USCIRF Welcomes Senator Charles Schumer’s Appointment of Frederick A. Davie to U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Washington, DC – Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) announced on June 17 the appointment of Frederick A. Davie, Executive Vice President of the Union Theological Seminary in New York City, to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

“We are thrilled to welcome Frederick A. Davie as our newest Commissioner,” said USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin, “He brings a wealth of knowledge as an active member of the New York City community and having previously served on the White House Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. We look forward to learning from his experience in implementing strategies for effective partnerships between federal agencies and faith-based organizations.”

In his current role as Executive Vice President, Frederick A. Davie serves as an advisor to the Union Theological Seminary’s President for the structure and administration of the executive office, strategic planning, institutional advancement, and vision implementation. He is also the chief administrative officer. Davie came to Union from the Arcus Foundation, where he served as Interim Executive Director and Senior Director of the Social Justice and LGBT Programs.

He previously served on President Barack Obama’s transition team, performing agency reviews for faith-based and community initiatives, and accepted an appointment by President Obama to the White House Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

His experience on the international front includes supporting faith-based youth programming in South Africa while at the Ford Foundation; promoting international social justice and sexual minorities rights in East Africa during his tenure at Arcus; and assisting in joint programming between Union Seminary and Gaston Berger University in Senegal. Davie also has extensive international travel to countries and regions such as China, Tibet, New Zealand, South East Asia, Europe, and Central and South America. 

He has long been an active member of the New York City community through service as Chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), a member of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Clergy Advisory Council (CAC), co-convenor of the CAC’s public safety committee (with a focus on community safety and improving police-community relations), and a number of leadership roles in public administration for the City of New York, including Deputy Borough President of Manhattan, and Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Community and Public Affairs, and Chief of Staff to the President of the NYC Board of Education.

“Frederick A. Davie’s extensive experience demonstrates his commitment to promoting and protecting religious freedom,” USCIRF Vice Chair Tony Perkins added. “He will no doubt be a valuable member of the Commission and we look forward to his diverse insight and expertise.”

USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and leadership of both political parties in the Senate and House of Representatives.

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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 19, 2020

USCIRF Condemns Turkish Military Operations in Northern Iraq

Calls on Turkish President to Cease Air Strikes and Violence Targeting Civilian Areas

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemned Turkey’s latest round of air strikes and ground operations (“Operation Claw-Eagle” and “Operation Claw-Tiger”) near civilian areas in northern Iraq, calling on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to order an immediate end to these actions.

USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin said, “USCIRF calls on Turkey to immediately cease its brutal airstrikes in Sinjar, Iraq and to withdraw any ground troops—who represent a dangerous escalation of violence in an already-fragile area. These actions are particularly threatening to hundreds of traumatized Yazidi families attempting to return to Sinjar and to other civilians in northern Iraq—none of whom deserve to be placed in harm’s way by a NATO ally.”

The Turkish government claims that these actions, representing the most recent in a series of similar operations in the Sinjar area since 2017, are ostensibly targeting Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions. However, these indiscriminate operations have taken place just days after 200 families arrived in Sinjar after six years in a refugee camp in Dohuk, Iraq. It also was in close proximity to towns and camps in which displaced Yazidi families have taken refuge since the 2014 genocide by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

“Turkey’s operations in Iraq and northeastern Syria make it clear that regional ambitions—not domestic security—are driving its actions today, and it cannot be allowed to do so with impunity,” USCIRF Vice Chair Tony Perkins stated. “We call upon the administration to utilize all diplomatic and economic leverage to protect vulnerable religious minorities in northern Iraq—as well as neighboring northeastern Syria—from Turkey’s indiscriminate military operations.”

Since 1984, Turkey has waged an intermittent war against the PKK, an organization of Kurdish separatists that the U.S. has designated as a terrorist group. The Turkish military has frequently targeted purported PKK positions—or those of groups directly or indirectly tied to the PKK—in neighboring Iraq and Syria. In this massive campaign, Turkey has claimed to strike over 500 militants in areas where there is no indication of attacks planned or occurring against Turkey. Once again, Turkey is showing their disregard for vulnerable religious and ethnic minorities who live in, or have been displaced to, those same areas.

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended the State Department include Turkey on its Special Watch List “for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of 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].