Aug 05
Aug 5th 10:30am
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
USCIRF Update with USAID: The President’s Executive Order on International Religious Freedom
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM ET
Virtual Event
Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a virtual event about President Trump’s recent Executive Order to advance international religious freedom across the federal government and its implementation at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
This discussion will highlight key aspects of this Executive Order, USAID’s current plans underway to implement it, and the impact it will have on USAID’s programming in the future. USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin and Vice Chair Tony Perkins will discuss these issues with USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa. USCIRF Director of Outreach and Policy Dwight Bashir will moderate the discussion, which will be followed by questions and answers from attendees.
Panelists
- Gayle Manchin, Chair, USCIRF
Written Remarks - Tony Perkins, Vice Chair, USCIRF
Written Remarks - John Barsa, Acting Administrator, USAID
Written Remarks
Moderator
- Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF
This virtual event is open to the public and media. The video recording will be posted on the Commission website. For any additional questions, please contact [email protected].
Gayle Manchin, Chair · Tony Perkins, Vice Chair · Anurima Bhargava, Vice Chair
Gary Bauer · James Carr · Frederick Davie · Nadine Maenza · Johnnie Moore · Nury Turkel
Erin D. Singshinsuk, Executive Director
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 threats to religious freedom abroad.
Jul 22
Jul 22nd 10:00am
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing
Technological Surveillance of Religion in China
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Virtual Hearing
Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a virtual hearing about the Chinese government’s use of surveillance and data analytic technology to oppress religious groups and how the United States government should respond.
During the past two decades, the Chinese government has created an Orwellian surveillance state with an unprecedented ability to gather private information about its citizens. The government has installed hundreds of millions of surveillance cameras across the country, using facial and voice recognition systems to distinguish and track Uyghurs and Tibetans. In addition, authorities have systematically installed cameras in churches to identify and target anyone who attends services. Meanwhile, Chinese censors monitor WeChat and other social media apps for “unauthorized” religious content, while hackers target the phones of religious freedom advocates. China’s exportation of its surveillance technology and repressive model holds dire implications for religious freedom around the world.
As a consequence, in October 2019 and again in May 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce restricted certain Chinese companies from obtaining advanced U.S. technology and recently warned American businesses about the legal and ethical risks of developing surveillance tools in Xinjiang. While some U.S. companies have begun to reassess the compromises required to conduct business in China, the U.S. government and American businesses can and must do more to protect religious freedom for all.
Witnesses will provide analysis on U.S. export regulations, international human rights standards for tech companies, how China continues to use data analysis to target people of faith, and policy recommendations about how the U.S. government can help the tech sector protect religious freedom.
Opening Remarks
- Gayle Manchin, Chair, USCIRF
Written Remarks - Tony Perkins, Vice Chair, USCIRF
Written Remarks - Anurima Bhargava, Vice Chair, USCIRF
Written Remarks
Panel I
- Cordell Hull, Acting Under Secretary of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce
Written Testimony
Panel II
- Amy Lehr, Director, Human Rights Initiative, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Written Testimony - Chris Meserole, Deputy Director, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative, Brookings Institution
Written Testimony - Sheena Greitens, Associate Professor, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin
Written Testimony - Lobsang Gyatso Sither, Digital Security Programs Director, Tibet Action Institute
Written Testimony
This hearing is open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the public, and the media. Members of the media should 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.
Gayle Manchin, Chair · Tony Perkins, Vice Chair · Anurima Bhargava, Vice Chair
Gary Bauer · James W. Carr · Frederick A. Davie
Nadine Maenza · Johnnie Moore · Nury Turkel
Erin D. Singshinsuk, Executive Director
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 threats to religious freedom abroad.
Jun 10
Jun 10th 10:30am
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing
Safeguarding Religious Freedom in Northeast Syria
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM ET
Virtual Hearing
Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a virtual hearing about the opportunities and challenges related to religious freedom for those living in Northeast Syria.
Northeast Syria has been a region with devastating conflict over the past decade. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) violently targeted religious and ethnic minorities between 2014 and 2019 from all walks of life. At the same time, the Assad regime has maintained its violent campaign since 2011 to repress all forms of both armed and peaceful opposition, with disregard for the massive human suffering it has caused. As coalition forces joined local efforts to defeat ISIS and a measure of security slowly returned to the northeast, constituents from the area launched an initiative to introduce local governance, autonomy from the Assad regime, diverse representation, and individual freedoms. That initiative evolved into what is now known as the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
In October 2019, the U.S. government announced a significant drawdown of its military presence in northeast Syria and signaled tacit approval for Turkey to cross the border. That incursion and subsequent establishment of an occupation zone atop AANES-governed territory has been catastrophic for local communities. It has led to the displacement of around 100,000 civilians and the persistent shelling of towns and villages, including some that are traditionally home to Muslim Kurds and Arabs as well as Christian and Yazidi populations.
Witnesses will give analysis about religious freedom conditions in the AANES, Turkey’s ongoing actions in the region, the threat of ISIS, and the impact of U.S. policy.
Opening Remarks
- Tony Perkins, Chair, USCIRF
Written Remarks - Gayle Manchin, Vice Chair, USCIRF
Written Remarks - Nadine Maenza, Vice Chair, USCIRF
Written Remarks
Panel
- Amy Austin Holmes, Fellow, Woodrow Wilson Center, and Visiting Scholar at Harvard University
Written Testimony - Sara Kayyali, Syria Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division, Human Rights Watch
Written Testimony - Hassan Hassan, Program Director, Non-State Actors and Geopolitics, Center for Global Policy
Written Testimony - Michael Rubin, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
Written Testimony
Submitted for the Record
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. 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.
Tony Perkins, Chair · Gayle Manchin, Vice Chair · Nadine Maenza, Vice Chair
Gary Bauer · Anurima Bhargava · James Carr
Johnnie Moore · Nury Turkel
Erin D. Singshinsuk, Executive Director
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 threats to religious freedom abroad.