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August 12, 2013 | By Robert P. George

The following op-ed appeared in Foreign Policy on August 9, 2013:

On Sunday, August 11, Pakistan will celebrate National Minorities Day, giving recently-elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif his first formal opportunity to recognize the value of religious minority communities to the nation.

Created in 2011, this day is a bittersweet irony for Pakistan.

On the one hand, it recalls the inclusive and tolerant vision of the past: of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founder, whose speech to the nation on August 11, 1947 included these words:

"You are free. You are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or any other places of worship...You may belong to any religion or caste or creed - that has nothing to do with the business of the state."

On the other hand, it highlights the stark realities of the present: how Pakistan has betrayed Jinnah's vision by failing to fulfill his words with concrete actions that protect religious minorities from harm. Indeed, Islamabad has done little to stem a rising tide of violence against members of Pakistan's Ahmadi, Christian, Hindu, Shi'a, and Sikh communities.

Last month, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released the findings from its Pakistan Religious Violence Project . Tracking publicly reported attacks against religious communities over the past 18 months, the project collected alarming data that catalogued the human toll of Pakistan's intolerance and hatred. During that time period, there were more than 200 incidents of sectarian violence that led to 1,800 casualties, including more than 700 deaths.

Many of those killed or injured were Shi'a citizens, with some of the most lethal assaults taking place during Shi'a holy months and pilgrimages. During the year-and-a-half period covered by the study, there were 77 attacks against the Shi'a, 54 against Ahmadis, 37 against Christians, 16 against Hindus, and 3 against Sikhs.

Since the publication of USCIRF's report, the death toll has continued to rise. On July 27, at least 57 people were killed and more than 150 woundedby bombs targeting a market frequented by Shi'a in northwestern Pakistan.

To his credit, Sharif raised concerns about the plight of religious minorities in his maiden speech to Pakistan's National Assemblyand tasked his government to crack down on militants targeting the Shi'a. Hopefully his comments reflect a realization that the time for mere talk and symbolism has passed and that resolute action is needed to ensure that the perpetrators of violence against religious communities are arrested, prosecuted, and jailed along with the violent extremist groups that have spurred the bloodshed.

Moreover, police officers must be held accountable for thwarting justice when they turn a blind eye to attacks or refuse to file police reports when the victims are religious minorities.

With luck, Sharif's comments also intimate that the government will reconsider its enforcement of blasphemy and anti-Ahmadi laws which violate international human rights standards and encourage extremist attacks on perceived transgressors. Just recently, a Christian man, Sajjad Masih, was found guilty of denigrating the Prophet Mohammedand sentenced to life imprisonment, despite the accuser recanting. He joins nearly 40 others who either are on death row or serving life sentences for allegedly blasphemous activity.

Interestingly, Masih's sentencing occurred on the eve of the fourth anniversary of attacks against Christians in Punjab in the village of Gojra -- where Masih is from-- in which eight were killed, 18 were injured, two churches and at least 75 houses were burned, and not a single perpetrator was brought to justice.

Pakistan's surreal inversion of justice, in which some are punished for alleged words and beliefs while others commit literal acts of violence against them with impunity and without consequence, must end. Sharif's government must prove it is serious about ending this dual attack on its most vulnerable citizens. One simple step it can take immediately is to reopen the Federal Ministry of Interfaith Harmony and reaffirm its mission of promoting respect for members of all religious communities, particularly religious minorities. In the meantime, USCIRF will keep monitoring the situation and the Sharif government to determine whether it should continue recommending that the United States designate Pakistan a "country of particular concern," marking it as among the world's most egregious violators of freedom of religion or belief.

Sixty-six years ago, Pakistan's founding father laid a dream of equality and freedom before his nation. It is time for Pakistan's government to honor that dream not merely by repeating its words, but enacting it through deeds.

Robert P. George is the Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

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July 31, 2013 | By USCIRF

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is deeply concerned by reports that Raif Badawi, a Saudi website editor, was convicted and sentenced on July 29 to seven years in prison and 600 lashes on blasphemy and other charges that violate international human rights standards. USCIRF also welcomed the US Department of State raising concerns about Mr. Badawi's conviction at a July 30 press briefing.

"The only thing Mr. Badawi appears to be guilty of is creating a platform on the Internet for religious debate in Saudi Arabia, a right he is guaranteed to under international law. All charges should be dropped and Mr. Badawi should be released immediately and unconditionally," said USCIRF Chairman Robert George.

The editor of the Free Saudi Liberals website, Mr. Badawi was arrested in Jeddah in June 2012 and charged with apostasy, "insulting Islam through electronic channels," and "going beyond the realm of obedience." In January 2013, a Saudi court determined there was insufficient evidence to pursue an apostasy charge, which carries the death penalty in the Kingdom. According to Mr. Badawi's lawyer, the court ordered the website to be shutdown.

"Religious freedom is severely restricted in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government bans most forms of public religious expression other than that of the government's own interpretation of one school of Sunni Islam and uses criminal charges of apostasy and blasphemy to suppress discussion and debate and silence dissidents," said Dr. George.

In a separate case, Saudi blogger Hamza Kashgari, detained without charge by Saudi authorities since February 2012, continues to face possible apostasy and blasphemy charges. During a USCIRF visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this year, Saudi officials stated that Mr. Kashgari was detained because he wrote statements on Twitter which "disturbed the public order," a crime in the Kingdom. Mr. Kashgari disputes these charges. Officials claimed that he continues to be held for his own safety because many Saudi citizens have called for his death and that he is being "educated" to express his opinions without arousing conflict or injuring the feelings of others.

USCIRF again recommended in 2013 that Saudi Arabia be designated as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, despite the Saudi government's progress over the past year on some policies and practices. Although the State Department has designated Saudi Arabia as a CPC since 2004, the Department put into place an indefinite waiver on taking any action in consequence of the CPC designation. USCIRF has recommended that the U.S. government replace the indefinite waiver of action with a limited 180-day waiver, during which time the Saudi government should advance and complete reforms, including those confirmed in July 2006 in U.S.-Saudi bilateral discussions.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at (202) 523-3258 or [email protected].

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July 30, 2013 | by USCIRF

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) commends the European Union's recent adoption of Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief , as well as a recent report on religious freedom by a cross-party group in the British parliament.

"We are very pleased that the European Union has committed to prioritizing freedom of religion or belief in its external human rights policy and welcome its joining the vitaland growing worldwide effort to ensure religious freedom for all,” said Professor Robert P. George, USCIRF chairman. "The report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on International Religious Freedom in the British parliament provides key recommendations for future activities by the British government.”

The EU-wide effort joins the work of several European governments, such as Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom, as well the European Parliament's working group on freedom of religion or belief .

The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), which created USCIRF, the State Department's International Religious Freedom Office, and its Ambassador-at-Large, serves as the blueprint for how the United States seeks to incorporate religious freedom in its human rights and foreign policies. Canada recently took a positive step forward on behalf of religious freedom abroad by creating an international religious freedom office and ambassador in its foreign ministry.

"Religious freedom is a necessary condition for stable, successful societies, and thus for a peaceful world. We are very encouraged by these recent initiatives by the EU and its member governments to give religious freedom the prominence it deserves in foreign policy. The EU's guidelines and member governments' efforts are important steps forward, yet much work remains,” said Professor George. "To quote the British All-Party Parliamentary Group report, freedom of religion or belief is still an ‘orphaned right." We hope that the EU and its member states will carry out these new guidelines robustly, through their collective diplomacy and development efforts.”

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner please contact USCIRF at (202) 523-3258 or [email protected] .