FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2014 | USCIRF 

Washington, D.C. – The draft of the ill-advised “Religious Conversion Law” which Burma’s parliament released for public comment would further restrict religious freedom in a country considered one of the worst by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The May 27 draft responds to Burmese U Thein Sein’s request that parliament consider four laws demanded by a Buddhist organization connected to the nationalist movement known as “969.”  The drafting committee will receive suggestions until June 20, 2014, and then will submit a draft law on conversion to the parliament.

“The draft conversion law is irreparably flawed and would contravene Burma’s international commitments to protect freedom of religion or belief.  Such a law has no place in the 21^st century, and we urge that it be withdrawn,” said USCIRF Chairman Robert George.  “This draft law, and the three others that may follow, risk stoking continuing violence and discrimination against Muslims and other religious minorities, including Christians.”

The draft conversion law would create a governmental Registration Board to approve all religious conversions.  While stating that “everyone has the freedom to convert from one religion to another,” the draft law would create a system clearly geared to discourage conversion.  An individual seeking to convert must supply a Registration Board panel with an extensive list of personal information and the answers to intrusive questions, and then wait 90 days for approval.  This requirement would apply to Burmese both inside and outside the country.  The draft law includes penalties of up to two years in jail for those applying to convert “with an intent to insult, disrespect, destroy, or to abuse a religion,” though it is unclear how such an intent would be proved.   

“Because of the government’s unwillingness to address ongoing violence and discrimination against religious minorities, USCIRF recently recommended that the U.S. government maintain its designation of Burma as a ‘country of particular concern’ (CPC) for severe religious freedom violations,” continued Chairman George.  “The government of Burma should be seeking legal reforms to address religious discrimination rather than a regressive law that would inappropriately make the government the arbiter of ‘real’ conversions.  If the conversion law, and other laws the ‘969’ movement demands are passed, the United States government should factor these negative developments into its evolving relationship with Burma.”

USCIRF concluded in its 2014 Annual Report chapter on Burma (translated here) that political reforms have not improved legal protections for religious freedom and have done little to curtail anti-Muslim violence, incitement, and discrimination, particularly targeting the Rohingya Muslim minority. (Theravada Buddhism is the dominant religion, with other significant minority religions including Christianity and Islam.)  Police have failed to intervene effectively and the government has neither addressed the underlying causes of sectarian violence nor held individuals fully accountable. State-sponsored discrimination and state-condoned violence against Rohingya and Kaman ethnic Muslim minorities also has continued, and ethnic minority Christians have faced serious abuses during military incursions in Kachin state. Based on these systematic, egregious, ongoing violations, USCIRF has continued to recommend that Burma remain designated as a CPC.

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

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

June 9, 2014 | By Thomas J. Reese & Daniel I. Mark

The following op-ed appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on June 8, 2014.

The sentencing to death last month of a Sudanese woman, Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, by a court in Khartoum for apostasy garnered international attention. It is almost unthinkable that a court would hand down such a decision in the 21st century.

Sadly, this is not as unusual as some would think: Death sentences on issues relating to religious freedom are a common occurrence in Pakistan, yet most of the world barely notices. Given its longtime relations with Pakistan, the U.S. government should take key steps today to improve the situation.

In 2014, Pakistani courts already have sentenced four people to death for violating Pakistan's blasphemy law, and another has received a life sentence. They join at least 13 others on death row and 19 serving life sentences. Last month, a major television station was charged with blasphemy, and authorities also charged 68 lawyers with blasphemy after they protested police abuse. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which we recently joined, has found that Pakistan has jailed more people for this "crime" than any other country.

Pakistan's blasphemy law also emboldens militants, who commit violence against perceived transgressors. Note the killing just last month of an Ahmadi American, Mehdi Ali Qamar, who was gunned down in front of his wife and small child while visiting Pakistan for volunteer medical relief work. Recall the fate in early May of Rashid Rehman, a member of Pakistan's Human Rights Commission. A brave and well-respected legal expert, Rehman was defending a high-profile blasphemy case. It cost him his life.

Such actions confirm the finding of our 2014 Annual Report that religious freedom conditions in Pakistan have reached new lows, with religious minorities suffering accordingly.

Besides its blasphemy law, the government imposes what amounts to an apartheid-like system on Ahmadis through both its constitution and criminal law that penalizes basic acts of their faith. The government also tolerates violence by mobs and extremists whom it fails to bring to justice. Hundreds of minority Shi'a Muslims have been killed at the hands of militants who attack their processions, pilgrimage routes, and gathering places. The vulnerable Christian community has endured vigilante and terrorist attacks, such as the horrific September 2013 assault on the All Saints Church in Peshawar. Ahmadis regularly are killed in drive-by shootings. Hindus continue to flee the country due to violence and forced conversions, with the recent attack on a Hindu shrine a further example of that community's continuing vulnerability.

What can be done?

Pakistan is complicated, and U.S.-Pakistan relations are fragile. Yet the United States has worked closely with the Pakistani military throughout the country's history. It is time for a similarly steadfast engagement on freedom of religion and conscience. It is time to help Pakistan combat a growing climate of impunity and lawlessness that undermines the security of all citizens so Pakistanis, regardless of their beliefs and religious affiliations, can live without fear.

For starters, USCIRF recommends that the State Department designate Pakistan a "country of particular concern" (CPC) for systematic, egregious, and ongoing violations of religious freedom or belief under the International Religious Freedom Act. The State Department's own reports highlight the fact that Pakistan's repressive laws violate religious freedom. Pakistan currently represents the world's worst religious-freedom conditions among nondesignated countries. Naming Pakistan a CPC is long overdue; the case for designation is overwhelming.

At the same time, USCIRF also recommends comprehensively engaging Pakistan to encourage reform. The United States must urge Pakistani government ministries to address religious-minority concerns, including textbook reform, and prioritize much-needed legal reform and the prosecution of those who perpetrate violence. Combined with a CPC designation, these constructive measures would have a greater impact.

After one year in office, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has taken steps to promote interfaith harmony and denounce attacks. But such steps are dwarfed by the government's relentless enforcement of the blasphemy law and its failure to respond effectively to violence against the vulnerable. By designating Pakistan a CPC, the United States would bear witness to the plight of Pakistan's persecuted religious minorities and shine a spotlight on these terrible abuses.

The United States must do more to persuade Pakistan's government to address the escalating war on religious freedom. A CPC designation is the place to begin.

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

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May 30, 2014 | By Robert P. George

The following op-ed appeared in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs on May 30, 2014.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), of which I am Chairman, released its 2014 Annual Report on April 30. As in previous years, the report analyzed the condition of religious freedom in numerous countries, highlighting abuses of religious freedom and offering recommendations to President Obama, the U.S. State Department, and Congress on how best to respond to such violations. However, this year’s report comes with an added element: an analysis of the United States’ policy on religious freedom over the past fifteen years and how to improve it in the future.

Based on this broader analysis, the report concluded that, as a nation and society, the United States must do more to promote freedom of religion or belief overseas. Such promotion is crucial today since, by any measure, religious freedom is under serious and sustained pressure across much of the globe.  According to the most recent Pew study on the subject, more than three-quarters of the world’s population lives in countries in which religion is restricted in significant ways, either by the government or by societal actors.

Behind this statistic is the reality of deep human suffering. When religious freedom is abridged, real people—as well as their families, communities, and countries—pay a price, losing their liberty and, sometimes, their lives. Whether their names are etched on gravestones or their faces stare at us from behind prison bars, we must never forget these people.

A positive step forward in advancing religious freedom abroad would be to reaffirm what this right actually entails by answering the question, “What is freedom of religion?”

Simply stated, religious freedom is a broad, inclusive right, sweeping in scope, which embraces the full range of thought, belief, and behavior; it is as deep as it is broad, honoring and upholding the claims of conscience. Religious freedom means the right of all human beings to think as they please, to believe or not believe as their conscience leads, and to live out their beliefs openly, peacefully, and without fear. When it comes to the peaceful practice of religion or belief, no government, group, or individual has the right to compel others to act against their conscience or prevent them from answering its call.

How broad and inclusive is religious freedom as a human right? Religious freedom applies to the holders of all religious beliefs. Thus, USCIRF advocates for the rights of members of every religious group in the world to practice their faith peacefully.

Broader still, the right to religious freedom extends to those who reject religious beliefs altogether. It upholds the right to embrace any belief, including one that excludes religion. When atheists or agnostics are targeted for expressing their convictions, they too are victims of religious persecution and merit USCIRF’s advocacy.

Besides protecting every belief, freedom of religion is, in itself, a conviction that is unbounded by geography or nation. Rather than being the exclusive preserve of any one country, it is a universal value endorsed by a majority of countries in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the global community overwhelmingly adopted in 1948, as well as in subsequent agreements. Like every other human right, religious freedom is the birthright of humanity.

Finally, religious freedom is broad and deep enough to merit a seat at the table with economic and security concerns when any nation is conducting its affairs with the world. Human rights, including considerations of religious freedom, should be among the central concerns of our foreign policy. The reason for this is clear: a country’s interests cannot be readily separated from its values. Since its values reflect its identity, such separation is hard to achieve, let alone desirable to pursue. Moreover, we should not assume that there is an automatic tradeoff between religious freedom and other human rights, economic interests, or security concerns; in reality, all of these are deeply interrelated.

Support for religious freedom means opposition to every form of coercion or restraint on people’s ability to choose and practice their beliefs peacefully. Rather than imposing beliefs, supporting religious freedom is about protecting people’s right to remain true to their deepest convictions.

Equipped with this understanding of the breadth and depth of religious freedom, we can see just how much is at stake when countries and cultures perpetrate or tolerate violations of that liberty. To violate this precious right is to betray human nature and well-being; to affirm it is to affirm our very humanity and its continued prosperity. It is an indispensable freedom that merits our firm and dedicated support abroad wherever it is threatened.

Dr. Robert P. George is the Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), to which he was appointed in 2012. He holds the McCormick Chair in Jurisprudence at Princeton University and is the founding director of Princeton’s James Madison Program. This article is based on a portion of USCIRF’s 2014 Annual Report.

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