May 12, 2021
USCIRF Welcomes the Release of State Department’s 2020 International Religious Freedom Report
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) congratulates the State Department on the release of its 2020 International Religious Freedom Report.
“The International Religious Freedom Report reflects the Administration’s commitment and extensive work to protect the freedom of religion or belief,” said USCIRF Chair Anurima Bhargava. “This report, which documents religious freedom conditions in every nation abroad, is a valuable tool to hold countries accountable for persecution and violence, as well as to support needed change. We deeply appreciate the State Department team who worked on this report and the significant effort and investment it clearly required.”
Pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), the State Department is required to prepare this annual report on religious freedom conditions. IRFA further mandates that within 180 days from the release of the report, the State Department announce the countries that will be designated as countries of particular concern (CPC) or placed on its Special Watch List (SWL), and the nonstate actors that will be designated as entities of concern (EPC).
“We look forward to the timely designations of the world’s worst violators later this year,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Tony Perkins. “As also required by IRFA, strong policy responses should accompany these designations. We encourage the State Department to review U.S. policy towards the countries currently designated as CPCs for which waivers on taking any action based on those designations are in place, as these waivers provide little or no incentive for governments to reduce or halt egregious religious freedom violations.”
The State Department’s annual International Religious Freedom Report covers nearly 200 countries, 26 of which are analyzed in USCIRF’s 2021 Annual Report on the world’s worst offenders against freedom of religion or belief. In that report, USCIRF recommended that in 2021, the State Department designate 14 countries as CPCs, place 12 countries on its SWL, and designate 7 violent non-state groups as EPCs.
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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 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].
May 12, 2021
USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel Adopts
Uyghur Religious Prisoner of Conscience
Washington, DC – United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Commissioner Nury Turkel announced today his adoption of Adil Tuniyaz through USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience (RPOC) Project. Tuniyaz is a well-known Uyghur poet, reporter, and author based in China.
“The Chinese Communist Party has determined that an independent Uyghur identity is an existential threat. This is why they have arbitrarily detained millions of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in concentration camps. Uyghurs, such as Adil Tuniyaz and his family, are specifically targeted by this ruthless regime as part of its campaign to sinicize and eradicate a distinct Uyghur ethno-religious identity,” said USCIRF Commissioner Turkel.
In December 2017, Chinese authorities detained Tuniyaz, and his wife, Nezire Muhammad Salih in an ongoing crackdown of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. According to some reports, the couple were targeted by Chinese authorities in part for translating religious material including hadiths. Chinese authorities also detained their son, Imran, who was studying Arabic at a school in Beijing. Their three other children—Iqbal, Ehsan, and Ilyas—are reportedly in state-run orphanages for Uyghur youth and their guardians have been detained.
“USCIRF calls on Chinese authorities to release Mr. Tuniyaz and his family and end the cruel detention of millions of Uyghurs immediately,” USCIRF Commissioner Turkel added.
In its 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State redesignate China as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) due to its systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom. USCIRF also called upon the administration to use its authority under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and the International Religious Freedom Act to impose targeted sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for severe religious freedom violations against Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, and Falun Gong practitioners.
In addition to his adoption into the RPOC Project, Adil joins 174 other Uyghur Muslims on USCIRF’s Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Victims List, a database providing information on a subset of individuals globally targeted and imprisoned due to their freedom of religion or belief.
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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 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].
May 11, 2021
USCIRF Welcomes Amnesty of Jehovah’s Witness Prisoners in Turkmenistan
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomed the presidential pardon of all 16 Jehovah’s Witness conscientious objectors previously imprisoned in Turkmenistan.
“USCIRF applauds this long overdue decision by the government of Turkmenistan,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Tony Perkins. “The release of these conscientious objectors is something we have specifically advocated for through both public and private channels. We are hopeful that this move represents a change in policy and eager to assist the government of Turkmenistan to promote further religious freedom reform.”
The amnestied prisoners were all young men facing terms of between one to four years for their conscientious objection to military service as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Ten of the 16 had previously served sentences for the same offense and were imprisoned after being re-conscripted. Although the presidential amnesty was intended to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, no Muslim prisoners of conscience were known to be among those pardoned.
“We encourage the government of Turkmenistan to provide a civilian alternative to military service, so that no more Jehovah’s Witnesses will have to endure prison for their peaceful religious practice,” said USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel. “These young men are not enemies of the state. They simply want to serve their country in a peaceful manner—and they deserve the opportunity to do so.”
In its 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. government designate Turkmenistan as a County of Particular Concern (CPC) for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations, and urge the government of Turkmenistan to provide a civilian alternative to military service and to release all those convicted for conscientious objection. USCIRF also released in the past year reports on The Global Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Religious Prisoners in Turkmenistan’s Gulag which described the difficult conditions faced by young Witnesses in Turkmenistan.
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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 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].