Forum Initiated To Monitor Religious Liberty

In January 2002, a group of ambassadors, religious liberty experts, members of parliament and members of the media met in Berlin, Germany. The multinational gathering founded the First Step Forum, which began work on April 1 to monitor religious and human rights abuses worldwide.

Johan Candelin, director of the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission and founding member, said, "This is a great day for people suffering from religious liberty abuses."

The partnership brings together parliamentarians from Finland, Sweden, Germany, Holland and Switzerland; legal representation by Samuel E. Ericsson, Esq., President of Advocates International; and the media expertise of David Aikman, former Bureau Chief for Time Magazine in Beijing and Jerusalem, Tim Dean, former Senior Editor of BBC World, and Mr. Stig Kankkonen, a chief editor in Finland.

The First Step Forum will monitor disinformation campaigns and cases of discrimination, bringing them to the attention of governments and media with the intention of being a voice for people who have no voice.

WEF