FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2014 | USCIRF

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of State yesterday released its 2013 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom and made designations of “countries of particular concern” (CPCs) for particularly severe violations of religious freedom.  The White House also announced their nominee for the position of Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Rabbi David Saperstein.

“USCIRF welcomes the release of the State Department’s annual international religious freedom report and the designations of CPCs,” said USCIRF Chair Katrina Lantos Swett. “We commend the State Department for designating CPCs at the same time it issues the annual report on international religious freedom.  Making yearly CPC designations in conjunction with the issuance of the annual International Religious Freedom report  will help ensure that offending governments understand that the United States is deeply concerned about protecting this fundamental human right and that they may face consequences for engaging in religious persecution.” 

“USCIRF also welcomes the expansion of the CPC list to include Turkmenistan, a country USCIRF has recommended for designation since 2004,” said Lantos Swett.  “However, there were disappointing omissions on the CPC list, such as Pakistan.  Pakistan represents the worst situation in the world for religious freedom for countries not currently designated by the U.S. government as CPCs.  The State Department’s own report documents numerous violations in Pakistan, and yesterday’s mob attack on an Ahmadi home which resulted in three deaths demonstrates that Pakistan clearly meets the CPC threshold.”

The 2014 USCIRF Annual Report recommended the re-designation of eight countries as CPCs – Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan.  USCIRF also called for the designation of eight additional countries that the Commission concluded met the CPC threshold. Along with Turkmenistan, these countries are:  Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, and Vietnam.

Finally, USCIRF applauds the nomination of a new Ambassador for Religious Freedom. “With the challenges to religious freedom increasing worldwide, we warmly welcome the nomination of Rabbi David Saperstein as the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom,” said Lantos Swett. “He is knowledgeable and passionate about these issues, and served as USCIRF’s first Chair after the Commission was established.  We look forward to working closely with Rabbi Saperstein and deepening our cooperation with the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom.”

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or 202-786-0613.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) joins the U.S. State Department in condemning in the strongest terms the actions of the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).  These actions include the recent ultimatum the group issued against Christians in Mosul demanding that they either convert, leave, pay a tax, or face death.  The Christian community has lived in Mosul for more than 1,700 years, with an estimated 30,000 living there before the ISIL offensive. 

“ISIL’s persecution of Mosul’s Christian communities, as well as the Shi’a and Yazidi communities and any Sunnis who reject ISIL’s extremist ideology, is deeply troubling and repugnant,” said USCIRF’s Chair Katrina Lantos Swett.

After ISIL overtook Mosul on June 10th, more than half a million people fled.  Those who remained have experienced killings, rape, torture, and kidnappings.  Women have been beaten when venturing outside their homes or viewed as dressing inappropriately, and Shi’a shrines and Christian churches have been destroyed.

“ISIL’s depravity has been evident from the beginning.  Among the atrocities it has committed, ISIL murdered 12 dissenting Sunni clerics, kidnapped Christian priests and nuns, killed scores of civilians, destroyed ancient houses of worship, and marked non-Sunni houses and businesses for destruction.  And now it has issued this shocking ultimatum,” said Lantos Swett.

“ISIL’s actions represent the total rejection of one of the most important, internationally recognized human rights – namely the right of freedom of religion, conscience and belief.  It is vital that the United States and other like-minded governments act to defend this fundamental freedom against the onslaught of those who seek to impose their dark vision of total religious repression on the peaceful Christian, Yazidi, and Muslim communities of Iraq and Syria,” Lantos Swett added.

USCIRF also is concerned about the overall religious freedom situation throughout Iraq.  USCIRF’s 2014 Annual Report detailed significant violations of religious freedom including the government’s increasing sectarian actions and failure to stem egregious and mounting violence which non-state actors have committed against Iraqi civilians, including attacks targeting religious pilgrims and worshippers, religious sites, leaders, and individuals for their actual or assumed religious identity.

For more information on religious freedom condition in Iraq see USCIRF’s 2014 Annual Report.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or 202-786-0613.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2014 | USCIRF

WASHINGTON, DC – As Muslims around the world observe the holy month of Ramadan, Uighur Muslims in China face far-reaching restrictions on their religious practices.  The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urges the Chinese government to end such actions, including bans on fasting and other religious observances during Ramadan in China’s autonomous region of Xinjiang, a Uighur Muslim-majority area. 

“By continuing its annual ban on fasting during Ramadan, the Chinese government signals its ongoing disrespect for internationally recognized human rights, including the right of freedom of religion or belief,” said Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, USCIRF Chair.  Students and teachers, professors, and other government employees are prohibited from fasting and, in some cases, from performing their daily prayers, during Ramadan.  In fact, in some locations, authorities have held festivities to commemorate the Communist Party’s founding and served food to determine if Muslims would adhere to the fasting ban.  Those observing the fast may be subject to threats, detention and arrest by local authorities.

Religious freedom conditions in Xinjiang have declined dramatically since June 2009.  At that time, the Chinese government began instituting sweeping security measures that, among other goals, sought to weaken Uighur Muslims’ religious adherence and eradicate so-called “illegal” religious gatherings and activities.  Uighur Muslims have expressed deep resentment at Beijing’s oversight of Xinjiang and the restrictions on their religious practices and activities.  

USCIRF’s 2014 Annual Report chapter on China highlights the religious freedom abuses and violence that have resulted from the government’s policies in Xinjiang. USCIRF again recommends that China be designated as a “country of particular concern” (CPC).  The State Department has designated China as a CPC since 1999.