FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2020

USCIRF Reiterates Call for Appointment of Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today reiterated its call for the State Department to fill the vacancy for the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues. The appointment of the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues is mandated by the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002, however, this position has been vacant since January 20, 2017. Previous Special Coordinators have been crucial to raising the profile of religious freedom issues in Tibet and mobilizing government resources to address the issue.

“The Chinese Communist Party is attempting to erase the unique identity of Tibetan Buddhism,” noted USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “We need to utilize all of the policy tools available, including the position of Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, to confront this grave threat to religious freedom.”

“Chinese authorities have sinicized Tibetan Buddhism by interfering in the reincarnation successions of His Holinesses Panchen Lama and Dalai Lama, introducing ‘Ethic Unity Laws’ to micromanage Tibetan monasteries, and using high tech surveillance to suppress Tibetan religious freedom and human rights,” USCIRF Commissioner Tenzin Dorjee added. “Henceforth, it’s high time to appoint the Special Coordinator for Tibet issues.”

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF 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, especially Chen Quanguo, the current Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang and former Secretary of Tibet. In February 2020, USCIRF released a factsheet explaining how the Chinese government’s new Regulation for Religious Groups could further restrict religious freedom.

USCIRF has also called for the release of  Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama and one of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience.

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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 threats to 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] or Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected].

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
May 11, 2020

USCIRF Releases New Report on Religious Freedom Conditions in Bangladesh

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new country update on religious freedom conditions in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Factsheet - This report provides an overview of religious freedom conditions in Bangladesh in recent years. Despite constitutional protections for religious freedom, the country’s religious minorities, including Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians, have continued to face various challenges to their freedom of religion or belief. Among them are the introduction and enforcement of the Digital Security Act with provisions that criminalize blasphemy; ongoing problems with the legacy of the Vested Property Act; and challenges posed by the rise of religious extremism and local law enforcement.

Last month, USCIRF released its 2020 Annual Report, documenting significant developments in the past year and making recommendations to enhance the U.S. government’s promotion of freedom of religion or belief abroad.  

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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 threats to 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] or call (202) 523-3240.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2020

USCIRF Welcomes Establishment of Pakistan’s National Commission for Minorities as a First Step

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomed the Pakistani government’s recent establishment of the National Commission for Minorities.

In a June 2014 ruling, the Pakistani Supreme Court directed the government to form a commission “to monitor the practical realization of the rights and safeguards provided to the minorities under the Constitution and law.”

“We are encouraged by the formation of the National Commission for Minorities as a governmental body promoting the rights of religious minorities within Pakistan; it’s an important step in Pakistan’s continuing journey towards the protection of religious freedom,” stated USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava. “USCIRF encourages the Pakistani government to empower the Commission with the proper authority to meet its intended purpose as defined by the Supreme Court.”

“We regret that the March visit scheduled for Commissioner Bhargava and myself to Pakistan had to be postponed because of COVID-19. We welcomed the invitation to visit and are grateful that Pakistan has actively engaged with USCIRF on issues of religious freedom,” USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore said. “The establishment of the National Commission for Minorities is undoubtably a step in the right direction, though more steps are certainly required. The prime minister, and his government, have the ability to move Pakistan forward, if they so choose, and we will look forward to seeing it.”

Among USCIRF’s concerns are also the conditions under which this governmental body was formed, in particular the surge in anti-Ahmadiyya hate speech and incitement to violence surrounding the decision to exclude them from the Commission. While recognizing Ahmadis’ right to self-identify as Muslims, and therefore not a minority group, USCIRF is troubled by the ongoing discrimination they face within Pakistan, which the decision to exclude them has highlighted.

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended Pakistan to be re-designated as a “country of particular concern” for religious freedom violations due to “the systematic enforcement of blasphemy and anti-Ahmadiyya laws, and authorities’ failure to address forced conversions of religious minorities—including Hindus, Christians, and Sikhs—to Islam.” A key policy recommendation for the U.S. government was to encourage Pakistan to “create the National Commission for Minorities’ Rights as mandated by the Supreme Court’s 2014 decision.”

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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 threats to 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] or Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected].