FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 11, 2017

USCIRF Strongly Condemns Violence in Burma’s Rakhine State and Calls for Efforts to Protect Rohingya Muslims

USCIRF chairman describes the Rohingya plight as a “staggering humanitarian disaster”

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly condemns attacks on civilians and security forces in Burma’s Rakhine State.  Hundreds have been killed and approximately 300,000 Rohingya Muslims recently have fled to neighboring Bangladesh.  This number is expected to grow in the days and weeks ahead.  Burma’s security forces have razed entire villages, slaughtered families, and even placed landmines in the path of fleeing refugees, creating “a staggering humanitarian disaster,” according to USCIRF’s Chairman Daniel Mark.

“Burma’s security forces must end their attacks on civilians in Rakhine State,” said Chairman Mark.  “We call upon Burma’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi to unequivocally condemn the atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State.  Burma’s government and military must uphold their international humanitarian and human rights commitments.”

Beginning on August 25 and rapidly escalating ever since, Burma’s security forces have conducted disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks against Rohingya Muslims, conflating the unlawful and deadly acts of a few with the overwhelmingly peaceful population now fleeing for its life.  The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army’s violent actions against state forces have put countless lives at risk and the Commission condemns its attacks as well.  Alas, collectively, innocent Rohingya and Kaman Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and others in Rakhine State all suffer from the violence.

Most Rohingya refugees are fleeing into Bangladesh, which suffers from flooding and scarce resources.  “For decades, Bangladesh has given shelter to Rohingya refugees, estimated at as many as 500,000 people before the latest crisis,” said Chairman Mark.  “Violence and persecution in Burma have driven nearly 400,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh in the last year alone.” 

USCIRF strongly urges Burma to collaborate with international partners like the United Nations and humanitarian aid organizations, as well as regional stakeholders such as Bangladesh and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to ensure that Rohingya Muslims and other vulnerable populations immediately receive adequate resources and compassionate care.

A concise explanation of the Rohingya plight may be found in USCIRF’s report Suspended in Time:  The Ongoing Persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Burma. 

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the Congressional leadership of both political parties. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/ +1-202-786-0611).

USCIRF Welcomes the State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report for 2016

USCIRF chairman describes the report as “an important resource on religious freedom conditions globally”

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) commended the State Department for its release of its annual International Religious Freedom Report. Covering 2016, this publication documents religious freedom conditions in almost 200 countries, including some of the most repressive governments in the world. The full text of the report may be found here and at www.state.gov.

When announcing the report’s release, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated that religious freedom is a “core American value…and universal human right,” commenting further that it is a “human rights priority” for the Trump Administration. The report states that “The United States promotes religious freedom as a moral imperative. As importantly, we promote religious freedom because countries that effectively safeguard this human right are more stable, economically vibrant, and peaceful. The failure of governments to protect this right breeds instability, terrorism, and violence.”

Welcoming the report’s release, USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark remarked, “The State Department’s report is an important resource on religious freedom conditions globally. In particular, we strongly support Secretary Tillerson’s comments about genocide. He expressed unequivocally that ISIS is responsible for genocide against Yezidis, Christians, and Shi’a Muslims. Such a strong and clear statement is both needed and appropriate. We applaud the Secretary of State for reaffirming this position.”

In USCIRF’s 2017 Annual Report, the Commission recommended to the White House and the State Department that 16 countries be designated as “countries of particular concern” (CPC). CPCs are those countries that perpetrate or tolerate “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” violations of religious freedom.

The nations USCIRF recommended as CPCs include: Burma, Central African Republic, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. This year marks the first time that USCIRF has recommended Russia as a CPC, due to its continued religious freedom violations both inside Russia and in neighboring Ukraine and Crimea.

By law, the State Department has 90 days after it issues its report to designate countries of particular concern. In 2016, the State Department designated 10 of USCIRF’s recommendations as CPCs. USCIRF calls on the White House and Secretary Tillerson to re-designate those 10 countries CPCs, and also to designate the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam.

Beyond the CPC recommendations, USCIRF’s report listed an additional 12 countries that warrant continued close attention even though their religious freedom violations did not meet the CPC standard. These “Tier 2” countries are: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, and Turkey. Likewise, the State Department now has 90 days during which it will lay out criteria for creating a “special watch list” of countries with religious freedom violations that fall below the CPC level.

USCIRF Chairman Mark said, “USCIRF’s Tier 2 list is a good place for the State Department to start when compiling its special watch list. We look forward to working with the Department on countries of particular concern, entities of particular concern, and the special watch list. We also hope that the Senate swiftly confirms Governor Sam Brownback as the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom when it reconvenes in September.”

Pursuant to the 2016 Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, this year, for the first time, USCIRF recommended three groups be designated as “entities of particular concern” (EPCs). They are the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria; the Taliban in Afghanistan; and al-Shabaab in Somalia. An EPC is a non-state actor that is “a non-sovereign entity that: 1) exercises significant political power and territorial control; 2) is outside the control of a sovereign government; and 3) often employs violence in pursuit of its objectives.”

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the Congressional leadership of both political parties. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/ +1-202-786-0611).

USCIRF Releases Report Measuring Blasphemy Laws’ Compliance with Human Rights

USCIRF chairman states that blasphemy laws “invite abuse and can lead to assaults, murders, and mob attacks”

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has released a report that shows how blasphemy laws around the world fall short of international human rights benchmarks.  “Respecting Rights? Measuring the World’s Blasphemy Laws” catalogs the offending laws found in a wide range of countries. In some countries, blasphemy laws are enforced weakly, if at all, yet such laws, “in both theory and practice, harm individuals and societies.” The report details laws spanning the globe from countries such as Canada and Switzerland to Iran and Indonesia with penalties ranging from fines to death. Surprisingly, more than one-third of the world’s nations have blasphemy laws today.

“Religious freedom includes the right to express a full range of thoughts and beliefs, including those that others might find blasphemous,” noted USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark. “Advocates for blasphemy laws may argue that they are needed in order to protect religious freedom, but these laws do no such thing. Blasphemy laws are wrong in principle, and they often invite abuse and lead to assaults, murders, and mob attacks. Wherever they exist, they should be repealed.”

The report compared the text of blasphemy laws against such indicators as freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, vagueness of the law, severity of penalty, discrimination against groups, and state religion protections. Most laws in the study failed to protect freedom of expression, were vaguely worded, and carried unduly harsh penalties for violators.

In all five of the worst-scoring countries (Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Qatar), the blasphemy laws aim to protect the state religion of Islam in a way that impermissibly discriminates among different groups. When societies wish to defend people of faith from speech that offends them, private citizens must act, not the government, and they must act peacefully, never with violence. In such cases, solidarity across faiths can be a powerful tool for promoting tolerance and mutual respect.

“Though implementation varies, countries from Switzerland to Sudan persist in outlawing expression of views deemed ‘blasphemous’,” said Chairman Mark. “Some countries, including Canada, have such laws but do not actively enforce them.  We call upon those countries to set an example for the others and repeal their blasphemy laws. And we call upon all countries to repeal any such laws and to free those detained or convicted for blasphemy.”

The full report may be found at www.USCIRF.gov.  Follow USCIRF’s posting about this report on Twitter (@USCIRF) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/USCIRF/).

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the Congressional leadership of both political parties. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/ +1-202-786-0611).