FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 23, 2014 | USCIRF

Statement of Commissioners M. Zuhdi Jasser and Eric P. Schwartz upon completing a five-day visit to Burma.

This is our first Commissioner-level visit to the country.  We have had meetings with Union and state government officials, Rangoon-based representatives of ethnic and religious groups, representatives of non-governmental organizations, representatives of political parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and religious leaders.  We traveled to Rangoon, Mandalay, Meiktila, and Naypyidaw.  In Meiktila, we welcomed the chance to visit camps for persons from both the Muslim and Buddhist communities who were displaced by spasms of violence in March 2013.

We visited Burma to promote tolerance and inclusion in light of violations of religious freedom and violence and discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities.  After our return, we expect to issue a report of our findings.  Our comments today represent preliminary observations.

We were deeply impressed by the conviction of so many Burmese about the importance of religious freedom and human rights and by their recognition that equal treatment, in law and in practice, for all of Burma’s ethnic and religious communities is critical to the process of reform.  We also met with officials who echoed President Thein Sein’s stated goal of “securing equal rights for each and every citizen.” 

The Commission has followed this country for more than a decade, expressing concern about limitations on religious freedom for everyone – Buddhists and non-Buddhists.  And we have very much welcomed the release of prisoners of conscience, easing of restrictions on freedom of expression and other encouraging developments in recent years.  Nonetheless, this visit has confirmed our concerns about serious and substantial discrimination against minority religious faiths, imposed by law, regulation and practice.  As a result, members of these faiths have unequal personal status, reflected, for example, in their identification documents and rights associated with citizenship.  Other restrictions prevent the construction of religious institutions and impose obstacles to the practice of faith by Christians; we are also concerned by the failure to adequately hold accountable perpetrators of violence against religious minorities. 

We are deeply troubled by reports we received of abuses against the Rohingya Muslim community in Rakhine State.  No impartial observers question reports of systematic, large-scale and egregious abuses of human rights of this community involving acts and omissions resulting in deaths, injuries, displacement, denial of basic health and other services, denial of freedom of movement, and denial of the right to a nationality, among other violations.  While Rakhine State is among the poorest states in Burma and all its communities merit attention and concern, government action is urgently needed to address the horrible circumstances confronting the Rohingya. 

We are disappointed that the overall political reform effort has yet to address seriously these concerns.  At a time when we’d hope to see reform that addresses these issues, we are also concerned by actions that are in contrast to a reform commitment, such as the draft anti-conversion law and other race and religion bills. 

Finally, we encourage the efforts of the United States and other governments to accelerate the process of reform in Burma.  Governments should communicate solidarity with activists who have worked so diligently, and often at great personal sacrifice, to promote respect for human rights, tolerance and religious freedom.  Governments should seize opportunities to signal ongoing support for human rights and religious freedom – the rights of those, like Rohingya Muslims, who are the victims of the most serious of abuses.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or 202-786-0613.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 6, 2014 | USCIRF

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemns in the strongest terms the actions that the terrorist group ISIL, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, has taken against Yazidis and other religious minority communities in Sinjar and Tal Afar districts of Ninewa Province in northern Iraq.  Reports indicate that ISIL has killed Yazidis, Assyrian Christians, Shi’a and others, and destroyed religious sites.  According to the UN, 200,000 civilians, most of them Yazidis, have fled Sinjar.  Yazidis, whose ancestral homeland is Sinjar, are adherents of an ancient religion with links to Zoroastrianism.

“ISIL’s offensive against Yazidis and other religious minorities in Sinjar, coupled with its attack against Mosul’s Christians and others two weeks ago, underscore its fanaticism, barbarism and agenda to destroy Iraq’s diversity and its ancient communities,” stated Katrina Lantos Swett, USCIRF Chair.

The State Department’s recently released International Religious Freedom Report notes that 500,000 Yazidis reside in northern Iraq, with most concentrated in Sinjar and some in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.

“USCIRF urges the United States, the Iraqi government, the Kurdistan regional government, and like-minded nations to redouble efforts to work together to defend Iraq’s peaceful religious communities against ISIL’s violent religious repression and provide humanitarian assistance to the many thousands of civilians who now are displaced,” Lantos Swett added.

For more information on religious freedom conditions in Iraq see USCIRF’s 2014 Annual Report.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or 202-786-0613.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

August 1, 2014 | By Katrina Lantos Swett and Mary Ann Glendon

The following op-ed appeared in The Miami Herald on July 31, 2014.

This year marks the 55th anniversary of Cuba’s current government and July 26 commemorated the 61st anniversary of the revolution which swept it into power. After coming to power, the Castro government broke its pro-democracy pledges and, despite recent improvements, maintains a problematic record on human rights, including religious freedom.

This was confirmed by the State Department’s international religious freedom annual report, which was released this week. It also was exhibited when the government recently detained more than 100 members of the Ladies in White, relatives of imprisoned dissidents who draw inspiration from their Catholic faith.

Religious freedom and other rights are spelled out in international documents — including the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) — which most nations, including Cuba, endorsed. It was a Cuban diplomat, Guy Perez-Cisneros, who together with other Latin Americans helped drive its drafting and passage. Thus, whenever Havana violates human rights, it betrays not only its past promises, but Cuba’s legacy of liberty. The world should affirm this legacy by standing steadfastly for Cuban religious freedom and related rights.

The seeds for that legacy already were being sown in early 1945, just prior to the San Francisco conference that founded the United Nations, when Latin American delegates meeting in Mexico adopted a resolution supporting a human rights declaration for the U.N. Charter. They lobbied for it vigorously once the conference opened.

The Charter mentioned human rights seven times, along with an agreement to establish a Human Rights Commission. This commission prepared an international bill of rights which became the UDHR and Perez-Cisneros spoke eloquently for the pro-freedom coalition that made it possible.

As detailed by the independent U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a bipartisan federal body on which we serve, the Castro government has yet to own this heritage. Instead, it controls and monitors religious activities and requires an invasive registration process.

What happens when a religious community refuses to register? It cannot receive foreign visitors, import religious materials, meet in approved places of worship, or apply for travel abroad for religious purposes.

What happens when it agrees to register? Local communist officials must approve its activities and the government interferes with its leadership and internal affairs. Havana often seeks to change church structure, freeze church assets, close churches, and intimidate pastors of churches such as the Western Baptist Convention.

Independent religious communities often suffer the most. The fast-growing Apostolic Reformation faces government harassment, including arrests of leaders; confiscation or destruction of property; aggressive surveillance of church members and relatives; heavy fines; and potential loss of job, housing, and educational opportunities.

It is not just religious communities that authorities often target. They also interfere with human rights activists exercising religious freedom, denying them access to religious services and pressuring church leaders to do likewise. They regularly detain Ladies in White members on their way to Sunday services, block their entry, and send others to harass and intimidate them.

As in prior years, the past year saw signs of improvement.

The government eased some restrictions, allowed registered groups to build or expand houses of worship, and permitted churches more opportunities for charity work. But the question remains whether it still views religious practices as privileges to be granted or withheld, rather than inherent rights to be affirmed or protected. At stake is the legacy of an entire generation, led by Guy Perez-Cisneros, who helped bring the world the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

It is time to honor this great gift that Cubans helped bestow on humanity. While people disagree on how to deal with Cuba on various fronts, including the U.S. embargo, all should agree that the United States must press Havana to cease interfering with religious activities; allow unregistered religious groups to operate freely and legally; refrain from mistreating human rights activists and blocking them from attending churches; and cease arresting and harassing religious leaders.

USCIRF would also welcome Cuba’s allowing its members a visit. Other countries, including Latin American and European nations, should weave human rights, including religious freedom, into discussions with Cuba. Cuba once stood for the world’s freedom; the world should do likewise for Cubans.

Katrina Lantos Swett serves as chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Mary Ann Glendon serves as a USCIRF Commissioner. 

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or 202-786-0613.