Jul 9, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2013 | By USCIRF
Washington, D.C. -Today, July 9, 2013, marks the second anniversary of South Sudan's independence from Sudan. It is a day of celebration for millions of Southerners who fought for human rights and religious freedom in Sudan's 20 year civil war. However, July 9 also is a reminder that for two years an estimated 500,000 Southerners in Sudan have been stateless and living a precarious existence.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is deeply concerned that the failure to resolve the status of stateless Southerners who are living in the north risks further undermining religious freedom in Sudan. With the independence of South Sudan, senior Sudanese government officials have called for a more comprehensive and rigid application of Sharia law in Sudan, where southerners who are Christian have been subject to a range of religious freedom violations. In particular, there have been credible reports of the destruction of churches, refusal to permit construction of new churches and other forms of intimidation and harassment. USCIRF strongly believes that that the independence of South Sudan must not be used as a justification for the denial of religious diversity and freedom in Sudan, or as a justification to delay progress on a resolution of the status of southerners in Sudan.
"It is a potential recipe for disaster that after more than two years of discussions, half a million Southerners in Sudan remain stateless and vulnerable to severe religious freedom violations. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) calls on the U.S. government and its allies to increase their efforts to help Sudan and South Sudan resolve the status of their nationals residing in the other's territory,” said USCIRF Chair Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett. "Southerners in Sudan are at a particularly grave risk. Furthermore, failure to finalize negotiations has left them vulnerable to expulsion.”
Since January 2011, the two countries have engaged in a series of negotiations over the citizenship and legal status of Southern Sudanese in Sudan and Sudanese in South Sudan. While South Sudan has offered citizenship to Sudanese residents, the Government of Sudan (GoS) has not reciprocated.
In September 2012, the two countries each agreed to establish a Joint High Level Committee that would negotiate the status and treatment of their nationals. Future negotiations were to focus on providing freedom of residence, movement, economic activity, and property. However, no progress has been made.
"It is imperative that the Joint High Level Committee not only fully resolves specific areas of concern from prior agreements, but also ensures that the final agreement includes an explicit protection from statelessness and respect for universal human rights, including religious freedom,” said Chair Lantos Swett.
Since South Sudan's independence, the GoS frequently has violated the rights of Southerners. In addition, South Sudanese humanitarian workers employed at Christian organizations were arrested, accused of illegal Christian proselytization, and deported to South Sudan in 2012 and 2013. The GoS also has fired all Southerners employed in government and stripped Sudanese citizenship from those who could access South Sudanese citizenship, and called on them to return to South Sudan.
Southerners living in Sudan were internally displaced from the North-South civil war. Some have chosen to remain in Sudan for reasons including that they grew up in Sudan, are married to a Sudanese individual, or have integrated into the country economically or in other ways. Others remained because South Sudan currently is unable to absorb returnees and provide them with services such as education or health care.
Jul 8, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2013 | By USCIRF
WASHINGTON, D.C. - As the annual U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue begins this week, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urges President Obama, Secretary Kerry and other U.S. officials to raise during discussions with their Chinese counterparts the cases of prominent religious prisoners and human rights lawyers in China. The continued confinement of thousands of political and religious prisoners in China violates that nation's international obligations and its constitutional protections for human rights and religious freedom
"The Administration needs to be a strong voice for the voiceless and vulnerable in China,” said Katrina Lantos Swett, USCIRF's Chair."China's imprisoned dissidents stand peacefully for freedom and the rule of law, but Beijing views them as enemies of the state. These continuing human rights abuses fundamentally are at odds with international legal standards that China is obliged to respect. China's continued repression of dissent and restrictions on religious freedom cannot but affect our hopes of finding common ground between our two countries on other important global concerns.”
Dr. Swett concluded, "Because President Xi Jinping's idea of a ‘Chinese Dream' is a nightmare for those who dare to stand up for human rights, we urge Secretary Kerry to raise prominently the cases of prisoners of conscience.”
USCIRF's 2013 Annual Report found that poor religious freedom conditions in China have deteriorated significantly, particularly for Tibetan Buddhists and Uighur Muslims. To stem the growth of independent Catholic and Protestant groups, the government has detained and arrested leaders, forcibly closed churches, and selected Catholic bishops without the approval of the Vatican. The Falun Gong and other groups deemed "evil cults” face long-term imprisonments, forced renunciations of faith, and torture in detention.
CLICK HERE for the descriptions and photos of some of thosefeatured in USCIRF's 2013 Annual Report. They represent the many prisoners detained in Chinese jails because of their religious activities or religious freedom advocacy.
Jul 8, 2013
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
July 8, 2013 | By Katrina Lantos Swett
The following appeared in Eurasia Review on July 4th, 2013.
Last Saturday, on June 29, I was honored to speak in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to the Ahmadiyya Muslim American Community's 65th Annual Convention.
For the past several years, the Ahmadiyya have chosen Harrisburg for their convention, just days before America's July 4 celebration.
Two hours east of Harrisburg is Philadelphia, where our Declaration of Independence was signed on that date. Less than an hour south is Gettysburg, where 150 years ago, in the days leading up to July 4, a crucial Civil War battle was raging.
Philadelphia is where America, through its Declaration, proclaimed that people are born equal and free. Gettysburg is where the nation, through an otherwise terrible war, began to turn those words more fully into deeds, leading to a new birth of freedom upon the abolition of slavery. And last Saturday, Harrisburg was where we reaffirmed America's declaration that freedom -- including freedom of religion or belief -- is not just for Americans, but for everyone, including Ahmadiyya Muslims and others.
Founded in India in 1889, the Ahmadiyya community is known for its respect for tolerance and freedom. Claiming tens of millions of adherents worldwide, its members have lived in our country for nearly a century. Following 9/11, America's Ahmadiyya community literally gave its blood for our nation, eventually donating over 25,000 live-saving units in memory of those who fell that day.
While in many ways, Ahmadiyya precepts mirror our values, these values continue to come under harsh assault globally.
Nearly three-fourths of the world's people live in nations where freedom of religion and related human rights are under brutal siege. That includes millions of Ahmadiyya members.
For nearly four decades, the constitution of Pakistan has deemed all Ahmadiyya "non- Muslims.”
For more than a quarter century, its government has barred them from calling their worship centers "mosques,” publicly uttering the traditional Islamic greeting or quoting from the Qur'an, and displaying Islam"s basic affirmation. Ahmadiyya are prohibited from sharing their beliefs with others or disseminating their material. They are restricted from building houses of worship and holding public gatherings. And since they must register as non-Muslims to vote, Ahmadiyyas effectively are disenfranchised.
Coupled with Pakistan"s blasphemy laws, these statutes have helped foster a climate of intimidation and violence against Ahmadiyya members.
In Indonesia, since June 2008, the government has restricted Ahmadiyya activity to private worship and prohibited members from sharing their faith. In parts of East and West Java and elsewhere, extremist religious groups press local officials to close places of worship or ban Ahmadiyya activity altogether.
In Saudi Arabia, Ahmadiyya members have been deported for their beliefs. In Egypt, they have been charged under its blasphemy laws. In Kazakhstan, the government"s application of its Religion Law has denied their legal legitimacy.
The same societies that violate the religious freedom of Ahmadiyya abuse the rights of others. As USCIRF has documented, where Ahmadiyya suffer, Hindus and Christians, Sikhs and Baha"is, Shi"a and other Muslims, often are persecuted as well.
In order to protect the rights of all, including the Ahmadiyya, and foster peaceful, stable societies, Washington needs to make religious freedom a key foreign policy priority.
The U.S. government also should confront nations which single out the Ahmadiyya for persecution. For example, it should press Pakistan to amend its constitution and rescind all anti-Ahmadiyya laws. It should urge Indonesia to overturn its 2008 decree and all provincial bans against Ahmadiyya religious practice. It should press both governments to investigate acts of violence thoroughly and prosecute perpetrators vigorously. And until Pakistan proves itself serious about reform, USCIRF believes that it qualifies as a "country of particular concern.”
Today, we honor our founding Declaration. We remember that freedoms are not privileges for rulers to bestow or withhold, but unalienable rights ordained by a just and merciful Creator, which no person or government can abuse without surrendering moral authority and legitimacy.
*Katrina Lantos Swett is the Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
To interview a USCIRF Commissioner please contact USCIRF at (202) 523-3258 or [email protected].