FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2006

Contact:
Angela Stephens, Assistant Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 114

WASHINGTON- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan federal agency, was troubled to learn that the official Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association on November 30 ordained Wang Renlei to serve as bishop for the Xuzhou Diocese in Jiangsu province despite objections from the Vatican, and that officials from the Religious Affairs Bureau detained two bishops from Hebei province, pressuring them to participate against their will in the ordination. The Xuzhou ordination illustrates again Beijing's insistence on actively controlling religious institutions and contradicts religious freedom guarantees in China's own constitution and the international covenants to which China is a signatory.

Felice D. Gaer, Chair of the Commission, remarked: "The Chinese government continues to repress Catholics who refuse to join the government-approved Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) and refuses to allow all Catholics to choose and train their own leaders. Article 6 of the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of Religious Intolerance explicitly states that freedom of religion includes the right to 'appoint, elect or designate ... appropriate leaders' of one's religion or belief."

There are an estimated 12 million Catholics in China. That population is almost evenly distributed between parishes associated with the CPA and the "unregistered" Roman Catholic Church. Bishops and priests affiliated with the unregistered Church face constant harassment, with many serving prolonged terms in detention, as they come under pressure to affiliate with the CPA. The issue of bishop selection and leadership of the Catholic Church is politically sensitive for Beijing. The Chinese government's role in the selection of bishops, its vetting of priests and seminary candidates, and its increasing pressures on "unregistered" churches to join the CPA structure are parts of a policy to exert government influence over the direction of Catholicism in China and to minimize a perceived threat of "foreign infiltration."

Complicating this plan, however, is a fast-aging population of bishops and the fact that an estimated three-quarters of all bishops and priests have, either publicly or in private, gained approval from the Vatican for their assignments within the Church hierarchy. Thus, in order to maintain state control, Beijing has an interest in ordaining bishops without Vatican loyalties or ties.

During the Commission's visit to China in August 2005, there were signs that the Vatican and Beijing were working toward some form of accommodation regarding the approval and selection of bishops in the CPA. In Shanghai and in Xian, through a process of consultation, both the Vatican and the Chinese government agreed upon candidates to replace two aging bishops. Although the Chinese government never publicly acknowledged the Vatican's role in the selection process, both candidates publicly professed communion with Rome during their ordination ceremonies.

Despite this example, in April and May of 2006, the Chinese government and the CPA ordained two bishops without Vatican consultation in Anhui and Kunming. These ordinations initiated a series of high-level consultations between the Vatican and Beijing about bishop selection and ordinations. After these meetings, Vatican officials expressed optimism that they had reached a consensus that ordinations would proceed with some sort of consultation.

The ordination of Wang Renlei in Xuzhou abrogates and undermines this consensus. In addition, the Chinese government took specific actions to demonstrate their overt support for the new bishop. Security personnel from the Religious Affairs Bureau detained two bishops from Hebei province, who both publicly acknowledge their connection with Rome, and pressured them to participate in the Xuzhou ordination. They refused and were later released. Additionally, Ye Xiaowen, Director of the State Administration of Religious Affairs, attended the ordination ceremony in his official capacity, although he had not attended several previous ordination ceremonies that took place in April and May of this year.

"The Xuzhou ordination and China's actions to repress Catholics who do not join the CPA call into question China's sincerity of claiming to be a nation that respects religious freedom," said Gaer.

The Commission calls on the Chinese government to allow religious institutions to freely organize and to select and train their own leaders consistent with international norms and treaties to which China is a signatory.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

Felice D. Gaer, Chair • Michael Cromartie, Vice Chair • Elizabeth H. Prodromou, Vice Chair •Nina Shea, Vice Chair • Preeta D. Bansal•Archbishop Charles J. Chaput• Khaled Abou El Fadl• Richard D. Land• Bishop Ricardo Ramirez• Ambassador John V. Hanford III,Ex-Officio • Joseph R. Crapa, Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2006

Contact:
Angela Stephens, Assistant Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan federal agency, deeply regrets the decision by the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt on Saturday to uphold the Egyptian government's discriminatory policy of prohibiting Baha'is from obtaining a national identity card. A lower court decision in April had allowed members of the Baha'i faith in Egypt to obtain a national identity card and to list their religious affiliation, but the Egyptian government appealed that ruling to the Supreme Administrative Court.

"The court's ruling denies Egyptian Baha'is their rights as citizens of Egypt and would subject them to particular hardship in obtaining education, employment, and social services," said Commission Chair Felice D. Gaer. Baha'is are put to the choice of claiming adherence to a religion other than their own or foregoing an identity card and other official documents.

Last month, the Commission issued a statement noting that Egypt's policy requires all citizens to carry a national identity card that lists one's religion, permitting only Islam, Christianity, and Judaism as choices for that listing. This policy:

• runs contrary to Article 40 of the Egyptian Constitution which states that: "All citizens are equal before the law. They have equal public rights and duties without discrimination between them due to race, ethnic origin, language, religion or creed;"
• violates Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Egypt is a party. The UN Human Rights Committee has stated that no one can be "compelled to reveal [his or her] adherence to a religion or belief." Furthermore, in a 2004 report, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief stated that mention of religion on government identity cards is at "variance with the freedom of religion or belief that is internationally recognized and protected" and that Egypt's policy of excluding "any mention of religions other than Islam, Christianity or Judaism would appear to be a violation of international law;" and
• is inconsistent with the practice of many other countries in the region where Islam is the state religion and/or a source of legislation. Countries in the region that either do not require religious affiliation or do not list it at all on national identity cards include Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Sudan, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2006

Contact:
Angela Stephens, Assistant Communications Director, (202) 523-3240

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a bipartisan, independent federal agency, today expressed regret that while one of the Iraq Study Group's recommendations recognizes the importance of guaranteeing the rights of religious and ethnic minority communities and women, "the final report does not broadly incorporate fundamental human rights standards, including the right to freedom of religion, as an integral component of any way forward for U.S. policy in Iraq," said USCIRF Chair Felice D. Gaer.

"The Commission has repeatedly stressed that, at a minimum, human rights guarantees in Iraq must protect the security and freedom of all Iraqis, and not be limited only to particular groups," Gaer said. "Every Iraqi, including individual Muslims, should have the freedom not only to worship and to practice his or her faith, but also the right to debate and dissent from state-imposed orthodoxy on issues related to religion."

In Recommendation 32 of its report, the Iraq Study Group recommends that "The rights of women and the rights of all minority communities in Iraq, including Turkmen, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Yazidis, Sabeans, and Armenians, must be protected," a recommendation the Commission called for during its presentation to the Iraq Study Group's experts in November. "Yet the Iraq Study Group's recommendations fail to present a strategic vision of human rights promotion and religious freedom advocacy that the Commission believes is critical to securing durable stability in Iraq," Gaer added. "In its 160 page-report, the Iraq Study Group fails to mention the term ‘human rights' or its significance to Iraq even once."

The Commission has long identified the need for a strong and proactive U.S. role to help advance human rights protections for all Iraqis, a need accentuated by the Abu Ghraib events revealed in 2004 and their aftermath. A redoubled and clear commitment to human rights is vital to any successful policy shift in Iraq. A strong guarantee of equality and nondiscrimination in Iraqi society will be a prerequisite to reducing tensions between Sunni and Shi'a. Human rights protections and accountability for abuses will serve to address past abuses under Saddam Hussein and ongoing abuses that have arisen in the form of death squads and other unlawful violence. Without an effective system that can account for these and other human rights violations, instability will persist. Moreover, human rights protections will, over the long term, help combat extremism and prevent the return of authoritarianism and/or the rise of theocratic rule-an eventuality that would have negative implications for women, minority groups, and others, including individual Muslims who choose to debate or dissent from state-imposed orthodoxy.

The Commission urges the administration, the Congress, and other policy makers to incorporate human rights principles into any new approach or strategy for Iraq.

The Commission's policy recommendations on Iraq can be found on the USCIRF website,  www.uscirf.gov .

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.