WASHINGTON, D.C. — The role of human rights in peacemaking is so essential that people of faith have an obligation to protect them, a religious leader said Monday at a major international conference near the White House.
“Along with dialogue, protecting human rights is crucial to preserving peace,” said Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “These basic rights ... are the foundation of a just society. Rights such as freedom of opinion, expression, thought, conscience and religion are essential for communities to thrive.”
“These rights speak for themselves but cannot defend themselves,” he added. “That is our task. I believe our rights come from God, but that the care of those rights is up to us.”
Elder Soares kicked off the opening reception of IRF Summit 2025, an annual conference that convenes Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other religious leaders, charities and government officials from around the world.
People yearn for unified, peaceful societies, he told them.
“It is imperative to remember that yearning does not mean waiting. We can choose, individually, to offer more than just ‘thoughts and prayers’ for the things we hope for. We can choose to be peacemakers now,” he said.

A call to work together
Elder Soares also had a lively conversation on stage with a Baptist pastor on Monday night during the Global Faith Forum at the Washington Hilton. Earlier in the day, he met with religious ministers from more than 15 Latin American and Caribbean nations at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
“Peace is not passive,” he said at the IRF Summit reception. “It requires dialogue and action to protect it and spread it throughout society.”
He also quoted a Swiss theologian, Hans Küng, who observed, “There will be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions. There will be no peace among the religions, without dialogue among the religions.”
Elder Soares thanked IRF Summit participants for working together and promoting multi-faith work. The audience included IRF Summit co-chairs Katrina Lantos Swett and Sam Brownback, a former U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
“Your dedication to creating positive, lasting change is both noble and inspiring,” Elder Soares said.
Challenges to religious freedom are growing
Elder Soares said protecting religious freedom is a moral imperative but also a key to peace and stability. He cited a recent Pew Research Center report that showed that laws, policies and actions restricting religious belief are at an all-time high and impact every one of the 198 countries and territories surveyed.
That creates a major challenge to peace, Elder Soares said.
“Respect for fundamental human rights is the cornerstone of a peaceful society, and among these religious freedom holds a prominent place,” he said. “Researchers Brian Grim and Roger Finke have noted that: ‘The denial of religious freedoms is inevitably intertwined with the denial of other freedoms.’

“The protection of religious freedom is not just a moral imperative, but also a key to peace and stability.”
The good religion does
While some claim religious freedom leads to division and conflict, research shows religion strengthens communities, Elder Soares said. People who regularly participate in religious congregations tend to be happier and more civically engaged and religion encourages personal responsibility, hard work and strengthening families.
“These virtues flowing from a flourishing and diverse religious landscape serve to mend and tighten the fabric of our shared world in ways perhaps nothing else can, leading in turn to the unified and peaceful societies for which we yearn,” he said.
He said he was inspired to learn that, despite growing religious diversity in his native Brazil, there have been no reported incidents of hostility over conversions or missionary work, according to a report.
How to practice peace
Elder Soares shared teachings from the recent teachings on peacemaking by President Russell M. Nelson, the prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“He emphasized that one of the best ways to promote peace is to avoid contention, which may seem difficult in a world marked by violence, online shaming, and intense political divisions,” Elder Soares said. “Though disagreements in life are inevitable and healthy conflict resolution can lead to positive outcomes, we must ensure that differences in perspectives do not lead to harshness, unkindness or disrespect toward others.”

He quoted President Nelson, who said, “Contention reinforces the false notion that confrontation is the way to resolve differences; but it never is. Contention is a choice. Peacemaking is a choice.”
President Nelson taught that a person can change the world one interaction at a time by “modeling how to manage differences of opinion with mutual respect and dignified dialogue.”
Elder Soares also quoted Thomas Merton, a monk, writer and theologian who said peace “demands greater heroism than war.”
“While peace building does not always come easily or naturally,” Elder Soares said, “it is a prize worthy of our finest and most determined efforts.”
Monday’s IRF Summit opening reception was held in the second floor ballroom of the Organization of American States Building across 17th Avenue from the Ellipse, a White House park.
