 1. Deepen understanding of how pernicious and all-encompassing racism, and the legacy of colonialism and slavery remain today.
• Panel 2. Showcase innovative experiences for positive change and encourage concrete actions for positive change throughout the international community.
• Panel 3. Promote policy recommendations and practical steps to strengthen partnerships among diverse stakeholders, including faith-based organizations, the UN System, and non-governmental entities in different regions.

Organized by:
ACT Alliance, General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church, Islamic Relief, Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue at Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Soka Gakkai International, United Religions Initiative, World Council of Churches

In partnership with:
United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for the UN Inter-agency Task Force on Religion and Development