FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

USCIRF Releases Report on the Anti-cult Movement and Religious Regulation in Russia and Central Asia

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following report:

Religious Regulation Issue Update – This issue update explains the legacy of Soviet-era legislation as well as the substantial influence of the western anti-cult movement on contemporary religious regulation in Russia and Central Asia. The report describes the institutions and highlights individuals driving the restrictions of religious freedom—including an ongoing crackdown on the Jehovah’s Witnesses—and offers policy recommendations to address the challenges that the region poses to these essential rights.

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. State Department designate Russia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as “countries of particular concern” for their ongoing, systematic, and egregious religious freedom violations, and include Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on its Special Watch List.

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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  

USCIRF Releases New Report about Pakistan

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report:

Pakistan Policy Update - In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. government enter into a binding agreement with Pakistan as authorized under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). Such an agreement with defined benchmarks could provide Pakistan a path toward no longer being designated by the State Department as a “country of particular concern”. This policy update discusses the usefulness of an IRFA binding agreement and highlights substantive issues that an agreement should address in order to protect religious freedom, especially for the country’s religious minorities.

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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

USCIRF Applauds Sudan’s Repeal of Apostasy Law through Passage of New Fundamental Rights and Freedoms Act

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes the decision of Sudan’s transitional government to repeal its apostasy law by adopting the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms Act.

USCIRF Vice Chair Tony Perkins said, “Sudan’s transitional government continues to live up to its commitment to justice, peace, and freedom. These new measures are important to protect the freedom of the Sudanese people to freely choose and practice their faith without punishment.”

The Act makes significant legislative changes that advances freedom of religion or belief for Sudanese citizens, including repealing the apostasy law, ending flogging, banning female genital mutilation (FGM), permitting non-Muslims to drink alcohol, and abolishing the guardianship law, which required women to get a permit from a male guardian for traveling abroad with their children. While the full text of the legislation has not yet been made public, reports indicate that the apostasy law was replaced by an article that prohibits hate speech, however the status of Sudan’s blasphemy law remains unclear.

“We applaud the significant, historic steps Sudan is taking to safeguard the rights of women and girls and the freedom of religion or belief, and urge wide, immediate, and effective implementation of these reforms,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Anurima Bhargava. “We also urge Sudan to continue with necessary legislative reform, including repealing the country’s blasphemy law and ensuring that laws regulating hate speech comply with international human rights standards and do not impede freedom of religion or belief.”

In February, USCIRF Vice Chairs Perkins and Bhargava traveled to Sudan to assess religious freedom conditions. Due to the significant progress made by the Sudanese transitional government in 2019 to address the worst religious freedom abuses of the former regime, USCIRF recommended in its 2020 Annual Report that the Department of State maintain Sudan on its Special Watch List (SWL). This was the first time since 2000 that USCIRF has not recommended Sudan for designation as a “country of particular concern” for systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. In December 2019, USCIRF released a report entitled Apostasy, Blasphemy, and Hate Speech Laws in Africa, which explains how overbroad or vague hate speech laws can operate as blasphemy provisions and similarly restrict the freedom of religion or belief.

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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].