FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2004

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chair Michael K. Young will join Senator Susan M. Collins and Representative Dan Burton at an on-the-record press conference on Capitol Hill on May 13 to announce the decision of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and the House Government Reform Committee to request that the General Accounting office (GAO) undertake a comprehensive review of U.S. oversight of Saudi support for an ideology promoting violence and intolerance globally. In conducting the study, the GAO will seek information from relevant U.S. government agencies and will consult with outside experts on Saudi promotion of religious extremism, including the USCIRF. The findings of the study will be presented in a public report, although some of the information obtained may be classified.

"In May 2003, the USCIRF issued a report on Saudi Arabia with recommendations for U.S. policy. A key recommendation was for Congress to initiate and make public a study on Saudi exportation of intolerance. The proposed GAO study will fulfill that recommendation," said USCIRF Chair Michael K. Young. "There have been a growing number of reports that funding coming from Saudi Arabia has been used to finance religious schools and other activities that are alleged to support religious intolerance, and in some cases, violence associated with certain Islamic militant and extremist organizations in several parts of the world. These reports raise troubling questions about the Saudi government's role in propagating worldwide an ideology that is incompatible with both the war against terrorism, as well as internationally recognized guarantees of the right to freedom of religion or belief. What we seek are facts - whether they vindicate or implicate Saudi Arabia."

At the press conference, the Commission will also publicly release a new country brief, Policy Focus Saudi Arabia, with updated policy recommendations. The Commission is mandated by Congress to monitor religious freedom around the world and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and the Congress. Policy Focus is designed to inform the broader policy community about the Commission's recommendations for U.S. policy.

WHEN:Thursday, May 13, 2004, 11:45 a.m.

WHERE:Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 342

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2004

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent and bipartisan federal agency, will announce its Congressionally-mandated policy recommendations on the international effort to protect religious freedom at a press conference at the National Press Club. The press conference will be held in the Murrow/White/Lisagor rooms on the 13th floor from 9:30-11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 12.

This year's report includes recommendations on the process of constitutional development in Afghanistan and Iraq, the designation of "countries of particular concern," the global export of a religious ideology that explicitly promotes hate and violence toward members of other religious groups by Saudi Arabia, individual country reports on more than 20 countries, a review of U.S. Refugee and Asylum Programs, and a critique of the State Department's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom.

WHAT:Press Conference: U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom 2004 Annual Report

WHEN:Wednesday, May 12, 2004, 9:30 - 11:00 a.m.

WHERE:National Press Club, 529 14th Street, NW, in the Murrow/White/Lisagor rooms, 13th floor

Copies of the Annual Report will be available at the press conference and will also be posted on the Commission's Web site at www.uscirf.gov. They can also be obtained by contacting the Communications department at (202) 523-3240. Interviews with Commissioners may be arranged by contacting Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, at (202) 523-3240, ext. 27.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2004

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) will hold two public, on-the-record briefings on "Religious Freedom in Turkmenistan: the U.S. Response to One of the World's Worst Religious Freedom Violators." The first briefing will be held jointly with the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the Helsinki Commission) on Tuesday, May 11 in Russell Senate Office Building, Room 485, from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. The briefing will be held again on Wednesday, May 12 at the offices of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), 1201 Connecticut Ave., NW, from 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.

The briefings will examine the situation of religious freedom in Turkmenistan, particularly within the context of the U.S. government's current deliberations on designations of the worst religious freedom violators as "countries of particular concern," or CPCs, as required by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. In March 2004, Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov issued a decree that purportedly will ease registration requirements for religious communities in Turkmenistan. However, the decree relates only to a narrow element of the registration law and to date, no religious communities have been registered as a result of the decree.

"Turkmenistan is one of the most repressive states in the world today, and its government regularly engages in severe and ongoing violations of religious freedom. The Commission has long recommended that Turkmenistan be named a CPC," said USCIRF Chair Michael K. Young. "We are concerned that President Niyazov's pointedly timely move will encourage the Department of State to forego a CPC designation for Turkmenistan. This would be a mistake."

Confirmed participants at the briefings:

Najia Badykova, Research Associate at the George Washington University and former head of the Department of Economic Relations within the Turkmen government.

Felix Corley, editor of Forum 18 News Service, which reports on threats and actions against religious freedom in the former Soviet Bloc.

Lawrence Uzzell, president of International Religious Freedom Watch, an independent research center that reports on threats to freedom of conscience in totalitarian and authoritarian countries, and former head of the Keston Institute.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.