Mar 11, 2021
There have been notable improvements to religious freedom conditions in Uzbekistan in recent years. The government’s ongoing effort to revise the restrictive 1998 Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations demonstrates progress. Nevertheless, significant challenges to religious freedom in the country still remain.
Even in revised draft legislation, religious communities are still required to register through the government and any unregistered religious activity is considered criminal. Many non-Muslim religious minority communities, such as Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Protestants, have been unable to be officially registered by the state. In addition, some thousands of individuals remain incarcerated for the peaceful practice of their religion or beliefs, and the government has yet to review and reopen the cases of many prisoners charged on vague or spurious allegations of “religious extremism.”
This week, USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst Keely Bakken joins us to discuss progress that the government of Uzbekistan has made, and the challenges that remain.
Featuring:
Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF
Keely Bakken, Senior Policy Analyst, USCIRF
Read USCIRF’s 2020 Annual Report Chapter on Uzbekistan
Read USCIRF’s report on Global Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses
Mar 5, 2021
Santería is a syncretic religion that incorporates elements of Catholicism with the religion of the Yoruba people, who were brought as slaves to Cuba from the Congo basin and West Africa in the 16th century.
While many Cubans can freely observe Santería practices, some practitioners and religious leaders have experienced ongoing violations of their right to freedom of religion or belief. These violations are emblematic of the tactics used by the Cuban government to control faith and suppress independent religious communities.
Featuring:
Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF
Kirsten Lavery, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRF
Read USCIRF’s recent Factsheet on the Santería Tradition in Cuba
Mar 10
Mar 10th 10:30am
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Mar 10th 12:00pm
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing
A Religious Minority Enslaved: Addressing the Complicity of U.S. Companies in Uyghur Forced Labor
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM ET
Virtual Hearing
Hearing Transcript
Hearing Summary
Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a virtual hearing about ways in which U.S. companies facilitate the persecution of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in China through forced labor and other practices that undermine international human rights standards in that country.
Since 2017, the Chinese government has detained millions of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in internment camps across the Uyghur region, also known as Xinjiang. As part of its repression of Muslim minorities, Chinese authorities have subjected them to forced labor in these camps, as well as in prisons, factories, and industrial parks. U.S. companies with supply chains in China for consumer goods—particularly those in the apparel, footwear, and other related industries—are inevitably complicit in Uyghur forced labor and therefore must take steps urgently to address this growing problem. This issue has become especially pressing following the U.S. Department of State’s determination that the atrocities in Xinjiang constitute genocide and crimes against humanity.
Witnesses will discuss the magnitude and complexity of the issues surrounding Uyghur forced labor and provide policy recommendations to the U.S. government.
Opening Remarks
- Senator Marco Rubio, R-FL
Written Remarks - Gayle Manchin, Chair, USCIRF
Written Remarks - Tony Perkins, Vice Chair, USCIRF
Written Remarks - Gary Bauer, Commissioner, USCIRF
Written Remarks - Nury Turkel, Commissioner, USCIRF
Written Remarks
Panel
- Sophie Richardson, China Director, Human Rights Watch
Written Testimony - Louisa Greve, Director of Global Advocacy, Uyghur Human Rights Project
Written Testimony - Scott Nova, Executive Director, Worker Rights Consortium
Written Testimony - Adrian Zenz, Senior Fellow in China Studies, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Written Testimony - Olivia Enos, Senior Policy Analyst, Asian Studies Center, The Heritage Foundation
Written Testimony
This hearing is open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the public, and the media. Members of the media should register online and can email [email protected] for any questions or to schedule an interview. The video recording of the hearing will be posted on the Commission website . For any additional questions, please contact Jamie Staley at [email protected] or (202) 279-0274.