Peacebuilding is broader than just ending conflicts; it also includes building a just society that will be able to remain at peace. What role can religion and religious organizations play in establishing this lasting peace and justice throughout the world? To what extent have religiously-motivated individuals and groups help build peace in our communities? What remains to be done? Scholars, government and intergovernmental leaders, civil society activists, and religious leadership address these questions on a global and national level at this year’s Annual International Law and Religion Symposium.

“Religion’s Roles in Peacebuilding”

October 2-4, 2022

International Center for Law and Religion Studies
J. Reuben Clark Law School – Brigham Young University
Provo, Utah, USA

Select recordings will be available on our blog, Talk About: Law and Religion, soon.

Conference Schedule

Sunday, Oct 2

7 – 8:15 PM

• OPENING SESSION

  
  Room 303

  Moderator:
  Elizabeth A. Clark, Associate Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University and Program Chair, International Law and Religion Symposium, United States

  Welcomes:
  Kevin J Worthen, President, Brigham Young University, United States

  Brett G. Scharffs, Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, and Rex E. Lee Chair and Professor of Law, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, United States

  Keynotes:
  Daniel Philpott, Professor of Political Science, University of Notre Dame, United States

  Nury Turkel, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute; Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, United States

8:30 – 9:30 PM

• RECEPTION

  
  Fritz B. Burns Memorial Lounge, Second Floor
  J. Reuben Clark Law Building

Monday, Oct 3

9 – 10:30 AM

• FIRST PLENARY SESSION

  – Understanding Religion and Peacebuilding
  Room 303

  Moderator:
  Amy Lynn Andrus, Associate Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, United States

  Speakers:
  Fiona Bruce, Member of Parliament; Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (pre-recorded message), United Kingdom

  Carlos Bernal Pulido, Professor, University of Dayton School of Law; Judge, Inter-American Human Rights Commission, Colombia

  James Christie, Ambassador-at-Large, Canadian Multifaith Federation, Canada

  Baroness Emma Nicholson, AMAR International Charitable Foundation, United Kingdom

  Mervyn Thomas, Chair, UK FoRB Forum; Founder President, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, United Kingdom

10:30 – 10:45 AM

• Break

10:45 – 11:45 AM BREAKOUT SESSIONS

• Azerbaijan, and Ukraine

  Room 303

  Moderator:
  Edward Rowe, President and CEO, The Stirling Foundation

  Speakers:
  Ravan Hasanov, Executive Director, Baku International Multiculturalism Centre, Azerbaijan

  Maksym Vasin, Executive Director, Institute for Religious Freedom, Ukraine

  Anna Mariya Basauri Ziuzina, Board Member, Workshop for the Academic Study of Religions, Ukraine

• Malaysia, Philippines and South Korea

  Room 314

  Moderator:
  Professor Juno Baik, Assistant Professor in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages, Brigham Young University

  Speakers:
  Chae Young Kim, Faculty of Religious Studies, Sogang University, South Korea

  Salma Pir Rasul, Program Director, UP National College of Public Administration and Governance, Philippines

  Simon Siah, Lawyer; Director of Lawyer Kamek for Change Malaysia

• Media Perspectives

  Room 205

  Moderator:
  Joel Campbell, Associate Teaching Professor of Journalism, Brigham Young University

  Panelists:
  Luis Rosales, Journalist, Grupo America, Argentina

  Elsie Sierra, President, Guatemalan Media Chamber, Guatemala

  Peggy Fletcher Stack, Journalist, Salt Lake Tribune, United States

• Cape Verde, Mozambique and South Africa

  Room 206

  Moderator:
  Frederick Williams, Professor of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Brigham Young University

  Speakers:

  Filomena Mendes Gonçalves, Minister for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and Parliamentary Affairs, Cape Verde

  Josina da Graça, Deputy National Director of Religious Affairs, Mozambique

  Maralaoke Abram Phahlamohlaka, Chief of Staff, Department of Social Development (Ministry), South Africa

12 Noon – 1:30 PM

• LUNCH FOR CONFERENCE DELEGATES AND INVITED GUESTS
  Wilkinson Student Center, Room 3220-3224

1:30 – 2:10 PM

• GROUP PHOTO FOR DELEGATES

2:15 – 3:45 PM

• SECOND PLENARY SESSION

  – Peacemaking, Religion, and Diplomacy
  Room 303

  Moderator:
  Brett G. Scharffs, Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, and Rex E. Lee Chair and Professor of Law, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, United States

  Panelists:
  Ján Figel’, Former European Union FoRB Special Envoy; Member of the IRF Summit Global Leadership Council; Member of the IRFBA International Council of Experts, Slovak Republic

  Ismat Jahan, Ambassador to the European Union, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Bangladesh

  Yasuhide Nakayama, Former State Minister of Defense; Former State Minister of Foreign Affairs; Special Advisor to the Chairperson of the Research Council for Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Game Changing Fields

  Alfonso José Quiñónez Lemus, Ambassador of the Republic of Guatemala to the United States, Guatemala

3:45 – 4:00 PM

• Break

4:00 – 5:00 PM BREAKOUT SESSIONS

• Canada and the United Kingdom

  Room 303

  Moderator:
  James Phillips, Assistant Professor of Law, Chapman University, Fowler School of Law

  Speakers:
  Andrew Methven, Chief of Staff, AMAR International Charitable Foundation, United Kingdom

  Farrah Raza, Stipendiary Lecturer in Public Law, Pembroke College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

  Derek Ross, Executive Director and General Counsel, Christian Legal Fellowship, Canada

  Jonathan Tucker, Recent Graduate, Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

• Brazil, Dominican Republic and Honduras

  Room 306

  Moderator:
  Fabio Nascimento, LL.M student, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University; Member of the National Association of Data Privacy Professionals

  Speakers:
  Rodrigo Vitorino Souza Alves, Professor, Brazilian Center of Studies in Law and Religion, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil

  Ángel Salvador Canó Sención, Partner and consultant, Rodríguez Estrella, Canó & Matos; Deacon and Legal Advisor to the Dominican Conference of Catholic Bishops, Dominican Republic

  Javier Saldaña Serrano, Professor of Law, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico

  Mauricio Villeda, Congressman, Honduras

• Cambodia and Mongolia

  Room 314

  Moderator:
  Elizabeth A. Clark, Associate Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University and Program Chair, International Law and Religion Symposium, United States

  Speakers:
  Odonkhuu Munkhsaikhan, Professor of Law, National University of Mongolia

  H.E. Sopheak Srey, Deputy Governor of Kampong Cham, Cambodia

• Chile, Guatemala, Mexico and Panama

  Room 205

  Moderator:
  José Antonio Calvi, Legal Counsel, Peruvian Conference of Catholic Bishops; Former President, Latin American Consortium for Religious Liberty, Peru

  Speakers:
  Nelly Cedeño de Paredes, Magistrate, Superior Family Court, Panama

  Omar Cortés Gaibur, Director of the National Office of Religious Affairs, Chile

  Robin Garcia, Pastor; Presidential Commissioner for Religious Freedom of Guatemala

  Felipe Gaytán Alcalá, Profesor Investigador de Universidad La Salle, Mexico

• Ethiopia

  Room 206

  Moderator:
  David H. Moore, Sterling and Eleanor Colton Endowed Chair in Law and Religion; Associate Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University

  Speakers:
  Awoke Atinafu Adam, Chief, Ministry of Peace

  Mohammed Dejen Assen, Professor, College of Law and Governance Studies, Addis Ababa University

Tuesday, Oct 4

9 – 10:15 AM

• THIRD PLENARY SESSION

  – Religion and Interfaith Engagement in Times of Conflict and Disaster
  Room 303

  Moderator:
  David H. Moore, David H. Moore, Sterling and Eleanor Colton Endowed Chair in Law and Religion; Associate Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, United States

  Speakers:
  Asma Redi Baleker, Director General, Ministry of Peace, Ethiopia

  Sharon Eubank, Director, Latter-day Saint Charities

  Samira Gutoc, Chair, AKO Bakwit, Philippines

10:15 – 10:30 AM

• Break

10:30 – 11:30 AM BREAKOUT SESSIONS

• Islamic Perspectives on Human Dignity

  Room 303

  Moderator:
  Brett G. Scharffs, Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, and Rex E. Lee Chair and Professor of Law, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, United States

  Panelists:
  Clark B. Lombardi, Dan Fenno Henderson Professor of Law, University of Washington, United States

  Shamshad Pasarlay, Visiting Lecturer of Law, University of Chicago, Afghanistan

  Lutforahman Saeed, Assistant Professor, Islamic Law Faculty, Kabul University, Afghanistan

• Brazil, Dominican Republic, and Mexico

  Room 306

  Moderator:
  Gary B. Doxey, Associate Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, United States

  Speakers:
  Cristian Badillo Gutierrez, Director General, Conciencia Nacional por la Libertad Religiosa, Mexico

  Sandro Mansur Gibran, Attorney, Brazil

  Isabel Consuelo Paulino de Gross, President, Dr. Paulino Attorneys at Law Legal Advisor to the Dominican Conference of Catholic Bishops, Vice President of the National Commission in Defense of Family and the Constitution, Representative of the Conference’s National Commission of Family and Life, Dominican Republic

• New Zealand

  Room 314

  Moderator:
  Fred Axelgard, Senior Fellow, Wheatley Institute, Brigham Young University

  Speakers:
  Vanisa Dhiru, MNZM JP, Commissioner, New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, New Zealand

  Rakesh Naidoo, Superintendent, New Zealand Police

• Reflections from Lawyers Representing Religious Organizations

  Room 205

  Moderator:
  Scott Isaacson, Lawyer, International Section, Kirton McConkie law firm

  Speakers:
  José Antonio Calvi, Legal Counsel, Peruvian Conference of Catholic Bishops; Former President, Latin American Consortium for Religious Liberty, Peru

  Ángel José Gomera Peralta, Director, National System of Conflict Resolution, Office of the Attorney General; Legal Advisor to the Dominican Conference of Catholic Bishops, Dominican Republic

  Alejandro Santana Rosario, Legal Advisor to the Council Assemblies of God in the Dominican Republic

• Western Africa

  Room 206

  Moderator:
  W. Cole Durham Jr., Founding Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University

  Speakers:
  Mohammed Marzuq Abubakari, Personal Assistant to the National Chief Imam of Ghana; Executive Director of the Islamic Peace and Security Council, Ghana

  Muhammadou M.O. Kah, Ambasssador; Permanent Representative of The Gambia to the United Nations in Geneva, The Gambia

  Christopher Wadibia, Junior Research Fellow, Pembroke College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

11:30 – 11:45 AM

• Break

11:45 AM – 12:45 PM BREAKOUT SESSIONS

• Judicial Roundtable

  Room 303

  Moderator:
  David G. Campbell, Senior Judge, United States District Court, District of Arizona, United States

  Panelists:
  Eyad A. Alsamhan, Judge, Jordan

  Mücahit Aydin, Rapporteur-Judge, Constitutional Court of Turkey

  Carlos Bernal Pulido, Professor, University of Dayton School of Law; Judge, Inter-American Human Rights Commission, Colombia

  Nelly Cedeño de Paredes, Magistrate, Superior Family Court, Panama

  Khosbayar Chagdaa, Presiding Judge of the Chamber for Criminal Cases, Supreme Court of Mongolia

  Abed-Alhaleem Hiasat, Judge, Jordan; LLM Student, BYU Law

  Muntaser Omoush, Judge, Jordan; LLM Student, BYU Law

  J. Clifford Wallace, Chief Judge Emeritus, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

• Reflections from Religious Leaders (Session One)

  Room 306

  Moderator:
  Andrew Reed, Associate Professor, Church History, Brigham Young University; Chair, Council for Interfaith Engagement, United States

  Speakers:
  Bruce Clemenger, President, Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

  Luis Mário de Souza Pinto, Vice president, South American Division, Seventh Day Adventist Church, Brazil

  Revd. Dr. Andrew Teal, Chaplain, Fellow & Lecturer in Theology, Pembroke College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

  Bishop Timoteo, Greek Orthodox Church

• Afghanistan and Kuwait

  Room 314

  Moderator:
  Gerald Williams, Emeritus Professor, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University

  Speakers:

  Fawaz Alkhateeb, Professor of Law, Kuwait International Law School, Kuwait

  Lutforahman Saeed, Assistant Professor, Islamic Law Faculty, Kabul University, Afghanistan

1:00 – 2:15 PM

• LUNCH FOR CONFERENCE DELEGATES AND INVITED GUESTS
  Wilkinson Student Center, 3220-3224

2:15 – 3:00 PM

• KEYNOTE SESSION

  
  Room 303

  Moderator:
  Paul E. Kerry, Associate Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University

  Keynote:

  Revd. Dr. Andrew Teal, Chaplain, Fellow & Lecturer in Theology, Pembroke College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

3:00 3:15 PM

• Break

3:15 – 4:00 PM BREAKOUT SESSIONS

• Jordan and Sudan

  Room 303

  Moderator:
  Erlend Peterson, Associate International Vice President, Brigham Young University

  Speakers:
  NasrEldeen Mofarih Ahmed, Former Minister of Religious Affairs and Awqaf, Sudan

  Eyad A. Alsamhan, Judge, Jordan

  Abed-Alhaleem Hiasat, Judge, Jordan, LLM Student, BYU Law

  Muntaser Omoush, Judge, Jordan, LLM Student, BYU Law

• Reflections from Religious Leaders (Session Two)

  Room 306

  Moderator:
  Shon Hopkin, Department Chair, Department of Ancient Scripture, Brigham Young University

  Speakers:
  Joseph Oluseyi Malomo, Pastor, State House Chaplain and Senior Special Assistant to the President (Chaplaincy), Nigeria

  Jens-Oliver Mohr, Pastor and Director of Public Relations, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Germany

  Jennifer G. Woods, Associate Director, Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, Seventh-Day Adventist Church, United States

• Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Peru

  Room 205

  Moderator:
  Scott Isaacson, Lawyer, International Section, Kirton McConkie law firm

  Speakers:
  Carlos Alberto Pérez Cuevas, Profesor e Investigador de la Universidad Panamericana, Mexico

  Laura I. Féliz Taveras, Partner, DR&R Consulting Lawyers; Advisor to the Acción Cristiana Group, Dominican Republic

  Maria Laura Vargas Valcarcel, Executive Secretary, Peruvian Interreligious Council, Peru

• Democratic Republic of the Congo

  Room 206

  Moderator:
  David H. Moore, Sterling and Eleanor Colton Endowed Chair in Law and Religion; Associate Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University

  Speakers:
  Matthieu Manga Kalota, Lawyer, Matthieu M. Kalota Law Firm, Democratic Republic of the Congo

  Emmanuel-Javier Luzolo Bambi Lessa, Lawyer, Former Minister of Justice, Democratic Republic of the Congo

4:00 – 4:15 PM

• Break

4:15 – 5:45 PM

• FOURTH PLENARY SESSION

  – Conference Summation and Concluding Reflections on Conference Themes
  Room 303

  Moderator:
  Gary B. Doxey, Associate Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, United States

  Closing keynote:
  Rashad Hussain, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, United States

  Remarks
  Brett G. Scharffs, Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, and Rex E. Lee Chair and Professor of Law, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, United States

  Parting Reflections by Delegates

  Concluding Remarks
  Elizabeth A. Clark, Associate Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University and Program Chair, International Law and Religion Symposium, United States