Displaying results 1 - 19 of 19

Eurasia Review -- July 4 and the Ahmadiyya - OpEd
Jul 8, 2013 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONJuly 8, 2013 | By Katrina Lantos Swett The following appeared in Eurasia Review on July 4th, 2013. Last Saturday, on June 29, I was honored to speak in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to the Ahmadiyya…
CNN World -- The two faces of India
Nov 13, 2013 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONNovember 12, 2013 | By Katrina Lantos Swett and Mary Ann Glendon The following op-ed appeared in CNN World on November 12, 2013. Editor's note: Katrina Lantos Swett is Vice Chairwoman of…
Religion News Service -- Today — of all days — remember the disappeared
Aug 30, 2016 FOR YOUR INFORMATION August 30, 2016 | Daniel I. Mark and Sandra Jolley The following op/ed appeared in Religion News Service on August 30, 2016   (RNS) Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was a 6-year-old boy when he…
Washington Examiner: Washington Must Expand the List of Sanctioned Religious Freedom Violators
Jul 20, 2020 This op-ed was originally published by The Washington Examiner, on July 20, 2020. By USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin and USCIRF Vice Chair Tony Perkins In Iraq, the 50th Brigade of the Popular Mobilization Forces has…
Religious Freedom Priorities for the Biden Administration
Feb 4, 2021   As the Biden administration begins to formulate its broader human rights policy, USCIRF highlights several priority countries when it comes to international religious freedom. Condemning and preventing…
Enforcing Blasphemy Laws Have Dire Consequences
May 27, 2021 Blasphemy laws criminalize expression that insults or offends religious doctrines. Such laws are often used to restrict freedom of religion or belief. As of 2020, 84 countries still had blasphemy laws. The severity…
The Impact of Majoritarianism on Religious Minorities in South Asia
Aug 19, 2021 We have seen a significant deterioration in religious freedom conditions in South Asia in recent years. Blasphemy cases, forced conversions, attacks on houses of worship, hate speech, and violence targeting…
Religion, Law and Citizenship in Assam, India
Sep 2, 2021 For the past two years, USCIRF has recommended that India be designated a Country of Particular of Concern (CPC) by the State Department due the government’s promotion of Hindu nationalist policies resulting in…
USA Today: This Easter, don't forget about persecuted Christians around the world
Apr 16, 2022 This op-ed was originally published by USA Today on April 16, 2022. By USCIRF Commissioners Jim Carr and Fred Davie The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has long advocated for the…
The Hill: A glimmer of hope in bringing accountability to religious freedom violators abroad
Apr 25, 2022 This op-ed was originally published by The Hill on April 25, 2022. By USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza and Vice Chair Nury Turkel As the world is trying to resume some semblance of normalcy, it is abundantly clear that…
Anti-Conversion Laws and Growing Intolerance in India
May 6, 2022 Since 2020, USCIRF has recommended that India be designated a Country of Particular of Concern, or CPC, due to the Indian government’s promotion of Hindu nationalism, and engagement and facilitation of systematic,…
Deteriorating Religious Freedom Conditions in South Asia
Jul 22, 2022 Several major political events occurred in South Asia over the last year. The Taliban, whom USCIRF has recommended for years as an “Entity of Particular Concern” (EPC), took control of Afghanistan in August 2021.…
Breaking Down the State Department’s IRF Designations
Dec 16, 2022 Pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the U.S. Department of State designates Countries of Particular Concern, places countries on its Special Watch List, and designates Entities of Particular Concern. As part of this…
Violence Against Tribal Christians in Manipur, India
Jun 22, 2023 In May 2023, violent clashes between two communities erupted in India’s Manipur state, leaving entire villages burned and displacing tens of thousands. The ongoing conflict is between the state’s majority Hindu Meitei community and the…
Religion News Service: Repression of women points to worsening religious freedom trends abroad
May 3, 2023 This op-ed was originally published by Religion News Service on May 3, 2023. By USCIRF Chair Nury Turkel & Vice Chair Abraham Cooper Denying religious freedom and women’s rights go hand-in-hand. Over the…
Shortcomings of the State Department’s CPC Designations
Jan 25, 2024 One of USCIRF’s key functions is to make recommendations to the State Department about which countries we think should be designated as Countries of Particular Concern or CPCs, based on our independent research and…
The State of Religious Freedom in India
May 1, 2025   In recent years, USCIRF has reported declining religious freedom conditions in India, as the government continues to enforce and strengthen legislation that disproportionately impacts religious minorities, including anti-conversion…
Religion News Service: Kashmir's houses of worship need protection
Jun 20, 2025 This op-ed was originally published by Religion News Service on June 20, 2025.By USCIRF Chair Vicky Hartzler and Commissioner Stephen SchneckWords fail to express the sorrow felt for those who suddenly lost their lives in the Air India plane…
The Hill: The cost of India’s anti-conversion laws
Dec 19, 2025 The op-ed was originally published by The Hill on December 19, 2025.By U.S. Representative Glenn Grothman, USCIRF Chair Vicky Hartzler and Vice Chair Asif MahmoodThe two most populous countries in the world have very troubling issues related to…