(TibetanReview.net, Nov27’25) – The fifth anniversary conference of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA), held over Nov 12-13, 2025, in the Prague Castle, Czech Republic, concluded with a Prague declaration that included a reaffirmation of the Tibetan Buddhist community’s right to select the successor of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama without state interference. Successive Dalai Lama reincarnations have been the spiritual leader of Tibet since 1642 and also the temporal head of the now Chinese occupied country until 2011.
Launched in Feb 2020, The IRFBA is a network of countries promoting freedom of religion or belief worldwide. It has 38 member states. Besides, there are also five IRFBA friends and three IRFBA observers including the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief.
The declaration, issued by the IRFBA’s Chair Robert Rehak, underscored that the right to freedom of religion or belief includes “the freedom to choose religious leaders free from state interference.” The statement directly addressed growing concerns over external political pressures surrounding the future succession of the 14th Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, noted the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) on its Tibet.net website Nov 27.
During his participation in the event, the Sikyong (executive head) of the CTA, Mr Penpa Tsering, addressed a session on “Tribute to the Dalai Lama as Religious Leader of Tibetan Buddhism,” He spoke on China’s intensifying efforts to control the recognition of the 15th Dalai Lama and highlighted the urgent need for international support to protect Tibetan religious freedom.
(Photo courtesy: Institute of International Relations Prague)
During the event, the Tibetan Sikyong also presented to Mr Rehak – who is the IRFB’s Ambassador at Large, Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, Interfaith Dialogue and Freedom of Religion – a letter from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Penpa Tsering told the gathering that while the Chinese government disregards the living 14th Dalai Lama, its primary objective is to manipulate the succession process to tighten its control over the Tibetan people. He urged IRFBA to consider issuing a formal communiqué on this critical matter, underscoring that the freedom to choose religious leaders lies at the heart of the Tibetan people’s identity and spiritual autonomy.
Responding to these pleas, the Prague Declaration on Freedom of Religion or Belief 2025 reaffirmed that freedom of religion or belief includes the Tibetan Buddhist community’s right to identify the successor to the Dalai Lama free from state interference, particularly as His Holiness marks his 90th birthday.
Those who attended the Tibetan Sikyong’s address included President Petr Pavel of the Czech Republic; Nazila Ghanea, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief; and Mubarak Bala, a recently released prisoner of conscience from Nigeria. Also present were Dr Natallia Vasilevich from the Christian Vision for Belarus and lecturer at the University of Bonn, Germany; Samuel Brownback, former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, USA; and Rushan Abbas, Executive Director of the Campaign for Uyghurs, USA.
Also known as the Article 18 Alliance, the aim of IRFBA is to connect states and governments to promote freedom of religion or belief worldwide. In doing so, the Alliance refers to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in which freedom of religion or belief is enshrined as a universal human right. In addition, the Alliance refers to the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, the EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief and the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Security.