FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2000

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom today expressed deep concern over the conditions of religious freedom in Iran and recommended that the United States reaffirm that religious freedom and human rights are central to U.S. policy toward Iran. The Commission also recommended, however, that the U.S. government eliminate barriers to unofficial religious, cultural, and academic exchanges with Iranians, specifically by issuing visas and easing a Justice Department policy of fingerprinting all Iranians at U.S. ports of entry.

The recommendations were contained in a report on Iran to President Clinton, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and leaders of Congress as provided for in the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. In accord with the IRFA, the State Department has for the last two years listed Iran as a "country of particular concern," for its severe and egregious violations of religious freedom.

The Commission finds that:

• "Members of the Baha'i community suffer the worst forms of religious persecution at the hands of the state." More than 200 Baha'is were executed in the six years following the 1979 revolution. Four Baha'is are now on death row for practicing their religion. Iranian law does not recognize the Baha'i faith and Baha'is are effectively prohibited from teaching or practicing their religion, communicating with their world headquarters, attending university, or holding government jobs. Baha'i religious sites were seized after the revolution, and many destroyed.

• Members of the officially recognized minority religions - Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians - are subject to official discrimination, including prohibitions on serving in the army, security services, judiciary, or as a school principal; limited access to higher education; and discrimination in legal proceedings. Evangelical Christians suffer further repression, including official harassment and surveillance, and a number of leaders have been murdered or have disappeared in the past 10 years.

• Jews are vulnerable to harassment and imprisonment, as shown by the recent trial and conviction of a group of Iranian Jews under conditions falling far short of international standards.

The Commission made the following recommendations for U.S. government policy:

• The President or Secretary of State should reaffirm to the Government of Iran that improvement in religious freedom and other human rights in that country is a prerequisite for the complete relaxation of sanctions by and the normalization of relations with the United States.

• The U.S. Government should consistently, continuously, and vigorously press the Government of Iran to improve conditions of religious freedom, and should urge its European and other allies to support advocacy for religious freedom in Iran. Voice of America Farsi-language broadcasting into Iran should include regular reporting on religious freedom in Iran and religious freedom issues in general.

• The U.S. Administration should continue to sponsor annual resolutions of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights condemning Iran's egregious and systematic violations of religious freedom and should recruit the support of other Commission member countries, until such violations cease.

• The United States should facilitate (through issuance of visas) and remove barriers (such as the Department of Justice policy of fingerprinting Iranians at ports of entry) to unofficial cultural exchange--e.g., academic, religious, athletic, and scientific--between the United States and Iran.

The full text of the Commission's findings can be obtained by contacting the Communications office at (202) 523-3240 or at [email protected].

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress." 

Hon. Elliott Abrams, Chair

• Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, Vice Chair Rabbi David Saperstein, Laila Al-Marayati, M.D.Hon. John R. Bolton, Dean Michael K. Young, Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, Nina Shea, Justice Charles Z. Smith, Ambassador Robert Seiple, Ex-Officio Steven T. McFarland, Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2000

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom wrote to President Clinton October 26 urging that he raise religious-freedom issues with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at their upcoming meeting. President Clinton is scheduled to meet with the Russian president November 15 or 16 on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Brunei. The Commission is concerned about a December 31, 2000 deadline by which religious groups in Russia must register or be "liquidated." To date nearly half the groups have been unable to register: The Commission asked President Clinton to urge President Putin to intervene to speed up the registration process and postpone the registration deadline. The text of the letter follows:

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing on behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to request that you take up an important religious-freedom issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin at your planned November meeting in Brunei. Given the progress made in the last eight years in many aspect of U.S.-Russian relations, it would be deeply unfortunate if January brought news of a systematic deterioration in religious freedom in Russia.

In the last days of the Soviet Union, the government enacted the most enlightened law on religion in Russia's history. It provided broad legal protections for the right to exercise religious freedom and for the equality of religious communities. The law restored rights, not only to the Russian Orthodox Church, but to Old Believers, Roman Catholics, Baptists, Pentecostals, Seventh-day Adventists, Muslims, Buddhists, and a host of other faith groups who had suffered severe repression since at least 1929. But Russia took a serious step backwards with the passage of the 1997 Religion Law. The 1997 law creates discrimination among religions and violates Russia's international commitments under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It restricts the rights, powers, and privileges of smaller, or newer, or foreign religious communities, while giving special status to Russia's "traditional" religions - including Russian Orthodoxy, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. It also creates an onerous and intrusive registration process and other instruments the federal or local officials can use to interfere with religious organizations' activities.

Russian Constitutional Court decisions and rulings by the federal authorities have eased the burden for some religious groups. But a greater danger lurks: Immediately upon taking office this spring, President Putin quietly signed a significant and double-edged amendment to the 1997 law. On the positive side, it extended to December 31, 2000, the deadline by which religious groups must register with local and/or federal officials. On the negative side, however, it required that unregistered groups be "liquidated" after that date.

If there were in place a due process which religious groups could use and understand to seek registration, it would help. But quite the reverse is true: Local officials in some regions have delayed or denied registration to, and sought liquidation of, unpopular religious groups, even when they have been recognized and registered in other regions or at the federal level. At times, this occurs at the instigation of the local Russian Orthodox bishop or priest.

The threat of liquidation upon expiration of the December 31 deadline is substantial: At the end of September, according to the Russian Justice Ministry, only some 9,000 of the 17,000 religious groups in Russia had obtained registration. That means almost half have been unable to register. Given the slow pace of the registration process so far, it is hard to believe most of the remaining group will be able to register by December 31. If religious freedom is to be preserved, Mr. Putin must intervene to 1) speed up the process; and 2) postpone the deadline. Mr. President, we understand that you will meet with the Russian president November 15 or 16 on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Brunei. On behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, I ask that you use the occasion to stress to Putin how seriously the U.S. takes the issue of religious freedom and how important it is, both for Russia's future and for U.S.-Russian relations, that he postpone the December 31 deadline.

The Commission thanks you for your attention to religious-freedom issues, and wishes you success at the APEC summit.

Sincerely,

Elliott Abrams

Chairman

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress." src="https://www.uscirf.org/images/layout/subbottomtext1.gif" />

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2000

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom today wrote to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to recommend the SEC investigate "the accuracy and adequacy of material disclosures by the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (‘Sinopec') in its registration statement" about its holdings in Sudan. The Commission has found religion is a major factor in the 17-year war being waged by the government of Sudan against Christians and animists in the south. Revenue from oil production is the government's principal source of funds for the war in Sudan, and the Commission found that foreign corporations, including Chinese petroleum companies, are vital investors in the Sudanese oil industry. The text of the letter follows:

October 20, 2000

David B. H. Martin, Esq.
Director
Division of Corporation Finance
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C. 20549

Re: Recommended Investigation Of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation ("Sinopec")

Dear Mr. Martin:

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recommends that the SEC investigate the accuracy and adequacy of material disclosures by the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (" Sinopec") in its registration statement, in light of recent media reports about its holdings in Sudan. This recommendation is made pursuant to section 202(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, 22 U.S.C. 6432(b).

This Commission is charged with the authority and responsibility to investigate religious persecution abroad and to recommend to the U.S. Congress, the President, and the Secretary of State how United States foreign policy could advance international religious freedom. The Commission has found: that religion is a major factor in the genocidal war-making of the Government of Sudan ("GOS") against its southern residents; and that revenue from its oil production is the principal source of funds for the prosecution of the GOS's civil war. The Commission also found last fall that foreign corporations, including Chinese petroleum companies, are vital investors in the Sudanese oil industry.

On the eve of this month's initial public offering of Sinopec shares, the Wall StreetJournal reported on October 11 that a Sinopec subsidiary (Zhongyuan Petroleum Corporation) had a joint venture in Sudan's oilfields with a unit of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC); that last summer Sinopec gave its entire interest in the Sudan venture to CNPC, the chief shareholder of its chief domestic rival, PetroChina, Ltd.; that it has not disclosed the value of any assets from CNPC in return for this transfer; and that there is evidence that Sinopec's subsidiary continues to do business in Sudan's oilfields.

If true, this report would suggest that Sinopec's prospectus has a material omission rendering it misleading: Nowhere does it disclose any assets or operations in Sudan. The prospectus cryptically mentions that on June 3, 2000, its parent, Sinopec Group Company, "transferred to us certain operations, consisting principally of, various overseas investments . . ." Prospectus of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, October 12, 2000, p. 175. But in the absence of any other information in the prospectus, a prospective investor is led to believe that these "overseas investments" are not the wells in Sudan's Block 6 oilfield, but rather "16 residential and office units located in various buildings ... situated in Hong Kong, Macau, Republic of Singapore, and the United States of America." Prospectus, Annex B, p. B-10.

American investors who may be considering investing in Sinopec may consider it material to their investment decisions to know whether the registration statement of Sinopec is adequate and accurate in its disclosures about that company's possible ongoing business interests in Sudan.

Therefore, the Commission recommends that the SEC determine whether Sinopec has accurately and adequately disclosed its interests in Sudan. While we understand that the SEC generally does not discuss specific disclosure or enforcement views with respect to a specific registrant, the Commission nevertheless requests, pursuant to section 203(b) of IRFA, 22 U.S.C. 6432a(b), that the SEC provide the Commission with the results of any such investigation.

Thank you for your consideration of our recommendation and your cooperation with our information request.

Sincerely,

Elliott Abrams

Chairman

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress." 

Hon. Elliott Abrams,Chair

• Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, Vice Chair, Rabbi David Saperstein, Laila Al-Marayati, M.D.Hon. John R. Bolton, Dean Michael K. Young, Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, Nina Shea, Justice Charles Z. Smith Ambassador Robert Seiple, Ex-Officio, Steven T. McFarland, Executive Director