Resources

Report from UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) As the civil war in Syria further deteriorates, accounts of systematic human rights abuses continue to emerge, including torture, starvation, and widespread sexual violence against civilians and combatants. More than five million…

From UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) The Urgent Need to Share Responsibility for Global Refugees Crises There are more people fleeing from war or persecution than ever before. Yet the political will to tackle the problem is scarce and anti-foreigner rhetoric…

Organisers: Working Group on Children and Violence of Child Rights Connect - Global Partnership to End Violence against Children - Office of the Special Representative to the Secretary General on Violence against Children - Office of the High Commissioner for…

The 2022 Evidence Summit brought together more than 430 faith actors and faith-based organizations (FBOs), donors, and peacebuilding practitioners across 12 unique sessions to explore evidence on strategic engagement and partnership with faith actors and FBOs in the peacebuilding, development,…

102 UNICEF offices provided information about their extensive work with faith communities over recent years. Partnerships included sensitization activities, capacity development, and support for advocacy and social mobilization. The mapping report concludes: “With evidence of UNICEF’s extensive engagement with religious communities in plain view, UNICEF must now turn its attention to maximizing the benefits of its partnerships with these critical actors”

A tenth anniversary guide for reflection and discussion The Kyoto Declaration has served as an invaluable resource for those engaged in multi-religious cooperation and advocacy for children. It explicitly recommends prohibition of corporal punishment and has provided a guide for…

A G20 Interfaith Forum Policy Brief Draft, September 25, 2020 Challenges and Call to Action The Saudi G20 Presidency has identified refugees, migrants, and trafficking in its goal to “empower  people by unleashing opportunities for all, including in particular empowering…

The following policy brief focuses on lessons learned around attitudes toward engaging faith more broadly.

The Anglican Alliance brings together international, interfaith and ecumenical actors to recommend national and international strategies, and provides a platform for initiatives from the local to the global to share experiences and best practices. To read about Anglican Alliance Programs…

Alliance for Peace Annual Conference: Peace Now More than Ever Session: Beyond a Leap Of Faith: Evaluative Reflections on the Practices of Monitoring and Evaluating Inter-Religious Peacebuilding October 13, 2017 Panelists Peter Woodrow, Executive Director of CDA Collaborative Learning Projects James Patton,…

For over five decades, USAID has partnered and collaborated with civil society actors, of which faith-based, faith-inspired and local community organizations play a vital role towards achieving developmental goals. The United States writ large is an extraordinarily generous country. Faith-based…

An Exploration of InterAction's NGO Members' Interfaith Collaboration Religion has long been a conduit for charitable acts and work within the NGO sector. Because of similar values and principles, members of the faith community have a strong and inherent bond…

In diverse contexts, community-based child protection mechanisms (CBCPMs) are front line efforts to protect children from exploitation, abuse, violence, and neglect and to promote children’s well-being.2 Defined broadly, CBCPMs include all groups or networks at grassroots level that respond to…

21st-23rd March 2018 United Nations Strategic Learning Exchange on Religion, Development and Humanitarian Work under the patronage of HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, in Amman, Jordan The Strategic Learning Exchange (SLE) is a partnership effort stewarded by the UN…

A G20 Interfaith Forum Policy Brief (Draft) October 12, 2020 Hate Speech: A Global Phenomenon that demands collaboration and engagement of religious and non-religious leaders In a continuously globalising reality, hate speech has increasingly become a powerful factor in the…

Series 2: Resource Guide for Religious Leaders and Faith Communities Ensuring trust, mental health, spiritual guidance, and social support are essential during a pandemic, when people are coping with intensified levels of fear, uncertainty, loss, and anxiety. Based on their…

There is a growing awareness of the importance that faith and belief systems play in the lives of refugees, displaced persons and those affected by humanitarian crises in general. This was clearly articulated in the UNHCR High Commissioner’s Dialogue on…

The 8th Conference for Research in Diaconia and Christian Social Practice (ReDi) An International Digital Conference for Researchers, Diaconia Students and Practitioners Diaconia as Gamechanger? Leadership of Service in Times of Crisis, Complexity and Transformation 17th September 2020 This resource…

This brief argues that the vast majority of refugees and asylum seekers are hosted by poorer countries and almost four million have been welcomed by countries which themselves have experienced armed violence or are in conflict. To read the material,…

Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP), in collaboration with CDA Collaborative Learning and Search for Common Ground (SFCG) recently convened a group of 30 leading experts to discuss how to better measure the effectiveness of inter-and intra-religious action for peacebuilding. The meeting…

2019 Kofi Annan Faith Briefings at the United Nations July 15, 2019, New York City The 2019 Kofi Annan Faith Briefing was held during the High Level Political Forum and guided by the theme, “empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and…

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a form of gender injustice which affects millions of girls and women in the world and is deep rooted in social gender norms and practices. GBV is a leading cause of death, illnesses and disabilities of…

The Seminar on Role of Faith Actors in Implementing the Global Compact on Refugees, that took place in Beirut on June 18, 2019, sought not only to bring together leaders and faith-based organisations from the three main sects together, but…

Mozambique’s Interfaith Program against Malaria (PIRCOM) developed the volunteer, Christian and Muslim sermon guide. They provide basic facts about malaria prevention and health seeking behavior, providing scriptural texts in support of the actions that a family should be taking. These…

“Prayer was the rope of survival.” “Religious needs are my primary needs.” “I wish I had been asked.” These statements were shared by displaced women in Iraq, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey in three independent, coordinated research studies in 2019 led…

UN Environment held its fourth Environment Assembly during 11-15 March 2019, with the themes of sustainable consumption and production, and innovative approaches to solving environmental issues. The Faith for Earth Initiative held its thematic dialogue in the Faith and SDG…

The Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities conducted a survey with faith leaders across the world to gauge their levels of awareness and understand the challenges that they face, in order to develop the right tools and knowledge resources to better…

Alliance for Peacebuilding, CDA Collaborative Learning Projects, and Search for Common Ground, with support from the GHR Foundation, This guide intends to improve the practice of inter-religious action for peace, by encouraging the regular application of monitoring and evaluation tools. Religious communities have…

Kenya AIDS Strategic Framework (KASF) 2014/15 – 2018/19 embraces a multi-sectoral approach to HIV programming and emphasizes the importance of participation and accountability in every sector in the HIV response. This calls upon communities to respond to HIV within their…

Preventing possible tensions between refugees and the host population has become a policy priority for countries hosting large numbers of refugees. In addition to local, national and international humanitarian actors, faith-based actors from both host and refugee communities attempt to…

This publication aims to amplify the voices of Syrian women and add new texture to the portrait of their lives inside Syria and in neighbouring countries. To download this publication, and other UNFPA resources, click here: http://www.unfpa.org/publications  

The role of faith in the humanitarian sector is not easy to measure. Faiths generally advocate welcoming the stranger and there are many organisations and individuals inspired by their faith or religion to provide protection and assistance. Yet it is easier to measure the activities inspired by faith than to measure the difference that having that faith makes, and secularly inspired standards for such activities can appear to be in tension with the faith inspiration. FMR 48 includes 36 articles on ‘Faith’ plus seven ‘general’ articles. – See more at: http://www.fmreview.org/faith#sthash.9G2V0abz.dpuf

Forced migrant survivors of SGBV constitute some of the most marginalised groups within countries of refuge. This report explores the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on forced migrant survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and the organisations which support…

Religions for Peace and UNICEF, with input from religious leaders and
child protection specialists, have developed this guide as a tool to support
religious communities’ work to promote child rights and to prevent and
respond to rights violations, in particular violence against children.

This publication aims to highlight the actual and potential roles of faith actors in contributing towards an effective and holistic response to child displacement in Europe and Central Asia. These roles range from providing shelter and other material support to…

Report following the ‘From Faith to Action’ online conference, 10 - 11 December 2020 The “From Faith to Action” initiative focuses on children escaping conflict, persecution, natural disaster or poverty, and brings together UNICEF and stakeholders from faith-based communities who…

This note on the 2019 G20 Interfaith Forum highlights what happened, with some analysis of key points. This ambitious effort aimed to bring together a “network of networks”, linking religious actors working on global issues within the broad framework of…

The G20 Interfaith Forum (IF20), which has convened annually since 2014, brings important dimensions to the G20 process. It shares some features with other engagement groups but has distinctive aspects that relate, above all, to the widely diverse landscape of…

University of Potsdam Germany 15-17 June 2017 website: g20interfaith.org see brief here More than a hundred experts and leaders from fields ranging from economy, law, politics, religion, development to humanitarian aid, coming from 30 different countries, gathered for the fourth…

Humanitarian responses to violence against women (VAW) in forced displacement rarely account for religion as an influential intersecting category shaping women’s experiences. Yet, Dr Sandra Iman Pertek writes that religion remains an important matter for many displaced women, which should…

ZERO DRAFT 5 February 2018

Helping Children Cope with Traumatic Events was developed in response to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. This booklet provides practical guidance for caregivers—including parents, family members, teachers, clergy, and volunteers—on how to help support children…

Introducing the Network for Dialogue: EMPOWERING INTERRELIGIOUS AND INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE FOR THE SOCIAL INCLUSION OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES The Network for Dialogue was initiated in 2018 by the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) in order to bring faith and civil society…

Interaction Between the Two Compacts is a Protection Solution Statement by the International Catholic Migration Commission Global Compact on Refugees High Commissioner’s Dialogue on Protection Challenges 12-13 December 2017 by Mantalin Kyrou, Policy Officer' Other faith-based contributions

This review outlines the findings of a literature analysis conducted by the World Faiths Development Dialogue  on behalf of Religions for Peace, focused on the intersections between religion, gender, and climate change in three rainforest regions: The Amazon, Congo Basin,…

2020 G20 Interfaith Forum May 27, 2020 The COVID-19 crisis highlights the urgent need for G20 leaders to support and protect tropical rainforests. Destruction of these forests poses an existential threat to the future global climate: deforestation results in emission…

In the absence of any effective medicine or vaccine, COVID-19 remains a global threat. Social and political sciences inform us about patterns of behaviour among individuals, communities, societies and states in times of crisis and conflict. In such situations, policymakers…

The primary aim of this Resource Guide is to mobilize Faith-inspired resources to end Child Poverty. The Guide has been developed by Arigatou International's Interfaith Initiative to End Child Poverty, (End Child Poverty) - a multi-faith, child centered, global initiative…

This report evaluates contemporary interreligious dialogue activities in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. In order to do so, it introduces a theoretical framework for analyzing interreligious dialogue activities in the Middle East and presents a cross-national analysis of contemporary dialogue…

Religion and Global Migrations Editors: Jennifer B Saunders,Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, Susanna Snyder This innovative volume introduces readers to a variety of disciplinary and methodological approaches used to examine the intersections of religion and migration. A range of leading figures in this field consider the roles…

Learning Exchange with Jessica Baumgardner-Zuzik from Alliance for Peacebuilding June 17, 2020 Presentation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TH7pVwINFk&feature=youtu.be Jessica Baumgardner-Zuzik, Senior Director of Learning & Evaluation at Alliance for Peacebuilding, presented on the Eirene Peacebuilding Database, AfP's #CreativityInCrisis video series, and the Effective Inter-religious…

Local Faith Communities in Urban Displacement: Evidence on Urbanization and Localization Brief Author: Olivia Wilkinson Design: Stacy Nam Key points: Local faith actors should be recognized as legitimate “local,” “civil society” actors A greater familiarity with the structures of local…

Since 1946, local faith communities have been at the heart of CWS responses to forced displacement. When we conceived of this research in 2019, it was because of our conviction that local faith communities remain as essential in welcoming the…

Learning to Play Together, the initiative featured in this booklet, sought to introduce ethics and intercultural learning into physical education using Arigatou International’s Learning to Live Together programme as a foundation. It was launched in Greece in 2011 by Dr.…

This report was commissioned by Sacred Heart College, and funded by the Breadsticks Foundation to better understand the conditions affecting access to education for migrant children in Johannesburg. The Three2Six Education Project for Refugee Children at Sacred Heart College has…

The impact of the Interfaith Peace Platform on the peace process in the Central African Republic Geneva Liaison Office of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Together with Imam Oumar Kobine Layama, president of the Central African Islamic Council, and Archbishop…

In 2021, CWS completed a study on perceptions of climate change, adaptation, and migration in five countries where they support locally led adaptation. Drawing on more than 200 interviews and 26 focus groups, the report shares how farmers and rural…

Association, Dissociation, Kindness, Justice and Compassion Responses to 50 faith-based arguments against peaceful co-existence and an introductory examination of Islamic textual evidence for peaceful interfaith relations See Da'wah Insititute Website

The case study reviews the religious landscape in Kenya and provides an overview of the various types of violence, pointing to the complex overlapping of ethnicity and religion. The difference between types of conflict and their causes are explored, with…

The Key Roles of Faith Actors in Meeting Needs of Refugees and Forced Migrants Presented by Jean Duff, JLI President

With Case Examples from Tanzania, Ethiopia, El Salvador and Bangladesh Discussion Paper This discussion paper demonstrates that climate-induced non-economic loss and damage (NELD) includes forms of damage that cannot be measured or compensated financially. It includes loss of biodiversity and…

Key messages from Islam and Christianity on protecting children from violence and harmful practices This book explores the approaches to preventing all forms of violence against children from the perspectives of Islam and Christianity. It is intended as a guide…

This photo-book is an attempt to bring the stories of hope amid the gloomy context that populations of the Middle East have had to endure, some having lived as internally displaced persons and as refugees in both host communities and…

The Project Integration through Dialogue Toolkit consists of this Handbook, as well as two supplements: Activity Materials and Sample Information Handouts. Toolkits are often defined as a collection of methods, materials and ideas. This Toolkit can be used in its…

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development fully recognizes migration and displacement as a core development consideration. It has introduced a range of specific SDG targets on migration and pledges to “leave no one behind”, including refugees, displaced persons and host…

Promotion of a culture of peace and interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace 26 September 2016 Report of the Secretary-General The present report provides an overview of the activities that have been carried out by the main…

No parent, no adult relative or guardian was with them on the way: in 2014, not a few, not a thousand, but more than 50,0003 boys and girls like Karla and Freddy journeyed unaccompanied through deserts and forests, through mountains…

The research project that informed this brief deployed intersectional and socioecological analysis of violence against women (VAW) in forced migration and identified two aspects of religious influences on survivors’ experiences as: 1) a vulnerability intersecting with other factors, and 2)…

The Public Health, Religion and Spirituality Bulletin is a publication of the Public Health, Religion, and Spirituality Network. The Bulletin aims to be a place to highlight research, teaching, and practice, past and present; share ideas, resources, and opportunities; house…

The current crisis in CAR began in December 2012, when the northern-based Muslim Séléka forces overthrew the government, forcing then-president François Bozizé to flee the country. This led to the formation of Christian self-defense militia groups, the Anti-Balaka. Since then…

Council on Foreign Relations Webinar, May 14, 2020 Mary Evelyn Tucker, senior lecturer, senior research scholar, and codirector of the Forum of Religion and Ecology at Yale University, discusses religion and climate change. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbzc3XxzZZ4&feature=youtu.be You can access the webinar and transcript here.

The World Faiths Development Dialogue, with financial support from the GHR Foundation, selected Kenya for a case study to identify and better understand the roles religion plays in building peace, with particular attention to inter-religious relations and collaboration. Kenya offers…

Desde su fundación en 1946, la participación de iglesias cristianas locales han sido parte fundamental en las respuestas de CWS a situaciones de desplazamiento forzado de personas. Cuando a comienzos de 2019 concebimos esta investigación, lo hicimos con la convicción…

Religion is a positive force for peacebuilding and preventing violent extremisms (PVE). Indeed, religious institutions and actors play an important role in building peace yet underutilized instruments in the prevention and resolution of violent extremisms. The objective of this research…

In Senegal, many people are uncertain what their religious traditions teach about birth spacing and family planning. the Cadre des Religieux pour la Santé et le Développement (CRSD) is an interfaith association of Senegalese faith leaders, to promote maternal and child health…

Niger is a secular country with a Muslim majority. The communities live in harmonious peace and cultivate the spirit of living together regardless of ethnic or religious differences. Freedom of worship is a reality in the country. However, in recent decades,…

May 1st to 3rd, 2019 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Eigtveds Pakhus, Copenhagen At the closing of last year’s GAM held at Château de Bossey, Switzerland, the PaRD Steering Group gratefully accepted the invitation by PaRD member Ministry of…

Since 2015, ADRA has placed a priority on meeting the essential needs of refugee families and individuals in the European refugee crisis. Over the past two years, more than 1.3 million people who are fleeing conflict and persecution have passed…

The Capacity for Interreligious Community Action program (CIRCA) was a three-year capacity-building program financed by GHR Foundation and supplemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS). The overarching goal of the program was to contribute to human development and more peaceful coexistence…

Religions for Peace and the World Faiths Development Dialogue explore the manner and extent that both latent and manifest gender roles are reflected in the approach to the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative and its management. By probing this often-neglected dimension of…

Religions for Peace (RfP), the global multireligious network, is a founding partner of the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative (IRI), which focuses on mobilizing religious actors to protect the critical tropical forest basins of the Amazon, the Congo, and Southeast Asia. WFDD…

Islam has a strong heritage of protection of forced migrants. It is a tradition which provides a robust and generous framework for the protection of and provision for forced migrants, enshrining rights such as the rights to dignity, non-refoulement, equal treatment, shelter, health care, family reunification and protection of property. This paper provides an overview of the Islamic teachings related to the rights of forced migrants, and is a resource for any agency dealing with Muslim forced migrant or host communities.

As a joint learning network focused on evidence in religions and development, we (i.e., JLI) are often asked to summarize the “evidence” on religions and development. While that may seem like a simple request, it is, in fact, a complicated…

The December 2016 international conference held in Nanjing to discuss the theme “Religion, Values, Ethics and Development” was one of the few in China to bring together both scholars of religion and faith-based development practitioners. Co-organized and hosted by the…

This booklet from Jesuit Refugee Service presents teaching, reflections and guidance of Pope Francis regarding migrants and refugees. It contains a Message from Pope Francis and twenty action priorities in two versions. One is meant for active pastoral engagement with migrants…

Religious leaders are in a prime position to change harmful attitudes about family planning. They are some of the most important and respected opinion leaders in Ugandan communities who can help shift social norms. By virtue of their status and…

iDove – Interfaith Dialogue on Violent Extremism Training and Training of Trainers Manual including Teaching Material In February 2017, the African Union Commission’s Directorate of Citizens and Diaspora Organizations (AUC-CIDO) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, commissioned…