FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 6, 2004

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chair Preeta D. Bansal testified today before the U.S. House of Representatives International Relations Committee (HIRC) on the  State Department's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2004  and Secretary Powell's designation of "countries of particular concern" (CPCs). Bansal welcomed the designation of three new CPCs - Eritrea, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia - noting that the Commission has long called for these designations, particularly that of Saudi Arabia, and reinforcing that designation is a beginning and not an end. The full text of Commissioner Bansal's testimony may be found on USCIRF's Web site www.uscirf.gov in either  PDF  or  HTML  format.

"The designation of CPCs is one of the most significant human rights acts of the U.S. government. In welcoming these designations, I would underscore that IRFA is very clear that more is required of the U.S. government than just naming these three countries as CPCs. Important obligations, in the form of consequent actions, flow from the CPC designation," said Bansal. "The Commission plans soon to issue recommended responses for the President, Secretary of State, and Congress pursuant to the IRFA statute to follow up on the CPC designations."

Bansal noted that the 2004 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom contains no country report on Iraq. She testified that the absence of a report should not in any way be construed as an indication that religious freedom is not essential to the development of a stable and democratic Iraq. As the Iraqi people embark upon the historic task of crafting a permanent constitution in the coming months, the U.S. government cannot lose sight of the vital need to ensure that the fundamental right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief is guaranteed in Iraq's permanent constitution.

Bansal voiced the Commission's concern that it is critical that what happened in Afghanistan not be repeated in Iraq. She noted that the Annual Report does not address the "fatal flaw" in Afghanistan's new constitution. With no guarantee of the individual right to religious freedom and a judicial system instructed to enforce Islamic principles and Islamic law, the new Afghan constitution does not fully protect individual Afghan citizens. There are also fewer protections for Afghans to debate the role and content of religion in law and society, to advocate the rights of women and members of religious minorities, and to question interpretations of Islamic precepts without fear of retribution. This could stifle voices that seek to debate and dissent from state imposed religious orthodoxies.

On the report as a whole, Bansal commented that while many individual country reports continue to be lengthy and revealing, the Commission remains concerned about a number of informational inaccuracies in several important reports. In addition, she added, "The Annual Report is meant to be a report on U.S. policies and activities to promote those policies, and not only a report on conditions. However, it is not apparent from the information presented in the Annual Report that the State Department has conducted its activities in a coordinated way to implement particular policies and to achieve specific goals."

Finally, Bansal discussed the Commission's work with regard to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which covers a vital region including all of Europe, the former Soviet Union, Canada and the United States. The need to recognize and to combat growing anti-Semitism in the region, together with the need to promote religious freedom for the growing Muslim minority populations in OSCE countries, cannot be understated.

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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 5, 2004

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - Preeta D. Bansal, Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), will testify tomorrow at a hearing on the State Department's 2004 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom and its designation of "countries of particular concern" (CPCs). The hearing is being held by the House International Relations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives (HIRC). You can access this testimony online at our website (www.uscirf.gov) in either PDF or HTML format.

In a September 15 press release, the Commission welcomed the release of the Annual Report and lauded the announcement by Secretary of State Powell of the designation of Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and Eritrea as (CPCs) for severe religious freedom violations. In addition, Burma, China, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan were re-named as CPCs. Though the USCIRF supports the new designations of these three countries, the Commission would like to call attention to the fact that CPC designation is not an end point, but only the beginning of focused diplomatic activity to promote freedom of religion or belief.

What: Hearing on the State Department's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom and Designations of Countries of Particular Concern

Where: Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2172

When: Wednesday, October 6, 2004, 10:30 a.m.

Others testifying are:

The Honorable John V. Hanford III, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, U.S. Department of State;

Mark B. Levin, Executive Director of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry;

Paul Marshall, Senior Fellow, Center for Religious Freedom, Freedom House;

Timothy Shah, Senior Fellow in Religion and International Affairs, The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life; and

Ali Al-Ahmed, Director, Saudi Institute.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2004

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240 (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) announces its latest Policy Focus on Nigeria, which addresses the communal and sectarian violence that has killed more than 10,000 Nigerians in the past five years alone, the expansion of sharia law in the north, discrimination against religious minorities, and increasing extremist activity. The policy brief includes recommendations for the President, Secretary of State, and Congress. Nigeria has been listed on the Commission's Watch List for three years due to the nature or extent of violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the Nigerian government. The response from the Nigerian government to the issue of religious freedom remains inadequate. Little effort has been exerted to stop the outbreaks of violence, and subsequent reprisals between Muslims and Christians. The Commission continues to monitor the actions of the Nigerian government to determine if the situation warrants designation as a "county of particular concern," or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

"The Commission has recommended that President Bush urge President Obasanjo to address communal and sectarian violence, religious freedom issues, particularly the sharia controversy, and discrimination against religious minorities," said USCIRF chair Preeta D. Bansal. "The Commission is also concerned about an increasing number of extremist activities in northern Nigeria. This Policy Focus contains observations from a Commission staff visit and outlines USCIRF recommendations for U.S. policy on Nigeria to ensure the protection of freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief."

The Turkmen government deploys a battery of repressive measures such as threats, fines, job demotions and dismissals, beatings, confiscations, and deportations against religious communities, as documented by the USCIRF in its reports. The Ministry of Justice in Turkmenistan this week said that unregistered religious activity remains illegal despite the May 13, 2004, decree by President Niyazov that dropped from the criminal code the practice of unauthorized religious activities. The May 13 decree supplemented a March 11, 2004 decree that dropped from 500 to 50 the number of adherents in a religious community required for registration. Some had hoped that Niyazov's May 13 decree would result in the legalization of Shia Muslim, Baptist, Baha'i, Pentecostal, Adventist, Armenian Apostolic, Lutheran, Hare Krishna, Jehovah's Witness, and Jewish religious activities. As of now, only the state-regulated Sunni Muslim and the Russian Orthodox Church are granted limited legal status in Turkmenistan. On March 29, President Niyazov suddenly announced that no new mosques could be built after that date in Turkmenistan.

On May 13, Niyazov also issued a second decree that nullified a secret decree promulgated on 23 March, eleven days after his "liberalization" of the registration requirements for religious communities. The 23 March decree had required all registered religious communities to subject themselves to strict state financial regulation. Despite the May 13 decree, however, religious communities are required to adhere to a six-page model statute as a condition of registration. These harsh registration requirements violate international law and force many religious communities in Turkmenistan to function "underground."

Despite the blatant and on-going violations of religious freedom in Turkmenistan, some believe that if the government were to allow a few religious communities to register then Turkmenistan should not be designated a CPC. The Ministry of Justice said yesterday, however, that no religious communities have been allowed to register.

The Commission calls on the U.S. government to publicly urge the Nigerian government to:

• Take effective steps to prevent and contain acts of sectarian and communal violence, prevent reprisal attacks, and bring those responsible to justice;

• Open a consulate or other official presence in Kano, or in Northern Nigeria with representation from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID);

• Ensure that sharia criminal codes do not apply to non-Muslims or to individual Muslims who do not wish to go before sharia courts, and prevent law enforcement activities in northern states by any quasi-official or private corps of sharia enforcers;

• Support human rights defenders responding to credible allegations of religious discrimination in any part of Nigeria; and

• Urge the Nigerian government to identify, publicize, and counter foreign sources of religious extremism as part of its counter-terrorism efforts.

"The USCIRF urges the U.S. government to evaluate its foreign assistance programs and policy on Nigeria and consider these recommendations made by the Commission," said Bansal.

The Policy Focus on Nigeria is available on the Commission's Web site at www.uscirf.gov.

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.