FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 9, 2019

USCIRF Responds to Yom Kippur Attack in Germany

Washington, DC (Oct. 9, 2019) –  Based on emerging reports of the killing of at least two people near a synagogue and Jewish cemetery in Halle, Germany today on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chair Tony Perkins, Vice Chair Gayle Manchin, and Commissioner Johnnie Moore issued the following statements: 

“We are appalled by reports of an attack near a Jewish religious site on one of the Jewish high holy days. While USCIRF primarily focuses its work on other parts of the world where egregious religious violations routinely occur, we have become increasingly concerned about the rise in anti-Semitic activity across Europe,” said Chair Perkins. 

“Today’s brazen attack on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar right outside of a synagogue in Halle is yet another terrible wake-up call to all of those in Europe and around the world who continue to be in denial about the resurgence of this age-old hatred against the Jewish people,” said Vice Chair Manchin, noting that USCIRF will be holding a hearing on protecting houses of worship on October 23^rd at 3pm in Room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.

“These incidents must stop and European leaders must become more vigilant in protecting Europe’s Jewish minorities, and we – at USCIRF – are putting the European Union on notice: you must do more to ensure your Jewish communities are safe and that the anti-Semitism festering within your borders is addressed,” said Commissioner Moore.

USCIRF Commissioner Gary L. Bauer hosted a summer seminar on anti-Semitism.  To view remarks and factsheets, click here. 

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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] or Dwight Bashir at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8, 2019

USCIRF Launches the Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List

WASHINGTON, DC –United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chair Tony Perkins and Vice Chair Gayle Manchin today announced the launch of the Freedom of Religion of Belief (FoRB) Victims List, which is contained in a public online database. The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), as amended by the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016, requires USCIRF to:

"make publicly available to the extent practicable, ... lists of persons [USCIRF] determines are imprisoned or detained, have disappeared, been placed under house arrest, been tortured, or subjected to forced renunciations of faith for their religious activity or religious freedom advocacy…”

The FoRB Victims List was publicly unveiled today at the International Religious Freedom Roundtable on Capitol Hill. Speaking at this event, Chair Perkins said, “We are thrilled to debut the FoRB Victims List. One of our hopes for this project is to work collaboratively to build and maintain a robust FoRB victims database that increases awareness of the grave plight of victims of religious freedom violations.”

“The launch of this database is an exciting development in the Commission’s history. Together, we can make the FoRB Victims List a central pillar of USCIRF’s engagement with the religious freedom advocacy community,” said Vice Chair Manchin.

IRFA stipulates that the FoRB Victims List include those victims from countries that it recommends for Country of Particular Concern – or CPC – designation and entities that it recommends for Entities of Particular Concern – or EPC – designation. The Commission is focusing first on countries recommended for CPC status, but will eventually also include victims targeted by entities that USCIRF has recommended for EPC status. The cases within this database should be viewed as indicative of the violations practiced by the governments or non-state actors, not as exhaustive or representative lists of total victims or a reflection of worldwide trends.

The FoRB Victims List is immediately available to browse and can be found here. Additionally, USCIRF encourages the public to utilize the Victims Intake Form to submit information about victims who should be included. A link to this intake form is on the footer of each page of the database, titled “Submit Victim Information,” or it can be accessed here.

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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 or belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

On China’s National Day, USCIRF Urges U.S. Government to Take Action on Religious Freedom

WASHINGTON, DC – Today marks the 70^th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, also known as National Day. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) continues to urge the U.S. government to take decisive action against the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing campaign of repression against Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, Falun Gong practitioners and other religious groups.

“Communist China’s actions represent a wholesale assault on the very idea of independent religion,” said USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “Hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens are being locked up or harassed simply because they choose to believe in a god other than Xi Jinping. Now is the time for the U.S. government to use all the tools at its disposal, including targeted sanctions and visa bans, to hold the Chinese officials responsible for this campaign of repression accountable.”

“USCIRF remains extremely concerned about worsening religious freedom conditions in China and the lengths to which the Chinese Communist Party goes to deny and deceive the international community about its appalling human rights record,” added Commissioner Tenzin Dorjee. “Harassing, disappearing, interning, and imprisoning people is no way to treat peaceful religious believers. The U.S. government cannot turn a blind eye towards these violations.”

In its 2019 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. government use its authority under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and International Religious Freedom Act to enact targeted sanctions and visa bans against Chinese officials responsible for these abuses, especially Chen Quanguo, the Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang. USCIRF recently released a report documenting how the Chinese government uses surveillance cameras, biometric technology and artificial intelligence to monitor and harass religious communities.

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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] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.