FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2002

Contact:
Eileen A. Sullivan, Deputy Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 26

WHAT:Felice D. Gaer, Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent federal agency advising the Administration and Congress, will testify on the Commission's behalf before the House International Relations Committee Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights regarding the State Department's 2002 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom.

WHEN:Wednesday, October 9, 2002 from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

WHERE:Room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building.

BACKGROUND:On October 7, the State Department issued its fourth Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. In its testimony, the Commission will assess the factual accuracy of the report, the Department's use of sources, and raise questions about the Department's description of its own policy follow-up on the findings in the report. The Commission's testimony will emphasize conditions and U.S. policy with regard to the 12 countries that it has recommended be designated by the Administration as "countries of particular concern" (CPCs): Burma (Myanmar), the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India, Iran, Iraq, Laos, Pakistan, People's Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam. The State Department has yet to name this year's CPCs. The Secretary of State is required by law to designate as CPCs those countries in which the government has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom as defined in the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

The full report can be found on the Commission's Web site at www.uscirf.gov or at www.state.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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 3, 2002

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent federal agency advising the Administration and Congress, yesterday urged President Bush to make clear in U.S. talks with North Korea that significant progress on human rights and religious freedom is necessary for improved bilateral relations. The Commission's recommendation was one of several forwarded on the eve of Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly's visit to Pyongyang urging him to press the North Korean authorities for results.

North Korea was cited by the Bush Administration in 2001 as a "country of particular concern" for religious freedom. The Commission urged Administration action that would "give meaning to that designation."

"The U.S. should not abandon human rights - and be seen to legitimize the horrific abuses of the North Korean regime - for promises on military issues," wrote Commission Chair Felice D. Gaer.

The complete text of the letter follows:

October 2, 2002

Dear Mr. President:

Pursuant to its advisory responsibilities under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom respectfully urges you to ensure that renewed high-level discussions with officials of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) advance an agenda that gives a prominent place to the protection of human rights, including the freedom of religion and belief, the provision of humanitarian assistance, the protection of North Korean refugees, and the reuniting of Korean Americans with their family members in the DPRK.

In the past, discussions with North Korea have centered on nuclear weapons development and missile proliferation. But U.S. interests go beyond these issues. As you said in Seoul in February 2002: "I'm deeply concerned about the people of North Korea. And I believe that it is important for those of us who love freedom to stand strong for freedom and make . . . clear the benefits of freedom." In this spirit, the Commission recommends that the United States make clear to the North Korean government that measurable, significant progress on religious freedom and other human rights is a central component of improvement of relations between our two countries. The U.S. should not abandon human rights - and be seen to legitimize the horrific abuses of the North Korean regime - for promises on military issues.

The people of North Korea are perhaps the least free on earth, barely surviving under a regime that denies human rights and lets them starve while its leaders pursue military might and weapons of mass destruction. By all accounts, there are no personal freedoms of any kind and no protection for human rights. Religious freedom does not exist as the state severely represses public and private religious activities, including arresting and imprisoning - and in some cases torturing and executing - persons engaged in such activities. In addition, the state actively discriminates against religious adherents in all aspects of political, economic, and social life.

North Korea is also a humanitarian disaster of unimaginable proportions. Failed economic policies and natural disasters have reportedly left more than 1 million North Koreans dead from starvation and disease in the last 10 years. Tens of thousands of refugees have fled to China to escape the dire economic and political conditions in North Korea and many have been forcibly repatriated by the Chinese government. Those who return - voluntarily or otherwise - face imprisonment, or even death, at the hands of DPRK officials.

As recommended by this Commission, the Secretary of State has designated North Korea as a "country of particular concern" for particularly severe violations of religious freedom. We now urge the U.S. government to give meaning to that designation by pressing the North Korean authorities for results. In particular, the United States should urge the North Korean government:

1. To stop seeking forced repatriation of North Koreans who have fled the country and to cease the harsh and sometimes lethal treatment of returnees;

2. To abide by its international human rights commitments by, at a minimum:

   • addressing the concerns and implementing the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Committee's recent review of North Korea's compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including concerns regarding religious freedom;

   • permitting the monitoring of human rights conditions by UN human rights mechanisms and extending an invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief and others;

3. To allow immediate expansion of both the amount of humanitarian assistance to the North Korean people and the number of providers - which should include non-governmental organizations - and to permit all assistance to be adequately monitored and not misrepresented through false claims that the aid is being provided by the North Korean government;

4. To lift restrictions on the freedom of movement by foreign diplomats, independent journalists, humanitarian organizations, and others, and to invite the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom and the Commission to visit the country; and

5. To negotiate and enter into a binding agreement with the United States, as authorized under IRFA, to cease violations of religious freedom.

Thank you for your consideration of these recommendations.

Respectfully,

Felice Gaer

Chair

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
September 30, 2002

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent federal agency advising the Administration and Congress, today recommended that the Secretary of State designate Burma (Myanmar), the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India, Iran, Iraq, Laos, Pakistan, People's Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam as "countries of particular concern" (CPCs) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA). Full text of letter to Secretary Powell.

Under the law, CPCs are those countries which the Secretary finds to have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom. Once a country is designated, the IRFA requires the president to oppose those violations by taking specified actions. Such measures can range from a diplomatic demarche to economic sanctions or a waiver of action.

"The designation of countries of particular concern is one of the most important human rights acts taken by any U.S. administration," said Commission Chair Felice D. Gaer. "The IRFA requires the U.S. to oppose these egregious and systematic violations, whether the government itself commits them or tolerates them. We hope to see actions commensurate with the severity of these abuses."

The Commission also created a Watch List of countries - Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Uzbekistan - where it found grave violations of religious freedom have occurred.

Despite the Commission's recommendations over several years that Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, and Laos be designated as CPCs, the State Department has failed to name them. Today marks the first time the Commission has urged the Secretary to designate India, Pakistan, and Vietnam as CPCs. The Secretary designated Burma, China, Iran, Iraq, and Sudan as CPCs in 1999 and 2000, adding North Korea in 2001 following a Commission recommendation.

The full text of the Commission's findings on each country recommended for CPC designation can be found on its Web site at www.uscirf.gov. Copies can also be obtained from the communications office by calling 202-523-3240. Excerpts of Commission findings include the following:

The Commission found that in China, particularly severe violations have actually increased in the past year. The Chinese government has intensified its violent campaign of repression against Evangelical Christians, Roman Catholics, Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, and groups - such as the Falun Gong - that have been labeled as "evil cults." This campaign has included imprisonment, torture, and other forms of ill treatment.

In India, the government has tolerated severe violence against religious minorities. In 2002, at least 1,000 Muslims were killed and more than 100,000 forced to flee their homes as a result of violence by Hindu mobs in Gujarat State after 58 Hindus were killed on a train in Godhra. India's National Human Rights Commission found substantial evidence of premeditation by members of Hindu extremist groups; complicity by Gujarat state government officials; and police inaction in the face of these violent attacks on Muslims, in which many persons were shot, stabbed, raped, mutilated, and/or burned to death. Christians, too, were victims in Gujarat. Many churches were also destroyed. Although the state government took some steps to prevent further violence, it has failed to hold key violators accountable. The federal government did not take preventive action to impose direct control in Gujarat. And "fear ... is still a palpable reality" for the displaced riot victims.

Pakistan has failed adequately to protect religious minorities from sectarian violence. Discriminatory religious legislation, including the blasphemy and anti-Ahmadi laws, helps create an atmosphere of religious intolerance. Attacks against members of the Shi'ite minority by organized groups of Sunni militants continue. Blasphemy charges, often false, result in lengthy detention and sometimes violence, including fatal attacks, against religious minority members as well as Muslims. This year has seen an upsurge in attacks targeting Pakistan's Christian minority. American journalist Daniel Pearl was forced to "confess" his religion as Jewish before being beheaded on a training video by Islamic extremists. Although the government took some steps, it has not brought to justice those responsible for recent attacks. Despite the proposed madrassah reform law, too many religious schools provide ideological training and motivation to those who take part in violence targeting religious minorities in Pakistan and elsewhere.

As noted in past years by the State Department, religious freedom "does not exist" in Saudi Arabia. The government vigorously prohibits all forms of public religious expression other than the government's interpretation and presentation of Sunni Islam. Last year, numerous foreign Christian workers were detained, arrested, tortured, and subsequently deported. Shi'a clerics and religious scholars are detained and imprisoned for their religious views, which differ from those of the government. The Saudi government's severe violations of religious freedom include torture and cruel and degrading treatment or punishment; prolonged detention without charges; and flagrant denials of the right to liberty and security of the person, including coercive measures directed against women and the extended jurisdiction of the religious police, who exercise their vague powers in ways that violate others' religious freedom.

The government of Vietnam continues repressive policies toward all religions and their followers. A Commission delegation that visited Vietnam in February 2002 found that religious dissidents remain under house arrest or are imprisoned, including Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly, who was detained after submitting testimony to the Commission last year. In addition, government officials continue to suppress organized religious activities and to harass leaders and followers of unregistered religious organizations, as well as clergy members of officially recognized religious groups.

The Commission also is very concerned about violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the governments of Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Uzbekistan. Because the governments of these countries have not taken effective steps to halt repression and/or violence against religious believers, nor, in most cases, to punish those responsible, the Commission determined to place them on a new "Watch List."

Commissioners Felice D. Gaer and Michael K. Young dissented from the recommendation that India be designated a CPC. Commissioners Leila N. Sadat and Shirin Tahir-Kheli dissented from the decision not to recommend that Uzbekistan be designated a CPC

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 K. Young, Vice Chair Firuz Kazemzadeh, Richard D. Land, Bishop William Francis Murphy, Leila Nadya Sadat, Nina Shea, The Hon. Charles R. Stith, The Hon. Shirin Tahir-Kheli, Tad Stahnke, Acting Executive Director