On September 10 of this year, the Second International Forum “Dialogue of Declarations” began its work in the capital, which will last until September 13.

The event is organized by the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (ISRS) together with the U.S. NGO Love Your Neighbor Community (LYNC), with the support of the Committee on Religious Affairs, the Center of Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the Samarkand Regional Administration.

The upcoming forum will serve as a logical continuation of the 2022 event held in Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara, which concluded with the adoption of the Bukhara Declaration later recognized as an official document of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly.

The forum is attended by about 50 experts, religious scholars, theologians and officials from 15 countries, including the United States, Great Britain, China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and the Central Asian states. It was also attended by the First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Rector of the UWED Sodyq Safoev.

The forum will be marked by the adoption of a Final Appeal to the international community, calling for the protection of the rights of religious minorities, the elimination of discrimination based on religion, the promotion of religious education as a tool to counter violent extremism, the affirmation of freedom of belief as a universal human right, and the encouragement of equality among all people regardless of their religious or cultural differences.