Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom invite you to a briefing by

Tad Stahnke
Deputy Director for Policy, U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom

Robert C. Blitt
Legal Policy Analyst, U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom

Religion & Iraq's Permanent Constitution:
Constitutional Models of Predominantly Muslim Countries

Tuesday, June 28, 2005
9:00AM-10:30AM
in Conference Room A (4th Floor) at
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 1201 Connecticut Ave NW
[entrance on Rhode Island Ave NW, next to St. Matthew's Cathedral]

The authors of a recent study examining the religion-state relationship and the right to freedom of religion or belief in the constitutions of predominantly Muslim countries will present key findings from the study and discuss its relevance with regard to the drafting of a new permanent constitution for Iraq. 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.

Tad Stahnke joined the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in February 2000 and currently serves as the Deputy Director for Policy. Prior to joining the Commission, Stahnke spent three years with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, a law firm in New York City. He also worked as a judicial clerk for the Hon. Wilfred Feinberg in the United States Court of Appeals. From 1996-98, Stahnke helped lead a program on "Religion, Human Rights, and Religious Freedom" at Columbia University Law School, where for several years he taught a seminar on religious freedom and international human rights law.

Robert C. Blitt is Legal Policy Analyst for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Prior to joining the Commission, Blitt spent over five years living, working, and traveling in the Middle East. In addition to his Middle East regional expertise, Blitt is a specialist in public international law, comparative constitutional law, and international human rights law.

Please RSVP by June 27 by email to <[email protected]>, by telephone to Melody Jones at (202) 457-6949 (202) 457-6949, or by fax to (202) 457-6992.

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.