30 November 2016, Bangkok – Religious leaders, scholars and representatives of faith based organizations from the Asia-Pacific region will meet on 6 and 7 December 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand, to discuss the role of religious actors in preventing and responding to incitement to violence that could lead to atrocity crimes, and develop a regional plan of action for the prevention of incitement.

Recent years have seen a significant escalation in tensions among and against groups of different religions or beliefs, which have often resulted in violence. Incidents of violence have been preceded or accompanied by hate speech and incitement, including in public discourse and the social media. Given their influence, leaders of religious communities can play an important role in preventing incitement to violence.

Religious actors representing different faiths from over a dozen countries will participate in the Bangkok meeting, including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Over the two days, they will examine what constitutes incitement, the legal framework for the prevention of incitement, risk factors for atrocity crimes and the tools available to prevent and respond to incitement that could lead to atrocity crimes. Participants will share good practices and lessons learned in preventing incitement.

In developing a regional action plan of action, participants will review the “Fez Plan of Action”, a set of options for actions that religious leaders can take to prevent incitement to violence, which was developed at a meeting of religious leaders from around the world that took place in Fez, Morocco, in April 2015. The Fez Plan of Action has been reviewed at regional meetings with religious leaders in Africa, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. Participants and co-organisers of these meetings have since been developing initiatives aimed at implementing the regional strategies.

The meeting in Bangkok, co-organized by the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) and the World Council of Churches, will be the last of the five regional consultations. The Fez Action Plan will be launched at the United Nations in New York, USA, at the beginning of 2017.

For more information or interview opportunities please contact:

• Simona Cruciani Political Affairs Officer, United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, cruciani@un.org, +1-917-367-5430
• Mariela Hoyer Starcevic, Public Affairs Officer, KAICIID: mariela.hoyer@kaiciid.org, +43 664 887 24068
• Marianne Ejdersten, WCC Director of Communication: mej@wcc-coe.org, +41 79 507 63 63