President Trump calls on UN to protect religious freedom
“Religious freedom is a fundamental right that all countries are called to protect. The president’s speech is an important and historic moment precisely because religious freedom is too often ignored or downplayed at the U.N. At a time when persecution is on the rise, and over 80% of the world’s population lives in countries with high restrictions on religious freedom, every country should make securing religious freedom a high priority.”Trump’s speech is the first time a sitting U.S. president has ever convened a meeting on the issue of religious freedom at the U.N.
“Today with one clear voice the United States calls on all nations of the world to end religious persecution,” Trump said.
The president also announced that his administration would dedicate an additional $25 million to protecting religious sites and places of worship and launched a new coalition of business leaders to promote religious freedom.
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ABOUT Kelsey Zorzi
Kelsey Zorzi serves as Director of Advocacy for Global Religious Freedom with ADF International. She leads efforts to address and counter global persecution against Christians and other religious minorities. Based in New York City, Zorzi engages with relevant UN and international bodies as well as U.S.-based institutions, including the U.S. State Department, U.S. Congress, and USCIRF, in order to reassert freedom of religion as foundational to the international human rights framework. In 2018, she was elected president of the United Nations’ NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief. Zorzi earned her J.D. at the George Washington University Law School, where she participated in the GW-Oxford International Human Rights Law Program and won first place in the 2013 National Religious Freedom Moot Court Competition. She is admitted to the state bars in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.