| USCIRF

Nov 13, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 13, 2006

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

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a bipartisan, independent federal agency, expressed strong disappointment today that the State Department dropped Vietnam from the list of "countries of particular concern" (CPC) that are designated under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998 because of their governments' systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom. Vietnam has been designated a CPC since 2004.

"Violations such as forced renunciation of faith and new arrests and detentions of religious leaders continue in Vietnam. Vietnam has released some religious prisoners and promised legal reforms, but the improvements made by Vietnam are, as yet, insufficient to warrant removing Vietnam from the list," said USCIRF Chair Felice D. Gaer. "The CPC designation of Vietnam has been a positive incentive for engagement on religious freedom concerns. Lifting the designation removes that incentive."

Evidence available to the Commission from sources inside Vietnam indicate that religious prisoners remain confined, only a fraction of the churches closed since 2001 have been re-opened, forced renunciations of faith continue in many different provinces, and Vietnam's new laws on religion are being used to detain or intimidate religious leaders who refuse affiliation with the government-approved religious organizations. In addition, the government remains highly suspicious of Montagnard and Hmong Protestants, Vietnamese Mennonites, followers of Hoa Hao Buddhism, and leaders of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. Abuses and restrictions occur less frequently than in the past, however, there remain severe concerns for all of Vietnam's diverse religious communities.

"The Commission is deeply disappointed that Vietnam has not been re-designated a CPC," Gaer said. The Commission recently sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urging that she maintain Vietnam as a CPC.

Under IRFA, the Secretary of State must take into consideration the Commission's recommendations regarding CPCs. The Commission delivers these recommendations to the President, Secretary of State and Congress annually on May 1.

The Commission welcomes the designation of Uzbekistan as a CPC, which the Commission recommended earlier this year. The Uzbek government continues to exercise a high degree of control over the practice of the Islamic religion and to crack down harshly on Muslim individuals, groups, and mosques that do not conform to state-prescribed practices or that the government claims are associated with extremist political programs. This has resulted in the imprisonment of thousands of persons in recent years, many of whom are denied the right to due process. There are credible reports that many of those arrested continue to be tortured or beaten in detention, despite official Uzbek promises to halt this practice. Moreover, Uzbekistan has a highly restrictive law on religion that severely limits the ability of religious communities to function, leaving over 100 religious groups currently denied registration. The government of Uzbekistan faces threats to its security, but these threats do not excuse or justify the scope and harshness of the government's ill treatment of religious believers nor the continued practice of torture, which reportedly remains widespread.

The Commission also welcomes the redesignation of Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Sudan as CPCs. The Commission will closely monitor Saudi policies to improve "religious practice and tolerance" which the State Department announced in July following bilateral discussions with the Saudi government. These Saudi government policies claim a willingness to improve religious freedom conditions despite the fact that many stated commitments in the past have not resulted in specific actions, nor have they resulted in measurable improvements.

The Commission was disappointed, however, that Pakistan and Turkmenistan, which the Commission recommended for CPC designation, were not designated.

The government of Pakistan continues to provide an inadequate response to vigilante violence frequently perpetrated by Sunni Muslim militants against Shi'as, Ahmadis, Hindus, and Christians. Discriminatory legislation effectively bans many of the activities of the Ahmadi community. Blasphemy allegations, routinely false, result in the lengthy detention, imprisonment of, and sometimes violence against Ahmadis, Christians and Hindus, as well as Muslims, some of whom have been sentenced to death. Belated efforts to curb extremism through reform of Pakistan's thousands of Islamic religious schools appear to have had little effect thus far.

Turkmenistan, among the most repressive states in the world today, allows virtually no independent religious activity. In addition to severe government restrictions that effectively leave most, if not all, religious activity under strict-and often arbitrary-state control, Turkmen President Niyazov's ever-escalating personality cult has become a quasi-religion to which the Turkmen population is forced to adhere. His self-published work of "spiritual thoughts," called Rukhnama, is required reading in all schools. In addition, copies of Rukhnama must be given equal prominence to the Koran and the Bible in mosques and churches.

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

Nov 10, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 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, has written to Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky to express concern about the dire situation of members of Iraqi religious minority groups that have fled their country, particularly ChaldoAssyrians and Sabean Mandaeans.

"The Commission urges Under Secretary Dobriansky to create new or expand existing options for allowing members of Iraq's ChaldoAssyrian and Sabean Mandaean religious minority communities to access the U.S. refugee program, and to urge UNHCR to resume full refugee status determinations for all Iraqi asylum seekers and assess all claims without delay," said USCIRF Chair Felice D. Gaer. "The United States has not made direct access to the U.S. Refugee Program available to Iraqi religious minorities, taking the position that ChaldoAssyrians and Sabean Mandaeans are subject to generalized violence in Iraq. This position is not supported by the facts."

Iraqi ChaldoAssyrians and Sabean Mandaeans represent approximately 40% of the refugees who have fled Iraq over the past three years, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), although they constitute less than 3% of the Iraqi population. Numbering approximately 500,000, these refugees are dispersed through Jordan, Turkey, Syria and Lebanon.

USCIRF noted in its 2006 Annual Report that "minority communities, including Christian Iraqis, are forced to fend for themselves in an atmosphere of impunity, and lack any tribal or militia structure to provide for their security. The result is that members of these communities continue to flee the country in the face of violence, in an exodus that may mean the end of the presence in Iraq of ancient Christian and other religious minority communities that have lived on those same lands for 2,000 years."

The text of the letter to Under Secretary Dobriansky follows:

November 8, 2006

Dr. Paula Dobriansky
Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC

Dear Under Secretary Dobriansky,

On behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, I am writing to you with regard to the situation of members of religious minorities that have fled Iraq. In October 2005, the Commission wrote to then Acting Assistant Secretary Greene to express our concern about the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) September 2005 Advisory Opinion on Iraq, which understated the severity of conditions in Iraq for members of religious minorities, particularly ChaldoAssyrians and Sabean Mandaeans. Since that time, conditions have deteriorated for these groups, and yet barriers to access to the U.S. Refugee Program continue to exist. Because of the specific and well-documented threats these groups face in Iraq, the Commission recommends that you:

Create new or expand existing options for allowing members of Iraq's ChaldoAssyrian and Sabean Mandaean religious minority communities to access the U.S. refugee program. The Visa 92/93 and Priority Three (P-3) programs are too narrowly focused and unnecessarily limit opportunities for family reunification; and
Urge UNHCR to resume full RSD for all Iraqi asylum seekers and assess all claims without delay.

The worsening conditions for ChaldoAssyrians and Sabean Mandaeans in Iraq, on which the Commission has reported for the past three years, warrant these actions. In a letter to President Bush in December 2004, the Commission observed that the "escalation of religious terror...is having a particularly devastating effect on many of Iraq's non-Muslim minorities-the ChaldoAssyrians, Mandaeans, and Yazidis." In its 2006 Annual Report, the Commission found that amid a growing cycle of sectarian violence:

[R]eligious minorities in Iraq continued to suffer a disproportionate burden of violent attacks and other human rights abuses. Minority communities, including Christian Iraqis, are forced to fend for themselves in an atmosphere of impunity, and lack any tribal or militia structure to provide for their security. The result is that members of these communities continue to flee the country in the face of violence, in an exodus that may mean the end of the presence in Iraq of ancient Christian and other religious minority communities that have lived on those same lands for 2,000 years. The [UNHCR] has reported on "an explosion of Islamist extremist movements and militias which target, among others, members of religious minorities," concluding thatreligious minorities "have become the regular victims of discrimination, harassment, and at times persecution, with incidents ranging from intimidation and threats to the destruction of property, kidnapping and murder," and that"members of the Christian minority...appear to be particularly targeted."

This alarming trend has continued unabated, as is confirmed by the Department of State's most recent International Religious Freedom Report, which concludes that "private conservative and radical Islamic elements continued to exert tremendous pressure on other groups to conform to extremist interpretations of Islam's precepts. In addition, frequent attacks on religious places of worship, as well as sectarian violence, hampered the ability to freely practice religion." Although it appears that the central government of Iraq has played no part in facilitating or condoning attacks against religious minorities, for the time being it remains unwilling or unable to stop or even diminish the frequency and intensity of these incidents.

In addition to violence, allegations have persisted throughout the past year that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has engaged in discriminatory behavior against religious minorities. According to the State Department, "Christians living north of Mosul claimed that the KRG confiscated their property without compensation and began building settlements on their land. Assyrian Christians also alleged that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)-dominated judiciary routinely discriminated against non-Muslims and failed to enforce judgments in their favor."

UNHCR currently estimates that Iraqi ChaldoAssyrians and Mandaeans represent approximately 40% of the refugees who have fled Iraq over the past three years, although they constitute less than 3% of the Iraqi population. These individuals, numbering approximately 500,000, are dispersed through Jordan, Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon. On October 13, 2006 UNHCR acknowledged that recent developments in Iraq have "necessitated a reassessment" of its work and priorities to provide assistance to the tens of thousands of Iraqis "who are now fleeing their homes every month," in a "steady, silent exodus." According to UNHCR, those who have managed to flee Iraq increasingly "are becoming dependent and destitute," with the welcome mat "wearing thin in some of the neighboring states." In Jordan and Syria, governments have "merely remained tolerant" and suspended the application of their respective laws regarding the stay of foreigners. "This tolerant position is now changing."

Yet in the face of these developments, the United States has not made direct access to the U.S. Refugee Program available to Iraqi religious minorities, taking the position that ChaldoAssyrians and Sabean Mandaeans are subject to generalized violence in Iraq. This position is not supported by the facts. Moreover, although the State Department has indicated its willingness to take referrals from UNHCR, that agency has suspended refugee status determinations (RSDs) for all Iraqi nationals. This policy is inconsistent with UNHCR's own written recommendations to State Parties, and is resulting in those Iraqis fleeing persecution in their home country being denied international protections to which they are entitled.

Knowing of your considerable concern for human rights, the plight of refugees, and other global issues, the Commission urges you to act on the recommendations given above.

Thank you very much for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Felice D. Gaer
Chair

CC: The Honorable Barry F. Lowenkron, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor

The Honorable John V. Hanford III, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom

The Honorable Ellen R. Sauerbrey, Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugee and Migration Affairs

J. Kelly Ryan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugee and Migration Affairs

The Honorable Elliott Abrams, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Global Democracy Strategy

The Honorable Michael Kozak, Senior Director for Democracy, Human Rights, and International Operations

Nov 9, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 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, released a new Policy Focus and recommendations on Bangladesh last month at a roundtable on Capitol Hill, particularly relating to national elections scheduled to take place in January. A transcript of the event will be available today.

The Commission recommended at the event, titled "The Bangladesh Elections: Promoting Democracy and Protecting Rights in a Muslim-majority Country," that the U.S. government urge the government of Bangladesh to safeguard the voting rights of all Bangladeshis and to ensure that the elections are free, fair, and peaceful by:

restoring public confidence in the non-partisan and independent character of both the Election Commission and the Caretaker Government;
preventing violence before and after the election, including violence against religious minorities;
instituting a voter registration process that will facilitate the enrollment of the maximum number of eligible voters in a manner that does not discriminate on the basis of perceived religious or political affiliation or ethnic background;
using all practical technical means of ensuring the security of the ballot; and
permitting and facilitating international and domestic monitoring of the entire electoral process.

Furthermore, the Commission calls on the government of the United States to:

prepare and publicize a comprehensive pre- and post-election analysis of the election process with recommendations for needed reform;
provide official U.S. government monitors in addition to those already planned by the International Republican Institute and the International Democratic Institute for International Affairs; and
work with other interested states and international organizations to increase monitoring and other efforts to forestall election-period violence, with the assistance of indigenous human rights and other civil society organizations.

The Oct. 17 forum was moderated by Commission Chair Felice D. Gaer, Commission Vice Chair Michael Cromartie and Commissioner Preeta D. Bansal, all of whom visited Bangladesh in February-March of this year as part of a Commission delegation.

Featured speakers were retired Ambassador A. Tariq Karim, former Ambassador of Bangladesh to the United States and a Harrison Fellow in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, Mr. Selig S. Harrison, director of the Asia Program at the Center for International Policy and a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Ms. Cynthia R. Bunton, regional program director for Asia at the International Republican Institute (IRI), and Mr. Patrick Merloe, senior associate and director for election programs at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI).

Ambassador Karim said that Bangladesh's image as a secular and democratic Muslim-majority nation has been assailed in recent years by a resurgence of Islamist militancy. Ambassador Karim cautioned that the next elections may well determine whether the country will further consolidate democratic institutions and practices and the nation's secular tradition with tolerance for all faiths, or be swept toward increasing authoritarianism and religious intolerance.

Mr. Harrison argued for urgent U.S. action to counter the Islamist threat in Bangladesh. He took the U.S. government to task for not recognizing the growing danger of Islamist extremism and authoritarianism to Bangladesh's young democracy and proposed that the United States use the leverage provided by foreign assistance and economic ties to promote free and fair elections.

Ms. Bunton and Mr. Merloe reviewed IRI and NDI's respective programs in Bangladesh, with a focus on the upcoming elections, and emphasized the importance of restoring public confidence in an electoral system threatened by political violence and excessive partisanship.

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