FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

USCIRF Welcomes the Release of Pastor Ramón Rigal, Calls for Release of Roberto Jesus Quinones Haces

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomed the release of Pastor Ramón Rigal in Cuba. Pastor Rigal was detained with his wife Ayda Expósito on April 16, 2019 for homeschooling their children over concerns about Cuban schools’ promotion of socialism and atheism. They were later sentenced for crimes including “other acts against the normal development of a minor.” Expósito was released from prison this past April.

“While we welcome the release of Pastor Rigal and are thrilled that he is reunited with his family, this was not the first time that Pastor Rigal and his wife were arrested in relation to their religious beliefs,” said USCIRF Commissioner James Carr. “The Cuban government must immediately cease harassing this couple and allow all Cuban parents, including the Rigals, to raise their children pursuant to their own faith.”

Meanwhile, independent journalist Roberto Jesus Quinones Haces still remains in prison. Quinones was detained for trying to cover the couple’s trial, then was sentenced for the crime of “disobedience.” Cuban authorities also have harassed other independent journalists who report on religious freedom—including Yoe Suárez—and have threatened them with criminal charges and fines under Decree Law 370, which regulates the use of the internet.

“USCIRF once again calls for the immediate release of  Jesus Quinones Haces and the end to harassment of independent journalists who report on religious freedom,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Anurima Bhargava.

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the State Department maintain Cuba on its Special Watch List. USCIRF recently released a policy update detailing religious freedom conditions in Cuba during 2019.

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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
July 1, 2020

USCIRF Welcomes Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today welcomed the decision by the U.S. Departments of State, Treasury, Commerce, and Homeland Security to issue a business advisory on the risks of supply chains that rely on the forced labor of Uyghur, Kazakh, and other Muslims in Xinjiang and elsewhere in China.

“This is an important step in our struggle against the modern slavery of Uyghur and other Muslims,” USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel stated. “With this business advisory, American companies can no longer claim ignorance of the gross human rights violations in their supply chains. We also call on the global business community, especially leading apparel brands and retailers, to ensure that they are not bolstering or benefitting from the Communist Party’s ongoing genocidal policies, religious repression, and forced labor in the Uyghur region.”

The business advisory recommended that companies with potential exposure to supply chains utilizing forced labor conduct due diligence. According to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and other reports, dozens of companies, including major American brands, are suspected of directly employing or sourcing from suppliers that use forced labor involving thousands of Uyghur and other Muslims. In March 2020, a bipartisan coalition of Members of Congress introduced the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in the House (H.R.6210) and in the Senate (S.3471​). The bill would bar the importation into the United States of any goods made in Xinjiang. Under the Tariff Act of 1930, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has detained imports that originated in Xinjiang suspected to be made with forced labor.

“This latest step shows that the entire U.S. government is committed to taking action to protect the rights of Uyghur Muslims and other religious communities in Communist China,” noted USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “We urge Congress to pass the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to ensure that our markets never contain products made using slave labor.”

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF called upon the administration to use its authority under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and the International Religious Freedom Act to impose targeted sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for severe religious freedom violations, especially Chen Quanguo, the current Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang. In February 2020, USCIRF released a factsheet explaining how the Chinese government’s new Regulation for Religious Groups could further restrict religious freedom.

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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
June 30, 2020

USCIRF Warns that Forced Sterilization of Uyghur Muslims is Evidence of Genocide

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) warned that the Chinese government’s repressive population control measures against Uyghur and other Muslims—including forced sterilization—might meet the legal criteria for genocide under international law.

“It’s evident from the Chinese government’s own data that the Communist Party’s policies are clearly designed to prevent population growth for the Uyghur, Kazakh, and other Turkic Muslim peoples,” said USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel. “We urge the State Department to investigate whether the Chinese authorities’ deliberate and systematic attempt to genetically reducing the Turkic Muslim population in Xinjiang meets the legal definition for genocide as contemplated in the Genocide Convention. We also call on the U.S. government to introduce a resolution at the U.N. on these crimes that the Chinese Communist Party has committed against the Uyghurs and other Muslims in China.”

Under Article II(d) of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, “imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group” is considered evidence of genocide.

Since 2017, the Chinese government under President Xi Jinping has detained more than a million Uyghur, Kazakh, and other Muslims, often targeting individuals engaged in religious practices, such as growing beards or wearing veils. According to leaked government documents, many individuals were detained because they had too many children. As stated by newly published research, the Chinese government’s sterilization policies have led birth rates in Xinjiang to plummet 24 percent last year. In addition, nearly half a million Muslim children have been separated from their families and placed in boarding schools, where they have been forced to denounce Islam and speak Mandarin.

“It is absolutely horrifying that the Communist Chinese government is targeting a religious community for forced sterilization in the 21st century,” noted USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “We urge President Trump and the U.S. government to swiftly impose targeted sanctions under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act against the officials responsible for this heinous policy.”

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF called upon the administration to use its authority under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and the International Religious Freedom Act to impose targeted sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for severe religious freedom violations, especially Chen Quanguo, the current Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang.

In February 2020, USCIRF released a factsheet explaining how the Chinese government’s new Administrative Measures for Religious Groups could further restrict religious freedom.

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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]