Two senior representatives of the Bahá’í International Community (BIC), Bani Dugal and Diane Ala’i, have been selected as the 2025 recipients of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Peace Builders Award, a distinction honoring exemplary global leadership in advancing freedom of religion or belief.

The IRF Secretariat announced the award decision ahead of the recent High-Level International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) Conference in Prague, Czechia, where the award was presented during a ceremony at the National Museum overlooking Wenceslas Square.

According to the Secretariat, the award recognizes “sustained and sacrificial commitment” to protecting freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for the Bahá’í International Community and for people of all faiths. Both recipients, it said, have demonstrated “kind and humble leadership” that has strengthened the global movement for conscience rights.

“I feel so grateful to receive this award, the first given by the International Religious Freedom Secretariat, but I accept it in light of the fact that there are so many other, equally qualified individuals, who are doing much for the freedom of religion or belief, around the world, said Bani Dugal, after the ceremony. “I accept it, above all, in the name of victims everywhere, who are the true defenders of religious freedom, and who face the daily onslaught of persecution wherever they may be. I am humbled.”

“I have been privileged to work will all Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Religion or Belief, from Angelo d'Almeida Ribero to Nazila Ghanea,” said Diane Ala’i, in response to receiving the award. “The most rewarding part of this fight is to be able to be the voice of the voiceless.”

Bani Dugal, as Principal Representative of the BIC to the United Nations, has been instrumental in building international coordination to safeguard FoRB, the IRF Secretariat said, contributing to the strengthening of partnerships across the UN system and advancing multi-religious alliances committed to human dignity and pluralism.

The IRF added that Diane Ala’i, formerly a BIC representative based in Geneva, Switzerland, has played a central role in exposing and combating the persecution of religious minorities, including Bahá’ís in Iran and Yemen, by bringing their cases directly before the UN Human Rights Council. Her work has contributed to greater international scrutiny of systematic abuses affecting women, minorities, and other vulnerable groups.

In remarks prepared for the International Religious Freedom Ministerial conference, of which the awards ceremony was a part, Dugal underscored the urgency of the moment.

“Over 75 years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights boldly proclaimed the inherent dignity and equal rights of all members of the human family,” Ms. Dugal said. Yet today, the world continues to witness “persistent intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief, the manipulation of religion in the interest of political ideology, and increasing tensions between religion and state policies.”

Such violations, Ms. Dugal noted, disproportionately target women and minorities and compromise a wide range of rights, from education and employment to citizenship and, in some cases, life itself. Left unaddressed, she warned, “recurring problems of religious discrimination and religious violence can give rise to much more profound conflicts that threaten security and fragment societies.”

The BIC’s Principal Representative also highlighted the work of the IRFBA and Article 18 Alliance, praising their efforts to champion FoRB around the world. She pointed to the impact of their campaigns on the lives of persecuted Bahá’ís, including Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi in Iran, and Remy Rouhani in Qatar, expressing particular appreciation for Czech Ambassador-at-Large and IRF Chair Robert Rehak’s use of social media to amplify the stories of those affected by religious persecution.

The IRF Peace Builders Award marks the fifth anniversary of IRFBA and its renewed commitment to strengthening FoRB as a foundation for global peace and resilience. Established in 2018, the IRF Secretariat coordinates multi-faith roundtables worldwide, mobilizing partnerships that have facilitated more than 450 joint actions involving over 1,200 organizations.