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May 14, 2013 | By Katrina Lantos Swett

The following was published in the Washington Post, On Faith on May 14, 2013. 

Fifteen years ago, on May 14, 1998, U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a landmark effort to promote a pivotal human right abroad.  In October of that year, the Senate also acted and President Clinton signed the International Religious Freedom Act, or IRFA, into law.  Among other provisions, IRFA created the Office of International Religious Freedom in the State Department and the independent, bipartisan Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), of which I am chair.

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April 30, 2013| By USCIRF

Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent federal advisory body created by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) to monitor religious freedom abuses abroad, today released its 2013 Annual Report.  The Report highlights the status of religious freedom globally and identifies those governments that are the most egregious violators.  

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom sent the following letter to Secretary of State Kerry on April 12, 2013. 

The Honorable John F. Kerry

Secretary of State

U.S. Department of State

Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Kerry:

I write today on behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to respectfully urge that the United States raise questions about violations of religious freedom and related human rights in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Bangladesh during the sixteenth session of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) scheduled for April 2013.  The United States also should ensure that these issues are included in the recommendations that result from the UPR.  The UPR forum provides a unique opportunity to shine a light on the violations of religious freedom in these countries and to encourage these nations’ governments to comply with international norms.

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April 22, 2013 | By USCIRF

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent federal agency created to monitor religious freedom abuses abroad and make policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress, today issued “Protecting and Promoting Religious Freedom in Syria.”

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April 19, 2013 | By USCIRF

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Congress considers legislation to reform the U.S. immigration system, a new U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report, Assessing the U.S. Government’s Detention of Asylum Seekers:  Further Action Needed to Fully Implement Reforms, finds that the U.S. government continues to detain asylum seekers under inappropriate conditions in jails and jail-like facilities.  This detention is contrary to both longstanding USCIRF recommendations and reforms the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in 2009. 

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April 18, 2013 | By Elliott Abrams and Azizah al-Hibri

Xi Jinping needs to hear that religious freedom is the only way to stop self-immolations.

The following op-ed appeared in the Wall Street Journal on April 18, 2013. 

When Kal Kyi, a 30-year-old mother of four, set herself on fire in March to protest Chinese repression of Tibet, she joined a grim and growing fellowship of despair. Over the past four years, 112 Tibetans have immolated themselves in protest against Chinese oppression.