This op-ed originally appears in The National Interest, on August 2, 2020.

By USCIRF Commissioners James W. Carr and Frederick A. Davie

For years, Deacon Jang Moon Seok ministered to North Koreans living in Changbai, China until he was kidnapped by North Korean agents in November 2014. The agents snuck across the border, abducted the deacon, and formally arrested him once he was on North Korean soil. Deacon Jang was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment. He was tortured for information about Han Chung-Ryeol, a high-profile pastor also working in Changbai whom North Korean agents assassinated in 2016.

Deacon Jang’s case is just one example of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s attempts to suffocate religious freedom. The Kim dynasty’s cult of personality leaves no room for any independent religion or belief. After decades of persecution, percentage of the North Korean population affiliating with a religion—including Christianity, Buddhism, and Cheondoism—plummeted from approximately 24 percent in 1950 to a mere 0.16 percent in 2002.

The only houses of worship in North Korea are state-sponsored venues tightly controlled by the regime and available exclusively to citizens deemed loyal. Anyone else caught practicing their religious beliefs or possessing religious texts risks arrest, torture, or even execution. Christians are especially vulnerable because the ruling Worker’s Party views them as foreign agents and the practice of Christianity is treated as a political crime. North Korean propaganda has even compared missionaries to vampires.

As Commissioners for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), we review reports about religious freedom conditions in dozens of countries; the situation in North Korea is one of the worst in the world. As such, we are advocating for the release of Deacon Jang through USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. We also hope to increase awareness of the thousands of individuals held in North Korea’s political prison and labor camps for their religious beliefs.

There’s nothing permanent or inevitable about this state of affairs. A century ago, Pyongyang was known as the “Jerusalem of the East” because of its thriving Christian population. Individuals from all religious communities could worship freely and openly. South Korea has proven that religious freedom can take root and thrive on Korean soil.

Progress on religious freedom in North Korea is possible, but will require patience, flexibility, and U.S. leadership and commitment.

First, USCIRF recommends making religious freedom and other human rights a priority during any negotiations with the North Korean government. U.S. administrations have typically treated nuclear nonproliferation and human rights as competing goals, but that need not be the case. As argued in a recent USCIRF report, negotiators could draw upon the Helsinki Accords to pursue a comprehensive agreement that furthers progress on both issues. North Korea in 2020 is not Eastern Europe in 1975, but there are valuable lessons to be drawn, such as the importance of coordinating with allies and not preemptively limiting the scope of rights raised during the negotiations.

In addition, we recommend the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) prioritize projects on North Korea given the limited access its citizens have to accurate and reliable information. It is more difficult for the North Korean regime to censor legacy broadcast and nonnetworked digital technologies, so DRL should focus on the use of DVDs and USB drives to promote the dissemination of information.

Finally, the State Department should fill the current vacancy for the Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues. Past special envoys have been instrumental in raising awareness of and rallying international support to take action against religious freedom violations in North Korea. The last Special Envoy was Robert R. King (2009-2017), and the post has been vacant since his departure.

For too long, the international community has shied away from forcefully pressing the North Korean regime about its human rights abuses for fear of jeopardizing ongoing security-related negotiations. We recognize the gravity of the security concerns on the Korean peninsula, but neglecting human rights has not led to breakthroughs on nonproliferation issues. It is time for creative thinking about how to protect both security interests and basic human rights.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

USCIRF Commends Release of Religious Prisoner of Conscience Hamid Bin Haydara and 5 Other Baha’is in Yemen

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) commends the Houthi authorities’ release of Religious Prisoner of Conscience Hamid bin Haydara along with five other detained members of the Baha’i community in Yemen. Charges against members of the Baha’i community remain in place despite their release.

“Hamid bin Haydara’s release has been long overdue; it is an important but insufficient step,” said USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore, who advocates for Mr. bin Haydara as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoner of Conscience Project. “The Houthis must drop all charges immediately and unconditionally against Mr. bin Haydara and all other Baha'is in Yemen.”

On December 3, 2013, Houthi authorities arrested and detained Mr. bin Haydara, holding him without charges in a prison for more than a year. In January 2015, he was charged falsely with spying for Israel, teaching literacy classes deemed incompatible with Islam, and attempting to convert Muslims. A judge sentenced him to death on January 2, 2018, but the Houthi Supreme Political Council announced on March 25, 2020 that he would be pardoned and released along with five other detained Baha’is. Despite this statement, the Houthis had not released any Baha’i detainees until now.

“USCIRF has been a tireless advocate for Mr. bin Haydara and we welcome the news of his release along with five other Baha’i community members,” said USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin. “We call on Houthi authorities to cease immediately their relentless persecution of Baha’is and other religious minorities in Yemen.”

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended the State Department designate the Houthis an “Entity of Particular Concern,” or EPC, for systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations. Last month, USCIRF released a country update on Yemen, focused on religious freedom restrictions in Houthi-controlled areas.

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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 or belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected].

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

USCIRF Expresses Outrage at the Killing of U.S. Citizen Over Blasphemy Charges in Pakistan

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today mourns the death of Tahir Ahmad Naseem, a U.S. citizen who was shot in a courtroom in Peshawar, Pakistan on July 29, 2020. The assailant claimed to have shot Naseem because he had belonged to the Ahmadiyya faith. 

“Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are indefensible to begin with but it is outrageous beyond belief that the Pakistani government was incapable of keeping an individual from being murdered within a court of law for his faith, and a U.S. citizen, nonetheless,” USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore stated. “Pakistan must protect religious minorities, including individuals accused of blasphemy, in order to prevent such unimaginable tragedies. The authorities must take immediate action to bring Mr. Nassem’s killer to justice.”

Tahir Ahmad Naseem was arrested two years ago and charged with blasphemy under the Pakistan Penal Code. Blasphemy cases in Pakistan are extremely controversial and have led to riots and vigilante justice. As highlighted in a USCIRF policy update about Pakistan’s blasphemy law, USCIRF is aware of nearly 80 individuals imprisoned on blasphemy charges, half of whom face life imprisonment or the death penalty.

“As USCIRF has noted countless times, Pakistan’s blasphemy law inflames interreligious tensions and too often leads to violence,” noted USCIRF Vice Chair Anurima Bhargava. “We urge the State Department to enter into a binding agreement with the Pakistani government that includes the repeal of blasphemy provisions in the Pakistan Penal Code.”

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended the State Department redesignate Pakistan as a “Country of Particular Concern,” or CPC, in part because of the “systematic enforcement of blasphemy and anti-Ahmadiyya laws,” which often target religious minority communities. In a recent policy update, USCIRF provided an overview of key issues that should be included in any binding agreement between the governments of the United States and Pakistan.

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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].