USCIRF Chair Rev. Thomas J. Reese, S.J. Welcome to USCIRF.
Executive Director at USCIRF. Apply here.
USCIRF Commissioner Kristina Arriaga spoke with EWTN Nightly News about religious freedom conditions in Sudan, September 27, 2016.
USCIRF Commissioner Kristina Arriaga speaks at a Hudson Institute event on "Religious Freedom in Vietnam: Its Importance for Regional and Global Security," September 12, 2016. Watch the event.
USCIRF's Tiffany Lynch and Elizabeth Cassidy present findings from USCIRF's new report, Barriers to Protection: The Treatment of Asylum Seekers in Expedited Removal, at an event with Human Rights First, August 3, 2016. Watch the event here.
USCIRF Commissioner Jackie Wolcott speaks at the 68th Jalsa Salana Ahmadiyya convention in Harrisburg, PA, July 30, 2016. Watch her speech here.
USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J., testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a hearing on Blasphemy Laws, July 14, 2016. Read his testimony here.
USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst, Tina Mufford, speaking at the Falun Gong rally on Capitol Hill, July 14, 2016.
USCIRF Commissioner Kristina Arriaga speaking at the International Christian Concern conference, July 2016.
USCIRF Commissioners with the Archons of Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Greek Orthodox Church, July 12, 2016.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 2016 Annual Report on May 2, 2016. In the report, USCIRF recommends that the State Department add these eight countries to its list of “countries of particular concern,” defined under law as countries where particularly severe violations of religious freedom are tolerated or perpetrated: Central African Republic, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, and Vietnam.
USCIRF also recommends that the following nine countries be re-designated as “countries of particular concern,” or CPCs: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
In addition, USCIRF also recommends ten countries as Tier 2 Countries, those countries whose governments engages in or tolerates at least one of the elements of the "systematic, ongoing, and egregious" standard, but do not fully meet the CPC standard: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Russia, and Turkey. Other Countries Monitored include: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Horn of Africa, Kyrgyzstan, Western Europe.
USCIRF on August 2, 2016 released a new report, Barriers to Protection: The Treatment of Asylum Seekers in Expedited Removal, which highlights serious problems with the U.S. government's treatment of asylum seekers in Expedited Removal. View the report here. USCIRF presented findings from the report at an August 3, 2016 event with Human Rights First. Watch the event here.
USCIRF held an event on April 11, 2016 at the National Press Club entitled "Europe at a Crossroad: Civil Society Efforts to Combat Religious Hatred and Bigotry in Europe." The event featured a keynote address by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, a panel of European civil society leaders, and remarks by USCIRF Commissioners.
WASHINGTON, D.C – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today announced the appointment of Erin D. Singshinsuk as USCIRF’s Acting Executive Director.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As President Obama soon will visit Laos to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today urged the President to raise religious freedom concerns in the country.
WASHINGTON, DC– Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on August 2, 2016 appointed Clifford D. May to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J. testified on July 15, 2016 before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a hearing titled "Blasphemy Laws and Censorhip by States and Non-State Actors: Examining Global Threats to Freedom of Expression."
From the testimony:
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…
Thomas Bill Search