FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2003

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

WASHINGTON - In recent testimony to Congress, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom called on the President and Congress to hold Khartoum to its word that a just peace will be reached by June. The Commission submitted testimony to the House Committee on International Relations, Subcommittee on Africa, on "Reviewing the Sudan Peace Act Report." If an agreement is not reached by the end of June, as asserted by the government of Sudan and the SPLM/A, the President and Congress should re-evaluate if the government of Sudan has engaged in good faith negotiations to achieve a permanent peace agreement. If it is determined that the government of Sudan has not negotiated in good faith, then the President should consider initiating those measures laid out in Section 6 (b)(2) of the Sudan Peace Act. The Commission will continue to monitor closely the progress of peace negotiations.

USCIRF Chair Felice D. Gaer said, "While U.S. officials are characterizing the impending agreement as a ‘diplomatic touchdown,' the Commission is perplexed at this level of optimism when so many significant issues remain to be negotiated between the parties. Moreover, there is a misleading tendency throughout the Sudan Peace Act report to present an equivalency between the actions of the government of Sudan and the SPLM/A, especially the sections on ground offensives and on slavery/abductions. For example, the report refers to an investigation of the International Eminent Persons Group in May 2002 that concluded that both the Sudanese government and the SPLM/A were guilty of forced abductions. However, it does not go into any detail about the extent to which each party was guilty."

Because religious freedom has been a major issue in Sudan's civil war, the Commission urges the United States to oppose the application of Sharia law to non-Muslims wherever they may reside in the country. The USCIRF also urges that, because Sudan is to continue in the near future as a unified State, national institutions such as the military, law enforcement, and the highest level of the judiciary be secular.

The testimony also assessed the State Department's reports to Congress pursuant to the Sudan Peace Act, finding them deficient in several areas. The Commission credits the Administration for becoming engaged on the issue of bringing peace to the people of Sudan, for working toward a peace agreement, and for other salutary aspects of its policies on Sudan. Nevertheless, the State Department's reporting is deficient in several important respects under the requirements of the Sudan Peace Act. While the reports note government of Sudan violations of ceasefire commitments and state that these violations must stop, they do not give an accurate picture of the situation, nor do they articulate consequences for further violations. In particular, the reporting does not adequately address the fear that the government of Sudan is delaying progress in peace talks in order to advance its military might and strategic position vis-à-vis the SPLM/A, thereby seeking a military victory over the south rather than a negotiated peace.

The Commission continued to make several additional recommendations for U.S. policy, including:

• oppose the application of Sharia law to non-Muslims wherever they may reside in the country;

• urge that, because Sudan is to continue in the near future as a unified State, national institutions such as the military, law enforcement, and the highest level of the judiciary, be secular;

• insist that the capital of a reunited north and south Sudan, most likely Khartoum, be a place where people of all faiths can worship freely and where the laws are reflective and respectful of all religions and legal traditions in Sudan;

• disperse funding quickly for humanitarian purposes that will be supportive of the peace process and immediately release funding to build civil society and to promote economic development in southern Sudan; Congress should appropriate immediately the $100 million in aid this year for southern Sudan, as well as in FY 2004 and 2005, as authorized in the Sudan Peace Act "to prepare the population for peace and democratic governance;"

• continue to keep in place existing sanctions on Sudan and refrain from upgrading diplomatic relations with the government in Khartoum;

• continue to push for access for delivery of humanitarian assistance and expand humanitarian relief where it is most needed; and

• build upon the work of the International Eminent Persons Group (IEPG) to combat and end the terrible practice of abduction and enslavement by government-sponsored militias, such as establishing a permanent monitoring mechanism.

The full testimony can be found 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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2003

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

WASHINGTON - The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent and bipartisan federal agency, yesterday released a series of new reports on the status of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Russia, Laos, and Belarus. The reports contain policy recommendations for the President, the Secretary of State, and the Congress.

USCIRF Chair Felice D. Gaer said, "Advancing human rights and religious freedom has not yet been a public feature of the US-Saudi bilateral relationship. Our goal in releasing this Annual Report on religious freedom has been to highlight that the protection of religious freedom and other human rights must be an integral part of U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia and other countries."

Saudi Arabia: The U.S. government needs to identify human rights problems in Saudi Arabia and publicly acknowledge that they are significant issues in the bilateral relationship. USCIRF recommendations include the following:

• Investigate Saudi government funding of the global propagation of a religious ideology that promotes hate, intolerance, and in some cases violence. Congress should authorize and fund such a study and the U.S. government should urge the Saudis to cease any funding efforts.

• Use leverage to encourage implementation of reforms in Saudi Arabia, including naming Saudi Arabia a "country of particular concern" and expanding human rights assistance, public diplomacy and other programs.

• Press for immediate improvements in respect for religious freedom, including dissolving the mutawaa and permitting non-Wahhabi places of worship in certain areas.

• Hold biannual hearings in Congress for the State Department to report on religious freedom issues raised with Saudi Arabia and that government's response, as well as on the Department's plan for expanding initiatives to advance human rights in Saudi Arabia.

• Ensure that any existing restrictions on the religious practice of U.S. military and diplomatic personnel be lifted permanently.

• Investigate reports that some U.S. companies in Saudi Arabia engage in practices that constitute or facilitate discrimination or violations of religious freedom or other human rights.

Afghanistan: There are continuing reports of serious human rights abuses, reported efforts to circumscribe human rights in Afghanistan's new constitution, and indications that Afghanistan in being reconstructed - without serious U.S. opposition - as a state in which an extreme interpretation of Sharia would be enforced by a government which the United States supports and with which our nation is closely identified. USCIRF recommendations include the following:

• Appoint a high-ranking official to the U.S Embassy in Kabul to advance human rights.

• Expand the international security presence beyond Kabul and end U.S. support for warlords.

• Urge the Karzai administration to abolish religious police.

• Expand programs to inform Afghans about human rights.

• Fully fund the human rights programming envisioned in the Afghan Freedom Support Act of 2002.

Vietnam: Since Congress passed the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement in September 2001, the already poor religious freedom conditions in Vietnam have deteriorated. USCIRF recommendations include the following:

• Make clear to the government of Vietnam that cessation of religious freedom violations is essential to continued expansion of bilateral relations.

• Designate Vietnam as a "country of particular concern."

• Pass the Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2003 in Congress.

• Withhold support for non-humanitarian loans to Vietnam from international financial institutions until substantial improvements are made in the protection of religious freedom.

• Review the Vietnamese government's human rights practices as part of the annual review of the Jackson-Vanik waiver for Vietnam.

• Overcome jamming of Radio Free Asia broadcasts and blockage of the RFA Internet site.

Russia: An attempt is underway on the part of elements within the Russian government, aided or perhaps encouraged by the Russian Orthodox Church, to curb religious freedom further and bring the religious practice of Russian citizens under the closer control and tutelage of the state. USCIRF recommendations include the following:

• Raise concern about the growing influence of undemocratic forces on Russian government policies.

• Oppose attempts to rollback religious freedom and urge protection of religious minorities against violent attacks and intolerance.

• Remain vigilant on the progress of Democratic reform and protections for human rights in Russia, reinstate the Smith Amendment, and ensure that a monitoring mechanism be in place should Congress graduate Russia from Jackson-Vanik.

• Support those who advance democracy, religious freedom, and other human rights.

Laos: Laos is at an important crossroads between those who advocate that the country follow the model of China and Vietnam, and those who seek to modernize the country by learning from the United States and other Western democracies that respect human rights. USCIRF recommendations include the following:

• Designate Laos a "country of particular concern" to make clear U.S. concerns over particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

• Establish a bilateral human rights dialogue with measurable goals to eliminate violations.

• Provide assistance to Laos to take steps to reform its practices, policies, laws, and regulations that contribute to religious freedom violations, if the Laos government demonstrates a genuine commitment to change, beginning with a State Department assessment of the human rights needs in Laos.

Belarus: In October 2002, President Alexandr Lukashenko signed new legislation on religion that further restricts religious freedom in Belarus. The law has been called the most repressive religious law in Europe. USCIRF recommendations include the following:

• Use every measure of diplomacy to advance the protection of human rights and religious freedom, including enhanced monitoring and public reporting, especially in light of the weakened monitoring mandate of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

• Adopt the Belarus Democracy Act of 2003 in Congress.

• Raise religious freedom and other human rights concerns in Belarus with Russian government officials, because of the special relationship that exists between the two countries.

Commissioners are Felice D. Gaer, Firuz Kazemzadeh, Richard Land, Bishop William F. Murphy, Leila Nadya Sadat, Nina Shea, Hon. Charles R. Stith, Dean Michael K. Young, and Ambassador John V. Hanford III, Ex-Officio. Visit our 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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2003

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

WASHINGTON - The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent and bipartisan federal agency, will announce tomorrow its Congressionally-mandated policy recommendations on the international effort to protect religious freedom. The Commission reviews violations of religious freedom abroad throughout the year. In May of each year, the USCIRF is required to submit to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress an annual report containing its recommendations. This year's report includes recommendations on addressing the global export of Wahhabi Islam by Saudi Arabia, protecting freedom of belief in the political reconstruction of Afghanistan, and using economic leverage to halt religious persecution in Vietnam, as well as others on China, Sudan, Russia, North Korea, Laos, and Belarus.

Religious freedom and religious violence remain critical concerns of U.S. foreign policy. The issue is as relevant to the reconstruction of Iraq as it is to reducing conflict in Sudan. "Few issues have captured the imagination of Americans as has the concept of individual freedom and respect for the equal rights and dignity of every person. The reports being released show that the members of this Commission take seriously our responsibility to monitor and advise on how U.S. foreign policy tools can prevent such abuses," said USCIRF Chair Felice Gaer.

The USCIRF is the only government commission in the world with a mandate to review and report on violations of the internationally-guaranteed right to freedom of religion and belief worldwide. The Commission gives the U.S. government and the American public the ability to promote religious freedom throughout the world by providing reliable information, analysis, and careful and creative policy recommendations. USCIRF's impact and its success in accomplishing its mission are dependent on bringing advice and accountability to U.S. foreign policy in its promotion of international religious freedom. While the work of the Commission is conducted year round, the Commission compiles an annual report in May, as required by law, for the President, Secretary of State, and Congress that provides country and issue-specific policy recommendations to promote religious freedom.

The press conference will be held at the National Press Club in the Holeman Lounge on the 13th floor from 9:30-11:00 a.m. on May 13. Copies of the Annual Report and individual country reports will be available at the press conference and will also be posted on the Commission's Web site at www.uscirf.gov. They can also be obtained by contacting the Communications department at (202) 523-3240. Interviews with Commissioners may be arranged by contacting Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, at (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

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.