SOUTH ASIA Regional WORKSHOP on Freedom of Religion or Belief
In partnership with Humanists International, the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (IPPFoRB) warmly welcomes key stakeholders from South Asia to the Regional Workshop on Freedom of Religion or Belief, taking place in Bangkok, Thailand from October 1-3, 2023.
The event will encompass two full sessions, including keynotes, lectures, and discussions. Speakers will address the right to freedom of religion and belief and its intersectional relationship with other core issues. This event will focus on participants from South Asia, but a select number of guests from other countries are invited to attend.
Attendees for the multidisciplinary training will include regional actors from South Asia, encompassing parliamentarians, policymakers, representatives from the judiciary, and civil society members, among others.
Registration for this event is closed.
SPEAKERS
Dr. Elizabeth O’Casey is currently the Director of Advocacy at the global NGO, Humanists International, where she manages its human rights advocacy work at the UN and designs training for a variety of stakeholders including, members, NGOs, politicians, diplomats and officials.
Content wise, her focus is on the promotion of human rights and equality (primarily in terms of sexual and reproductive rights, LGBTI+ equality, and freedom of religion or belief), as well as non-discrimination - particularly in the face of anti-rights initiatives grounded in religion, culture, tradition, and state sovereignty.
Elizabeth is a member of the Global Steering Committee of the UN Fez Process, an International Patron for the Pink Triangle Trust, an International Advisor at the Raif Badawi Foundation, and President of the UN NGO Committee on FoRB (in Geneva). She also works closely with the Observatory on the Universality of Rights, and was previously a member of the OSCE Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief.
She has a PhD in International Political Theory from the London School of Economics, where she was a Michael Leifer Scholar, and has spent time as a Global Justice fellow at Yale University. She has served in various policy and advocacy positions, including as a consultant on gender, and with ILGA-Europe on countering opposition to human rights. She is based in Brussels.
Fernanda E. San Martín Carrasco is a women's rights activist. Lawyer, Universidad Complutense, Madrid and Panthéon Sorbonne Paris, Master in Management and Public Policy, Universidad Catolica Boliviana in agreement with Harvard, Diploma in Alternative Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Universidad Real de la Camara de Comercio, La Paz.
Specialist in issues of substantive equality, democracy, human rights, women's rights, political participation of women, violence and political harassment against women, and freedom of religion and beliefs. Professional experience in advising and consulting for various political parties, foundations, World Bank, among others. Guest lecturer in various international forums and universities. Fellow Vital Voices Foundation, United States.
Former National Congresswoman, promoter, and author of the bill for a parity presidential binomial, amendments to the Law on Violence and Political Harassment, amendments to the Integral Law to guarantee women a life free of violence, among other issues related to equality, non-discrimination, human rights and Freedom of religion or Belief. Founder of the political party Movimiento Demócrata Social and Director of the Political School of the same party. Promoter of the Girl2Leader leadership program for girls and adolescents in Bolivia. Program Manager for Latin America of the Parliamentarians' Network for Freedom of Religion and Belief (IPPFOR). and Beliefs (IPPFORB). First Bolivian Fellowship Vital Voices.
Dr. Ahmed Shaheed is Professor of International Human Rights Law in the School of Law and Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex. He directs the Human Rights Centre's Religion and Equality Project, Freedom of Religion or Belief for All in Uzbekistan Project and the Essex Summer School on Human Rights Research and Practice. He serves as an adviser to the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and is a member of the Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief convened by the Office for Democratic Insitutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
He served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief from 2016 to 2022 having previously served as the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran from 2011 to 2016. Hailing from the Maldives, Dr. Shaheed served as Foreign Minister of Maldives between 2005 and 2010, member of the Constitutional Assembly from 2004 to 2007, and led the government’s efforts to fast-track human rights and governance reforms between 2003 and 2007, which led to the transition to democracy in 2008. Dr. Shaheed is the founding chair of the Geneva-based think-tank, Universal Rights Group and is a Senior Fellow of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights in Montreal.
Facilitators
Aliya H. is a development professional and human rights activist from Pakistan. Her background includes working in managing and implementing large-scale programmes focusing on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) and Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB). She is a grassroots facilitator on topics of FoRB and Minority Rights and has a track record of advocating for inclusive legislation and the rights of marginalized groups, including religious minorities, and shifting discriminatory social norms against religious minorities and women. .
Her academic background is in International Relations, with a dissertation focusing on 'Women, Peace, and Security issues in Pakistan' which also explored FoRB and minority women rights as a minor aspect. She has been part of several South Asian track-II dialogues aimed at promoting peace and non-violent means of conflict resolution. Aliya has also been involved in several international fellowships working on human rights, FoRB, and Countering Violent Extremism (CVE). In recognition of her dedication to human rights and peacebuilding, Aliya has received the prestigious UN N-Peace 2016 Award. Belonging to Chitral in Pakistan, Aliya's personal background and experiences have fueled her interest in issues related to FoRB and minority rights
Farzana Mahmood is a lawyer, educator and activist. Dr. Farzana Mahmood is an advocate of Bangladesh Supreme Court and founder of Citizens’ Movement for Human Rights Foundation, an organization dedicated to uphold and promote human rights, gender equality and religious minority rights. She has vast experience of working with international development organizations and she is affiliated with many forums operating for religious diversity. Farzana regularly writes in daily newspapers, joins seminars and workshops and attends television shows on the topic of secularism, freedom of religion, communalism and socio-legal issues of Bangladesh.
Farzana is a researcher and gender equality training expert. She is also a guest lecturer at University of Dhaka. Farzana pursued her PhD at University of Delhi on ‘secularism and accommodation of religious minorities in Bangladesh’. She completed Bar Vocational Course from University of Northumbria and did her LLM from University of Leeds, U.K. on International and European Human Rights Law.