Remarks by Chairman Daniel Mark at 2017 Annual 7/20 Falun Gong Rally
USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark gave the following remarks at the 2017 Annual 7/20 Falun Gong rally on Capitol Hill on July 20, 2017.
What's New at USCIRF
USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark speaking at the 2017 Annual 7/20 Falun Gong rally on Capitol Hill.
USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark gave the following remarks at the 2017 Annual 7/20 Falun Gong rally on Capitol Hill on July 20, 2017.
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USCIRF Commissioners with UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief Ahmed Shaheed (bottom, second from left), April 2017.
USCIRF strongly condemns the verbal and online attacks against UN Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed
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Commissioner Thomas J. Reese, S.J. speaks in support of Eritrean Patriarch Abune Antonios
Commissioner Thomas J. Reese, S.J.: I implore the Eritrean government to do the right thing: Release Patriarch Antonios. Allow him to take his duly elected position as the head of the Eritrean Orthodox Church and let the Eritrean people exercise their right to freedom of religion or belief.
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USCIRF denounces the Russian Supreme Court ruling on Monday rejecting an appeal by the Jehovah’s Witnesses against an April decision declaring them as extremist.
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While a common misperception persists that women’s rights to equality and freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) are clashing rights, the two are actually indivisible and interrelated, a new USCIRF report finds.
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Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project
USCIRF's Religious Prisoner of Conscience Project highlights individuals imprisoned for exercising their freedom of religion or belief, as well as the dedicated advocacy of USCIRF Commissioners working for their release. Please click the photos below for more information on the prisoners, and the Commissioners' efforts on their behalfs.
Featured Religious Prisoner:
USCIRF Commissioner Jackie Wolcott: “As long as [Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh] remains in prison and as long as authorities unfairly treat his family, I will publicly and privately raise their case so that one day soon they may be reunited in safety and be able to practice their faith freely.”
Click here for information on Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh and Tran Thi Hong and religious freedom conditions in Vietnam.
Click here to watch the launch of the Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.
USCIRF Religious Prisoners of Conscience
Click on the prisoner names to view more information on their cases.
Prisoner of Conscience List
Click here for USCIRF's Prisoner of Conscience List which is mandated by Public Law 114-281, the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act.
2017 Annual Report
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 2017 Annual Report on April 25, 2017.
In the report, USCIRF recommends that the State Department continue to designate the following ten countries as “countries of particular concern,” defined under law as countries where particularly severe violations of religious freedom are tolerated or perpetrated: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
USCIRF also finds that six other countries meet the CPC standard and should be so designated: Central African Republic, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam.
Wilting in the Kurdish Sun
USCIRF on June 1, 2017 released a report titled Wilting in the Kurdish Sun: The Hopes and Fears of Religious Minorities in Iraq. This groundbreaking report is the first independent report of its kind to involve in-person interviews with representatives of almost all the religious minority groups in the KRI.
The report notes that "the KRI remains far more welcoming and tolerant to minorities that its regional neighbors" and expresses hope that special effort will be taken to "preserve [the] freedoms and rights" of minorities.
MALDIVES: Maldives Ruling Party Should Repudiate Attacks on UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
USCIRF strongly condemns the verbal and online attacks against UN Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed
Religion News Service - Stripped of his title and illegally replaced, Eritrea’s spiritual leader languishes in detention
Commissioner Thomas J. Reese, S.J.: I implore the Eritrean government to do the right thing: Release Patriarch Antonios. Allow him to take his duly elected position as the head of the Eritrean Orthodox Church and let the Eritrean people exercise their right to freedom of religion or belief.
RUSSIA: Jehovah’s Witnesses Banned After Supreme Court Rejects Appeals
USCIRF denounces the Russian Supreme Court ruling on Monday rejecting an appeal by the Jehovah’s Witnesses against an April decision declaring them as extremist.
Women and Religious Freedom: Synergies and Opportunities
While a common misperception persists that women’s rights to equality and freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) are clashing rights, the two are actually indivisible and interrelated, a new USCIRF report finds.
Chairman Daniel Mark adopts Pakistani Ahmadi Prisoner of Conscience Abdul Shakoor
Mr. Shakoor is an 80-year-old Ahmadi manager of a bookshop and optician store who was sentenced to eight years imprisonment on blasphemy charges. Chairman Mark is advocating on behalf of Mr. Shakoor as part of USCIRF's Prisoners of Conscience Project
Open Letter from USCIRF Vice Chair Sandra Jolley to Gulmira Imin on the 8th Anniversary of Her Arrest
Dear Gulmira:I write to you as July 14th comes to an end. On that day eight years ago, as you know all too well, Chinese government officials arrested you. While this open letter may never reach you, I want you to know that as a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, I am ardently advocating on your behalf.
Testimony of Commissioner Tenzin Dorjee on "Tibet: Freedom of Religion"
In his testimony Commissioner Dorjee discussed his personal story of fleeing Tibet and the Chinese government's repression of Tibetan Buddhists, including the demolition of the Larung Gar Buddhist academy and the detention of religious prisoners of conscience. Commissioner Dorjee also provided recommendations to the U.S. Congress and Administration.
USCIRF Commissioners meet with His Holiness the 17th Karmapa of Tibet
On July 6, USCIRF Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga (right) and Commissioner Jackie Wolcott (left) met with His Holiness the 17th Karmapa of Tibet (center) to discuss religious freedom for Tibetan Buddhists in China.
CHINA: USCIRF Condemns Ramadan Restrictions in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region
Muslims around the world recently marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan. “The Chinese government has taken unprecedented steps to trample on the religious freedom of Uighur Muslims particularly during Ramadan,” said USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark.
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About the Commission
Who We Are
USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world, that monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad.
What We're About
Inherent in religious freedom is the right to think as we please, believe or not believe as our conscience leads, and live out our beliefs openly, peacefully, and without fear.
We are about freedom…
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