What started as an already concerning situation for religious minorities in Iran has grown even more concerning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Find out what the situation looks like for the groups affected by Iran’s imposition of a singular religious interpretation, and what the US can do to help advance religious freedom in Iran in this week's episode of USCIRF Spotlight.

Featuring:
Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF
Scott Weiner, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRF

Welcome to USCIRF's new series! In USCIRF Spotlight, we discuss major topics in the news and explore how they impact religious freedom around the globe. For this week's episode, listen to what our research team has to say about Fulani communities in West and Central Africa. 

Featuring:
Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF
Madeline Vellturo, Policy Analyst, USCIRF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

USCIRF Welcomes the Appointment of Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomed today the appointment of Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Robert A. Destro to serve concurrently as the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues. This position is mandated by the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 but had been vacant since January 20, 2017.

“The U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues is a crucial position for countering the Chinese Communist Party’s attempt to erase the unique identity of Tibetan Buddhism,” noted USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “USCIRF welcomes the strong choice of Assistant Secretary Robert A. Destro to fulfill this role, and we look forward to working with him.”

USCIRF has consistently recommended that the Trump administration fill the role of Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues. In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF also called upon the administration to use its authority under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and the International Religious Freedom Act to impose targeted sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for severe religious freedom violations, especially Chen Quanguo, the current Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang and former Secretary of Tibet. USCIRF has also called for the release of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama and one of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience.

“Chinese authorities are launching a full-scale assault against ethnic communities in their indigenous lands across the country,” Commissioner Nury Turkel added. “The Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues must put the weight and resources of the U.S. government behind efforts to work for the full realization of religious freedom for all Tibetans.”

In February 2020, USCIRF released a factsheet explaining how the Chinese government’s new Regulation for Religious Groups could further restrict religious freedom. This factsheet has been crucial to raising the profile of religious freedom issues in Tibet and mobilizing government resources to address these issues.

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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 threats to 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].