AIDLR was founded in 1946 by Dr. Jean Nussbaum, assisted by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt - the first President of Honorary Committee of AIDLR. It is a non-governmental organization with participatory status to the United Nations (UN) ECOSOC Committee in New York and Geneva, in the Council of Europe (CoE) in Strasbourg and to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Warsaw.
The purpose of AIDLR is to disseminate ideas of tolerance, and to defend the right for anyone to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
AIDLR issued recently a statement regarding the war in Ukraine through its Secretary General, Dr. Paulo Macedo.
In conclusion, here is an appeal to all parties involved. The International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty
Calls on the parties involved and the international community, through the organizations in which it is accredited and, in particular, before the United Nations and the European Union, to continue and increase their efforts in the search for a peaceful resolution of this conflict through diplomatic channels. Urges the parties in conflict to exercise maximum restraint in actions that affect the life, security, liberty, basic needs, and fundamental rights of civilian populations. Calls for respect for the principles of freedom of conscience, religion and worship of all people, as well as the holy shelter traditionally provided by places of worship and the assisting role of clerics, professionals and humanitarian volunteers at the service of populations on behalf of their institutions. It notes and supports the efforts of the international community, through so many people, institutions and States, to receive the extraordinary number of refugees that this war has already caused. Besides the effort to grant asylum, meet needs and offer integration, AIDLR also calls for special attention to understand, accept and promote the freedom of each person, guaranteeing their fundamental rights of conscience, worship and religion.
