May 12, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2008
Contact: Judith Ingram,
Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 127
WASHINGTON- Commissioner Leonard A. Leo testified before the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam regarding restrictions on the freedom of religion in Vietnam that prompted the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to recommend that Vietnam be re-designated a "country of particular concern,” or CPC, in its 2008 Annual Report. To read the complete text of Commissioner Leo's remarks, click here.
The hearing, "Human Rights Conditions in Vietnam and Suggestions for U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue,” was chaired by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam, and was attended by Reps. Tom Davis (R-VA), Ed Royce (R-CA), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), and Chris Smith (R-NJ).
Other confirmed witnesses included Do Hoang Diem, Chairman, Viet Tan; Dr. Binh Nguyen, Co-Chair, Non-Violent Movement for Democracy in Vietnam; and Tammy Tran, President, Vietnamese Alliance to Combat Trafficking (VietACT).The hearing took place in Rayburn House Office Building, Room B318, on Wednesday, May 14, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Apr 29, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2008
Contact: Judith Ingram,
Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 127
WASHINGTON-Dr. Richard D. Land, Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and Commissioner Nina Shea will participate in a press conference hosted by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), and Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA) regarding China's complicity in human rights violations in multiple countries. The press conference will include the participation of Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and other Members of Congress, North Korean defectors, and a range of human rights organizations. A joint Congressional letter to People's Republic of China President Hu Jintao, which calls on China to stop its forcible repatriation of North Korean refugees, will also be presented.
Commission Vice Chair Land and Commissioner Shea will discuss the Commission's new report, A Prison Without Bars: Refugee and Defector Testimonies of Severe Violations of Freedom of Religion or Belief in North Korea, which offers evidence of the grave situation facing North Korean asylum seekers who have been forcibly repatriated from China back to North Korea. As Commission Chair Michael Cromartie noted during the April 15 release of the report, "repatriated North Koreans face severe persecution, including harsh interrogations, long-term imprisonment, and torture if they are found to have converted to Christianity or had contact with South Korean Christians or churches while in China." These crimes against repatriated asylum seekers are ongoing, despite China's insistence to the contrary. Conditions along the China-North Korea border are also uniquely hazardous for North Korean refugees, as North Korean security agents target refugees believed to have visited Chinese churches for food aid or other forms of immediate assistance.
The press conference will take place at Senate Russell Park, at the corner of Constitution and Delaware Aves NE, on Thursday, May 1st at 11 am.
Apr 25, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2008
Contact: Judith Ingram,
Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 127
-EVENT ADVISORY-
Friday, May 2, 2008, 9:30-11 a.m.
First Amendment Lounge, National Press Club
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) will announce its 2008 recommendations to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for "countries of particular concern" at a press conference beginning at 9:30 a.m. Friday, May 2, in the First Amendment Lounge of the National Press Club.
The Commission will also release its 2008 Annual Report and discuss its findings and recommendations for the President, Secretary of State, and Congress regarding U.S. foreign policy and the promotion of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief, and related human rights.
The press conference is open to all members of the media, the non-governmental, faith-based, academic and policy communities. Please see below for RSVP information.
The Commission is mandated by Congress to make recommendations to the Secretary of State on countries whose governments have engaged in or tolerated systematic and egregious violations of the universal right to freedom of religion or belief. Under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), those countries may be designated by the Secretary of State as "countries of particular concern," or CPCs. IRFA also requires that the U.S. government follow CPC designation with policy action.
In addition to announcing CPCs, the Commission will announce its Watch List of countries that require close monitoring due to the nature and extent of violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by their governments.
What: USCIRF Recommendations for Countries of Particular Concern Designation and 2008 Annual Report press conference
When: Friday, May 2, 2008, 9:30-11 a.m.
Where: National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW (14th and F streets), Washington, DC 20045
RSVP: [email protected] or (202) 523-3240 x 114