USCIRF Chair Katrina Lantos Swett made the following remarks at the announcement of the Defending Freedoms Project on December 6, 2012, a project of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, in conjunction with USCIRF and Amnesty International USA. …
Jan 15, 2013
FOR YOUR INFORMATIONJanuary 14, 2013 | By Katrina Lantos Swett
The following appeared in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs on January 14, 2013.
Former Soviet prisoner and refusenik Natan Sharansky,…
...that the Eritrean government, one of the most repressive governments in the world where a recent coup attempt just failed, has placed Eritrean Orthodox Church Patriarch Abune Antonios under house arrest since January 2006?Eritrea has been called the…
Mar 18, 2013
FOR YOUR INFORMATIONMarch 18, 2013| By: Katrina Lantos Swett and M. Zuhdi Jasser
The following op-ed appeared in Roll Call on March 15, 2013.
While the world remains riveted to Egypt"s challenges and Syria"s…
Apr 30, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 30, 2013| By USCIRF
Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent federal advisory body created by the International Religious Freedom…
USCIRF Chair Katrina Lantos Swett gave the following remarks at a conference, cosponsored by USCIRF and the National Endowment for Democracy on May 7, 2013Introduction
Thank you for that kind introduction.
It truly is a pleasure to join you today at the…
May 20, 2013
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
May 20, 2013| By William Shaw and M. Zuhdi Jasser , and Azizah al-Hibri
When President Obama meets with President Thein Sein of Myanmar (Burma) today, he should emphasize…
May 21, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMay 21, 2013 | By USCIRF
WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today welcomed the State Department's release of its 2012 International Religious Freedom…
…that the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, in conjunction with USCIRF and Amnesty International USA, has launched the Defending Freedoms Project to increase attention to and support for human rights and religious freedom around the world?Through the…
Dec 3, 2013
FOR YOUR INFORMATIONDecember 2, 2013 | By Robert P. George
The following op-ed appeared in the Providence Journal on November 30, 2013.
Washington - As the nation celebrates Thanksgiving, Jewish Americans are also…
Apr 14, 2014
FOR YOUR INFORMATIONApril 14, 2014 | By Katrina Lantos Swett and M. Zuhdi Jasser
The following op-ed appeared in the Global Post on April 10, 2014.
WASHINGTON — Last week's Formula 1 automotive racing event…
Jun 11, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 11, 2014 | USCIRF
Washington, D.C. – The draft of the ill-advised “Religious Conversion Law” which Burma’s parliament released for public comment would further restrict religious…
Aug 23, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAugust 23, 2014 | USCIRF
Statement of Commissioners M. Zuhdi Jasser and Eric P. Schwartz upon completing a five-day visit to Burma.
This is our first Commissioner-level visit to the…
USCIRF’s report, “Burma: Religious Freedom and Related Human Rights Violations are Hindering Broader Reforms,” reflects findings from a Commissioner-level visit in August 2014. In the report released in November, USCIRF urges the U.S.…
Oct 6, 2014
FOR YOUR INFORMATIONOctober 6, 2014 | By M. Zuhdi Jasser and Hannah Rosenthal
The following op-ed appeared in The Detroit News on October 4, 2014.
On Saturday we will witness a confluence of two holy days of…
Nov 10, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENovember 10, 2014 | USCIRF
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the face of escalating violations worldwide of religious freedom, an initiative that the U.S. Commission on International…
Jan 20, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 20, 2015 | USCIRF
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This January marks the eighth anniversary of the illegal removal of Eritrean Orthodox Patriarch Abune Antonios from his position as head of the…
Jan 22, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 22, 2015 | USCIRF
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly condemns the package of race and religion bills that Burma’s parliament is…
Aug 18, 2015
FOR YOUR INFORMATIONAugust 18, 2015 | Robert P. George and Thomas J. Reese
The following op-ed appeared in The Christian Science Monitor on August 18, 2015
Is Eritrea guilty of crimes against humanity?
The question…
Sep 28, 2015
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
September 28, 2015 | Daniel I. Mark and Katrina Lantos Swett
The following op-ed appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer on September 27, 2015
Washington hosted two dramatically…
Nov 13, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENovember 13, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) calls on the government of Burma to protect religious and ethnic minorities during the post-…
Jan 19, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2016
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) solemnly marks the 10 year anniversary tomorrow of the illegal removal and detention of Eritrean…
Apr 14, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) sends warm New Year’s greetings to the people of Burma and urges the new government…
Apr 20, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes Secretary of State John Kerry’s re-designation on April 15, 2016 of Burma,…
USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J. testified on July 15, 2016 before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a hearing titled "Blasphemy Laws and Censorship by States and Non-State Actors: Examining Global Threats to Freedom of Expression."
From the…
Oct 27, 2016
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
October 27, 2016 | By Thomas J. Reese, S.J. and Daniel Mark
The following op-ed appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on October 27, 2016
Abdul Shakoor is a member of the…
Dec 9, 2016
The following op-ed appeared in Religion New Service on December 9, 2016
By former USCIRF Commissioners Kristina Arriaga and John Ruskay
Pwint Phyu Latt is a Muslim peace activist in Burma who sought to…
Click here to view the English versionClick here to view the Burmese version
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has monitored religious freedom conditions in Burma (also known as Myanmar) since the Commission first began…
English version Burmese version
Each year since 1999, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate Burma as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) for its systematic,…
Dec 13, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released…
December 13, 2016
USCIRF at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. publicly released two reports highlighting Burma’s serious religious freedom challenges: Hidden Plight: Christian Minorities in Burma and Suspended in Time: The…
Jan 18, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 18, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 20, 2017 marks the 11-year anniversary of the Eritrean government’s illegal removal of Abune Antonios as the rightful Patriarch of the…
Jul 19, 2017
The following op-ed originally appeared in Religion News Service on July 19, 2017
By former USCIRF Commissioner Thomas J. Reese, S.J.
(RNS) — Stories speak to the best and worst in all of us,…
The report documents ASEAN’s and the Member States’ approaches to the freedom of religion or belief, underscores the religious freedom-related challenges in the region that transcend country borders, and emphasizes the strategic importance of robust U.S…
Oct 11, 2017
USCIRF Vice Chairwoman Kristina Arriaga Testifies Before the House Oversight Committee
Arriaga tells Members that religious freedom violations “have security implications for the United States"
…
Oct 19, 2017
The following op-ed appeared in The Washington Examiner on September 26, 2017
By former USCIRF Commissioner Thomas J. Reese
Torture. Arbitrary arrests and detention without charges. A ban…
Nov 16, 2017
The following originally op-ed appeared in The Hill on November 16, 2017
By former USCIRF Commissioners Daniel Mark and Sandra Jolley
People love lists. And when those lists are in the news,…
On April 18, 2018, Commissioner Father Thomas Reese testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a hearing on the refugee crisis in Eritrea.In his testimony, Chair Reese discussed USCIRF's Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.…
Oct 9, 2018
This op-ed originally appeared in The Christian Post on September 18, 2018.
By Tenzin Dorjee and Nadine Maenza
It has been more than a year since Burmese authorities began a brutal campaign…
Oct 31, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 31, 2018
Burma Not Safe for Returning Rohingyas, Warns USCIRF
WASHINGTON, DC — Responding to the recent announcement by the governments of Burma and Bangladesh that…
Dec 3, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 3, 2018
USCIRF Presses for Targeted Sanctions for Atrocities Committed Against Burma’s Rohingya Muslims and Other Religious and Ethnic Communities
Call comes days before…
Dec 12, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 12, 2018
State Department Names the World’s Worst Violators of Religious Freedom
USCIRF Praises CPC Designation of Pakistan
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on…
On June 27, 2019, Vice Chair Nadine Maenza testified at a Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing on violations of the right to freedom of religion of Christian communities around the world.Written Testimony
Hearing Webpage
Jul 18, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 18, 2019
USCIRF Responds to Travel Ban on Burmese Military Officials
WASHINGTON, DC – On Tuesday, the State Department designated four Burmese military leaders as…
Aug 23, 2019
USCIRF Statement on UN Report of “Genocidal Intent” by Burmese Military in Sexual Violence Against Rohingya Muslims and Others
WASHINGTON, DC -- In response to a report released yesterday by United…
Aug 23, 2019
This op-ed was originally published by Inter Press Service, on August 26, 2019.
By Nadine Maenza and Anurima Bhargava
Monsoon season is currently wreaking havoc on the more than 911,000 Rohingya refugees displaced…
Gender:
Male
Current Location:
Wengel Mermera Central Criminal Investigation Interrogation Center
Perpetrator:
Eritrea
Religion or Belief:
Christian – Protestant…
Gender:
Male
Current Location:
Wengel Mermera Central Criminal Investigation Interrogation Center
Perpetrator:
Eritrea
Religion or Belief:
Christian – Protestant…
Gender:
Male
Current Location:
Wengel Mermera Central Criminal Investigation Interrogation Center
Perpetrator:
Eritrea
Religion or Belief:
Christian – Protestant…
Gender:
Male
Current Location:
Wengel Mermera Central Criminal Investigation Interrogation Center
Perpetrator:
Eritrea
Religion or Belief:
Christian – Protestant…