USCIRF Welcomes Senator Schumer’s Appointment of Ariela Dubler to U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Washington, DC – Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) announced on December 20, 2024 the appointment of Ariela Dubler to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

“We enthusiastically welcome Ariela Dubler’s appointment to the Commission,” stated USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck. “Her work in education and her expertise on issues of law and religion will enhance our efforts to understand the myriad ways that violations of freedom of religion or belief impact vulnerable individuals and communities abroad.”

Ariela Dubler serves as the Head of School of the Heschel School, a pluralistic Jewish day school in New York City. Previously, she was the George Welwood Murray Professor of Legal History at Columbia University Law School, where she taught Constitutional law, family law, and legal history.  She also serves on multiple school boards and supports the Jewish community within the academy as a board member for the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale.

“Ariela Dubler’s wealth of knowledge on legal issues and her passion for supporting the ability of members of the Jewish community to live out their faith in their daily lives will be an asset to USCIRF’s work to enhance the U.S. government’s promotion of religious freedom for all through U.S. foreign policy,” USCIRF Vice Chair Eric Ueland added.

USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by either the President or Congressional leaders of each political party in the Senate and House of Representatives.

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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].

USCIRF Releases Factsheet on Key International Religious Freedom Appointments for the Incoming Donald J. Trump Administration  

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following report: 

Key IRF-Related Positions – This factsheet provides an overview of the key political appointments within the U.S. government that are most relevant to international religious freedom (IRF). The primary IRF positions that the president appoints derive from the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA): the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom at the U.S. Department of State; the Special Adviser for International Religious Freedom on the National Security Council (NSC) staff; and three of USCIRF’s nine Commissioners. In addition, several current State Department special envoy and representative positions—created either by acts of Congress or by presidents or secretaries of state—are relevant to IRF promotion. Those positions include the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, the Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, and the Special Coordinator on Tibetan 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 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]. 

USCIRF Alarmed over Escalating Crackdown in Vietnam

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is alarmed by the Vietnamese government’s escalating crackdown on independent religious communities—including Khmer Krom Buddhists, Montagnard Protestants, Cao Dai followers, and many others.

“USCIRF condemns the Vietnamese government’s recent targeting of independent religious communities,” stated USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck. “Authorities sentenced five Khmer Krom Buddhist monks to prison terms between two and six years, disrupted independent Cao Dai followers’ worship and funeral services, and continued to force Montagnard Protestants in the central highlands to denounce their faith. This behavior is inconsistent with Vietnam’s position as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, and we are closely monitoring these disturbing developments with grave concern.”

Vietnamese law imposes restrictive requirements on religious activities that are unevenly applied throughout the country. Moreover, in recent years, USCIRF has observed significant backsliding on religious freedom in Vietnam, as the government has increasingly repressed independent religious groups, including those it considers “strange, false, or heretical religions” that refuse to comply with state control.

“In light of this deterioration, the U.S. government should enhance its efforts to press the Vietnamese government to release religious prisoners and make concrete improvements to religious freedom conditions, including by amending the 2018 Law on Belief and Religion and the implementing decree,” added USCIRF Commissioner Meir Soloveichik. “We also urge the State Department to designate Vietnam as a ‘country of particular concern’, or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act, as USCIRF recommended in our 2024 annual report.”

Since 2002, USCIRF has consistently recommended the U.S. Department of State designate Vietnam as CPC, for its government’s systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. In 2022 and 2023, the State Department placed Vietnam on its Special Watch List (SWL) for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom. The State Department’s CPC and SWL designations for 2024 are expected by the end of the year. In September 2024, USCIRF released a report on “State-Controlled Religion and Religious Freedom in Vietnam.”

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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].