In some countries around the world, religion-based laws are used by governments to impose capital punishment against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons. All of the 10 countries where consensual same-sex relationships are punishable by death (Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen) justify denial of rights and personhood based on official interpretations of Shari’a (Islamic law).

International standards are clear that governments should not desecrate the rights of LGBTI persons through the imposition of the death penalty under interpretations of Shari’a or any other religion-based laws. Laws that make same-sex relationships subject to the death penalty violate the human dignity and rights of LGBTI persons and embolden societal hostility, discrimination, and violence against them.

This week, USCIRF Vice Chair Anurima Bhargava joins us to discuss USCIRF’s recently-released factsheet on Shari'a and LGBTI Persons.

Featuring:
Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF
Anurima Bhargava, Vice Chair, USCIRF

USCIRF Applauds Coordinated Sanctions Against Xinjiang Officials

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) applauds the coordinated sanctions that the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union imposed against Chinese officials Wang Junzheng, Secretary of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), and Chen Mingguo, Director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau (XPSB), under the Global Magnitsky Act for committing egregious religious freedom violations against Uyghur and other Muslims.

“Yesterday's announcement of coordinated sanctions by the United States and like-minded partners sends an unmistakably clear message to the Chinese Communist Party that the international community will not tolerate its repressive, genocidal policies in the Uyghur region,” USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel stated. “The atrocities that the CCP has committed, and continues to commit, are an affront to humanity as well as to universal values and international law to which China has agreed. USCIRF calls on the Chinese government to end its horrific abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims once and for all.”

Since 2017, the Chinese government has detained millions of Uyghur, Kazakh, and other Turkic Muslims, often targeting individuals engaged in religious practices, such as growing beards or wearing veils. In addition, credible reports revealed that Chinese authorities have engaged in forced sterilizations and other repressive population control measures against Uyghurs, which in June 2020 USCIRF warned could meet the definition of genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

“We applaud the United States and its partners for boldly standing up to the ruthless Chinese Communist regime that has committed such despicable acts against the Uyghur and other Turkic Muslim people,” added USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “These concerted efforts in imposing sanctions against CCP officials both expose their crimes and provide much-needed encouragement to the Uyghurs and other freedom-loving people who are suffering under the CCP’s brutality.”

The U.S. government previously imposed targeted sanctions pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Act against Chinese officials responsible for committing egregious religious freedom violations against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims, including Chen Quanguo, Communist Party Secretary for Xinjiang; Zhu Hailun, former Political and Legal Affairs Commission Chief; Wang Mingshan, director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau; and Huo Liujun, former deputy party secretary. In January 2020, the U.S. Department of State declared China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region as genocide and crimes against humanity.

In July 2020, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. government urge its international partners to join it in publicly condemning China’s treatment of religious minorities, in conjunction with a multilateral effort to coordinate targeted sanctions against Chinese leaders.

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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 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].