Panel: The Social Role of Religions and Faith Communities

Reyna I. Aburto is the Second Counselor in the General Presidency of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I would like to start by expressing my deep gratitude to all who have organized and participated in this inspiring event, and, particularly, to those who participated in this panel with me:

To Mr. Luis Panessi, from ADRA, the Argentinian Adventist Agency for Development and Support Resources, sponsored by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, whose objective is to “serve humanity in order to help everyone live according to God’s will,” as it is driven by justice, compassion, and love [1].

To Reverend Luis Mussiett, who is the National Evangelic Chaplain of Gendarmerie in Chile and who does remarkable work in “supporting, watching over and rehabilitating people who […] have been detained or whose freedom has been taken away” [2].

To Mrs. Cristina Tobias‐Nabi from IRUSA, Islamic Relief USA, who serves children, orphans, and women by providing, among other things, clean water, education, health services, emergency response, food, and microfinances [3].

I represent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‐day Saints, whose humanitarian arm, Latter‐day Saint Charities, has as a purpose to “relieve suffering, foster self‐reliance, and provide opportunities for service” [4].

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Panel: The Social Role of Religious and Faith Communities

Christina Tobias-Nahi is the Director of Communications and Public Affairs for Islamic Relief USA.

Islamic Relief USA, as a member of the Islamic Relief federated family, adheres to the seven Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross/Crescent Movement, which provides an ethical, operational, and institutional framework to humanitarian organizations working globally. The key principles of humanity, neutrality, and impartiality are core to helping people in need during armed conflict, natural disasters, and other emergencies without naming the actors who might be responsible for the suffering caused. Also, as dignity is part of our mission, working with any and all affected populations regardless of creed is paramount.

The major priorities for Islamic Relief as a global family are hunger and food insecurity, climate change, refugees, internally displaced persons, and most recently gender justice and women’s empowerment, including the rights bestowed on women in Islam that are not always culturally practiced, often keeping them marginalized. During the past couple of years, our health work has also been raised in profile with vulnerable populations that are disproportionately impacted by the impacts of COVID-19, which include disruptions to education and loss of livelihoods especially impacting women and mothers.

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Remarks on the Punta del Este Declaration on Human Dignity for Everyone Everywhere

Ana María Celis Brunet is a Professor of Law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and Director of the UC Center for Law and Religion

In October 2021, thanks to the leadership of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS), we gathered four countries from the Southern Cone—Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile—in a Forum on Human Dignity and Religious Freedom. It seems particularly important to devote time to reflect on human dignity for everyone everywhere, which corresponds to the title of the 2018 Punta del Este Declaration.

The Declaration reflects the combined work of a group of people motivated by discussions initiated by Jan Figel, the former Envoy for Freedom of Religion for the non-European countries of the European Union, with the support of the ICLRS. This group seized the opportunity to build on and further develop religious freedom as a fundamental human right on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, emphasizing the perspective of human dignity.

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