FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2019

USCIRF Statement on Senate Committee’s Holding China’s Human Rights Abusers Accountable
 

WASHINGTON, DC – In response to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s unanimous vote to pass the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today issued the following statement:

“We commend the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for upholding our country’s ideals about justice, human dignity, and religious freedom by passing this bill out of committee,” said USCIRF Chair Tenzin Dorjee. “In particular, we applaud Senators Rubio and Menendez for standing up to the Chinese government’s brutal assault on the fundamental freedoms and dignity of the millions who suffer in these camps. For almost two decades, USCIRF has been sounding the alarm on the flagrant violations of human rights taking place in Xinjiang, and we urge the full Senate and the House of Representatives to approve this bill so that the full weight of the U.S. government can be brought to bear on those who are perpetrating these shocking abuses.”

The bipartisan legislation takes steps to hold Chinese government officials accountable for the ongoing, brutal repression of Uighur and other Muslims in Xinjiang, where more than 800,000 to possibly more than two million people are believed to be held in internment camps. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) introduced the bill, which currently has 33 cosponsors.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2019

USCIRF Condemns Russian Court’s Decision to Uphold Conviction of Religious Prisoner of Conscience Dennis Christensen

Decision reflects growing dangers faced by Russia’s religious minorities
 

WASHINGTON, DC – Kristina Arriaga, vice chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), today condemned the decision by a court in Oryol, Russia, to uphold the conviction and sentencing of Dennis Christensen, a Jehovah’s Witness, to six years’ imprisonment on charges of “organizing the activity of an extremist organization.” In May 2017, Russian authorities arrested Mr. Christensen and 15 other Jehovah’s Witnesses after a court branded the local branch of the organization an “extremist” group.

“Dennis Christensen’s case is part of the Putin government’s increasing intimidation and persecution of communities like the Jehovah’s Witnesses,” said Arriaga, who advocates on behalf of Mr. Christensen as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. “The authorities accuse Mr. Christensen of participating in extremist activities, but there is nothing threatening or dangerous about him. The Russian government targeted him as a committed member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, because it considers his beliefs and practices ‘deviant’.”

In its recently released 2019 Annual Report, USCIRF again recommended that Russia be designated a “country of particular concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act. In November 2018, the U.S. State Department placed Russia on a Special Watch list for “engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.”

Russian law provides only vague definitions of “extremism” that authorities exploit to target a wide range of peaceful religious and political practices. USCIRF recently published a factsheet on anti-extremism legislation showing how governments like Russia’s use such laws to target religious communities, especially minority groups with perceived international ties. USCIRF also published a special report in 2018 focusing on anti-extremism legislation in Russia.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 10, 2019

USCIRF Strongly Urges Administration to Raise Religious Freedom Violations in China Trade Talks

 
WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today urged the Trump administration to discuss China’s persecution of religious communities with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He during his visit to Washington, DC this week. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the Chinese government has detained as many as three million Uighur and other Muslims in Xinjiang.  

“The communist Chinese government’s brutal campaign to ‘sinicize’ all religions is one of the worst abuses of religious freedom taking place today,” said USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “During these talks about our trade relationship with China, religious persecution and human rights more broadly must be on the table. This is about the right of every man and woman, whether Muslim or Buddhist or Christian or Falun Gong, to worship as he or she sees fit. At a time when the lives and freedoms of millions of Chinese people are under attack by their own government, we must put religious freedom and human rights on the agenda, too.”

In its 2019 Annual Report, USCIRF recommends the U.S. government redesignate China as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, and use targeted sanctions against Chinese officials who have perpetrated or tolerated severe religious freedom violations, including Chen Quanguo, the Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang. Chen is also responsible for violations against Buddhists in Tibet, where he created a surveillance system similar to that used in Xinjiang today.

USCIRF also recommends that the U.S. government continue efforts to preserve the cultural and linguistic heritage of religious groups in China; coordinate with allies and partners in response to China’s religious freedom violations, including to prevent refoulement of individuals from China seeking asylum on the basis of religious persecution; and work to counter Chinese government influence in the United States designed to suppress information about or advocacy in response to violations of religious freedom in China.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.