UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Haut Commissariat des Nations link* pour les refugles Sixth session of the Forum on Minority Issues "Guaranteeing the Rights of Religious Minorities" Item V. Promotion of constructive interfaith dialogue, consultation and exchange (Room XX, Palais des Nations) UNHCR's engagement with faith-based organizations, faith leaders and communities of faith Remarks by Jose Riera Senior Adviser to the Director of International Protection (27 November 2013) Like the rest of the United Nations, UNHCR is a highly secular organization. But the very nature of our work means we cannot be 'faith-blind' or 'faith-phobic,' as long as the red lines are clearly delineated: no conditionality, no proselytizing, and no denigration of other faiths. In December 2012, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees hosted a Dialogue on Faith and Protection. This was the first formal inter-faith dialogue UNHCR has ever engaged in. We were inspired by the ground-breaking work done, for example, by UNFPA and UN-AIDS. The Dialogue on Faith and Protection explored how the notion of 'protecting the other' — the refugee, the migrant, the internally displaced and stateless people — springs from long and widely shared religious values and traditions. We were able to confirm that all main faiths share significant core values that contribute to strengthening asylum and the protection of refugees, internally displaced and stateless people. The Dialogue gave UNHCR the opportunity to reaffirm our own engagement and cooperation with faith-based organizations, faith leaders and local religious communities in discharging our core mandate. It also generated a deeper appreciation of the role that faith plays in providing moral and spiritual sustenance to those we serve in times of crisis and moments of despair. Over the past 11 months, thanks to the commitment and energy of UNHCR's many faith-based partners and friends, we have set in train three important follow-up actions that I would like to highlight here today. 1. Good practice examples of the work of faith-based organizations and local faith communities in contributing to protection The first work stream explored lessons learned and identified good practices from the engagement of faith-based organizations, faith leaders and religious communities in protection-related activities. We have been working with faith-based organizations like the Lutheran World Federation and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society since our creation over six decades ago. Important newcomers to this cooperation are Islamic Relief and Islamic Relief Worldwide. We invited UNHCR colleagues and faith-based partners to contribute to a compilation of examples from the field where we achieved a positive protection outcome for those we serve in partnership