Displaying results 1 - 100 of 1191

November 6, 2003 Remarks by President George W. Bush on the 20th Anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy United States Chamber of Commerce Washington, D.C. President Bush's remarks on the 20th Anniversary of the National Endowment…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 16, 2004 Contact: Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27 WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today met with Secretary of State Colin Powell as part of…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEOctober 12, 2005Contact:Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is concerned that members of religious minority communities who have…
Senate Russell Office Building July 25, 2007 Hearing Agenda Opening Remarks- Michael Cromartie, Commission Chair Statement (as Delivered)- Representative Anna G. Eshoo, (D-CA) Statement (as Delivered)- Representative Christopher Shays, (R-…
Senate Russell Office Building July 25, 2007 Hearing Agenda Opening Remarks- Michael Cromartie, Commission Chair Statement (as Delivered)- Representative Anna G. Eshoo, (D-CA) Statement (as Delivered)- Representative Christopher Shays, (R-…
Senate Russell Office Building July 25, 2007 Hearing Agenda Opening Remarks- Michael Cromartie, Commission Chair Statement (as Delivered)- Representative Anna G. Eshoo, (D-CA) Statement (as Delivered)- Representative Christopher Shays, (R-…
Sep 19, 2007 Dirksen Senate Office Building September 19, 2007 Summary Agenda Opening Remarks - Michael Cromartie, Commission Chair Remarks - Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) Remarks - Sen. Gordon Smith…
Sep 19, 2007 Dirksen Senate Office Building September 19, 2007 Summary Agenda Opening Remarks - Michael Cromartie, Commission Chair Remarks - Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) Remarks - Sen. Gordon Smith (R-…
Hearing on the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2004 and the Designation of Countries of Particular Concern Before the House International Relations Committee of the United States House of Representatives October 6, 2004 USCIRF…
Wednesday, September 19, 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 138 SUMMARY The United States is taking measures to step up processing of Iraqi refugees, a senior State Department official told a hearing of the U.S.…
Wednesday, September 19, 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 138 OBJECTIVES Although observers have watched Iraq's cycle of sectarian violence with growing alarm, neither governments nor the media have considered the…
September 19, 2007 Good afternoon. My name is Michael Cromartie, and I serve as chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. I'd like to welcome you today to our second of two hearings on the situation in Iraq. The first…
September 19, 2007 And I welcome you to an appropriations committee hearing room in the Senate. It's nice to have an appropriation committee hearing room for a proceeding like this, an important proceeding. It doesn't cost the government any…
September 19, 2007 Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me to this meeting of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. I'm honored to testify before you today on the plight of refugees in Iraq. Since the…
September 19, 2007 I'm Congressman Steve Israel. I represent Long Island, New York. In addition to that, I have been working on a bipartisan initiative with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on areas where we can agree on Iraq. Our debate…
September 19, 2007 Thank you for asking me to appear. I have been asked today to discuss primarily the effects of sectarian violence on religious freedom and human rights, with particular attention to the Shiite perspective and Shiite-on-Shiite…
September 19, 2007 Research Memo Can the U.S. Influence Political Progress in Iraq? *Judith S. Yaphe Summary: Regardless of the debate over the success or failure of the military surge in Iraq, Americans and Iraqis agree on one key…
September 19, 2007 Introduction I would like to thank the Commission for the opportunity to appear before you on behalf of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. UNHCR is charged by the international community to ensure refugee protection and to…
September 19, 2007 The Displacement Crisis Iraq is experiencing the worst human displacement of its history, with over 2.2 million persons displaced within its borders and an additional two million who have fled the country to the surrounding region…
September 19, 2007 Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Commission, it is an honor to appear before you to discuss issues related to Iraqi refugees. What I want to do today is lay out what we have done, are doing and plan to do to protect…
July 25, 2007 The grave, life-threatening conditions faced by Iraq's minority religious communities have not been fully aired in Washington, much less the national media. Representatives from these communities have been requesting such an…
Mar 20, 2008 Wednesday, September 19, 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 138 SUMMARY The United States is taking measures to step up processing of Iraqi refugees, a senior State Department…
Mar 20, 2008 September 19, 2007 Good afternoon. My name is Michael Cromartie, and I serve as chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. I'd like to welcome you today to our second of two hearings on…
Mar 20, 2008 September 19, 2007 And I welcome you to an appropriations committee hearing room in the Senate. It's nice to have an appropriation committee hearing room for a proceeding like this, an important proceeding.…
Mar 20, 2008 September 19, 2007 Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me to this meeting of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. I'm honored to testify before you today on the…
Mar 20, 2008 September 19, 2007 Thank you for asking me to appear. I have been asked today to discuss primarily the effects of sectarian violence on religious freedom and human rights, with particular attention to the…
September 19, 2007 Research Memo Can the U.S. Influence Political Progress in Iraq? *Judith S. Yaphe Summary: Regardless of the debate over the success or failure of the military surge in Iraq, Americans and Iraqis agree on one key…
September 19, 2007 Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Commission, it is an honor to appear before you to discuss issues related to Iraqi refugees. What I want to do today is lay out what we have done, are doing and plan to do to protect…
September 19, 2007 Introduction I would like to thank the Commission for the opportunity to appear before you on behalf of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. UNHCR is charged by the international community to ensure refugee protection and to…
September 19, 2007 The Displacement Crisis Iraq is experiencing the worst human displacement of its history, with over 2.2 million persons displaced within its borders and an additional two million who have fled the country to the surrounding region…
Wednesday, September 19, 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 138 OBJECTIVES Although observers have watched Iraq's cycle of sectarian violence with growing alarm, neither governments nor the media have considered the…
July 25, 2007 The grave, life-threatening conditions faced by Iraq's minority religious communities have not been fully aired in Washington, much less the national media. Representatives from these communities have been requesting such an…
July 25, 2007 Good morning. My name is Michael Cromartie, and I chair the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. I'd like to welcome you to a hearing to examine the serious threats faced by Iraq's communities of antiquity: the…
July 25, 2007 Introduction Good morning, Mr. Chairman and honorable members of the commission. It is an honor to have been invited by you to come and testify today to the commission about Iraq's religious and ethnic minorities. As the only…
July 25, 2007 You rightfully heard, I think, a very extensive presentation by my colleague. And I'd just like to associate myself with her. I've hit my stopwatch and I'll go no more than four minutes, because I can just basically say…
July 25, 2007 Minorities in Iraq The issue of minorities in Iraq needs to be viewed in light of the current state of affairs in Iraq. The situation is unbelievably bad for minorities. It is difficult to imagine how much worse things could become,…
July 25, 2007 My name is Pascale Warda. I am an Assyrian Christian from the Chaldean Catholic Church, and I live in Baghdad, Iraq. In 2004, during the first transitional Iraqi government, under Prime Minister Ayad Alawi I held the position of…
July 25, 2007 I, Donny George Youkhanna, confirm that I am a citizen of Iraq, I was born in Habania, Anbar province, in Iraq, on the day of twenty third of the month of October in the year of nineteen hundred and fifty, I am an Assyrian Christian,…
Threats to Iraq's Communities of Antiquity: Testimony by Michael Youash July 25, 2007 Introduction I would like to thank the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for distinguishing itself yet again on the subject of…
July 25, 2007 The Sabian-Mandaean religion is one of the oldest monotheistic religious groups in the Middle East living mainly in Southern Iraq, and some in Iran. The religion is independent of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It follows the…
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Event Transcript Commissioner Statements Statement of Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Co-Chairmen of the Helsinki Commission Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE…
Event Transcript Commissioner Statements Statement of Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Co-Chairmen of the Helsinki Commission Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE…
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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.  …
...that police detained over 900 people from Beijing’s Shouwang Church last year for trying to hold outdoor worship services? For the past two years, Shouwang members have tried to hold weekly services in Beijing parks only to face repeated detentions,…
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 14, 2013 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONMay 14, 2013 | By Katrina Lantos Swett The following was published in the Washington Post, On Faith on May 14, 2013. Fifteen years ago, on May 14, 1998, U.S. House of Representatives voted in…
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…
Jun 26, 2013 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONJune 26, 2013 |By Katrina Lantos Swett Editor"s note: Katrina Lantos Swett is the chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The views expressed are the writer"s own. The…
...that Uighur Muslims experience some of the most severe religious freedom restrictions in China. In response to July 5, 2009 demonstrations that broke out after Uighur and Han Chinese men clashed in a factory dispute, the Chinese government expanded its…
Jul 25, 2013 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONJuly 24, 2013 | By Katrina Lantos Swett and Mary Ann Glendon The following appeared in CNN World/GPS on July 23rd, 2013. Editor"s note: Katrina Lantos Swett is chairwoman of the U.S. Commission…
Click here to view the October 2013 Factsheet: China: 20 Questions on Religious Freedom for China's Universal Periodic Review
Oct 31, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 31, 2013 | By USCIRF USCIRF Letter to President Obama on Upcoming Meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)…
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…
Dec 11, 2013 FOR YOUR INFORMATION December 11, 2013 | By Katrina Lantos Swett and Mary Ann Glendon The following op-ed appeared in Reuters & the Chicago Tribune on December 10, 2013. December 10 marks Human Rights Day,…
Jan 28, 2014 FOR YOUR INFORMATION January 27, 2014 | By  Robert P. George    The following op-ed appeared in  The Hill  on January 27, 2014. I testified before the Congressional Tom Lantos Human…
Title 2025 Annual Report - Sri Lanka Chapter File Upload Sri Lanka 2025 USCIRF Annual Report.pdf Language English Year 2025…
Jul 7, 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 7, 2014 | USCIRF WASHINGTON, DC – As Muslims around the world observe the holy month of Ramadan, Uighur Muslims in China face far-reaching restrictions on their religious practices. …
Jul 22, 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) joins the U.S. State Department in condemning in the strongest terms the actions of the terrorist group…
Jul 30, 2014 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONJuly 30, 2014 | By Katrina Lantos Swett and M. Zuhdi Jasser The following op-ed appeared on RNS on July 29, 2014.  This op-ed also appeared in the Washington Post. While last month marked the…
Aug 6, 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAugust 6, 2014 | USCIRF The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemns in the strongest terms the actions that the terrorist group ISIL, the Islamic State of Iraq and the…
Sep 25, 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 25, 2014 | USCIRF WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly condemns the life sentence handed down to respected Uighur Muslim scholar…
Oct 30, 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEOctober 30, 2014 | USCIRF WASHINGTON, D.C. -  The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemns the recent formal arrest of Wu Zeheng, also known as Buddhist Zen…
In December 2012, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, in conjunction with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and Amnesty International USA, launched the Defending Freedoms Project with the aim of supporting human rights and…
The Chinese government continues to perpetrate particularly severe violations of religious freedom.  In May 2014, USCIRF released its 2014 Annual Report and again recommended that China be designated as a “country of particular concern,” or…
Feb 26, 2015 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONFebruary 26, 2015 | By Katrina Lantos Swett & Robert P. George The following op-ed appeared in Al Jazeera America on February 26, 2015.   By all accounts, the past year in China…
Jun 8, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJune 8, 2015 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) solemnly marks the one year anniversary of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s (ISIL)…
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom sent the following letter to Secretary Kerry on June 18, 2015. The Honorable John F. Kerry Secretary of State U.S. Department of State Washington, DC 20520   Dear Secretary Kerry: I write…
Jun 18, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJune 18, 2015 For Uighur Muslims in China’s autonomous region of Xinjiang, observing Ramadan – a month-long period of introspection, fasting, prayer, and devotion – is difficult, if not…
Jul 6, 2015 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONJuly 6, 2015 | Robert P. George and Katrina Lantos Swett The following op-ed appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on July 5, 2015 Today, July 6, the Dalai Lama of Tibet, a modern-day exemplar of…
Aug 3, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) this week solemnly marks the one-year anniversary of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant's (ISIL) attacks in…
Sep 22, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 22, 2015 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) solemnly marks the one-year anniversary of the life sentence handed down to Chinese Uighur…
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…
Oct 21, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEOctober 21, 2015 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomed the October 14 release by the U.S. State Department of its International Religious…
USCIRF Chairman Robert P. George testified on October 27, 2015 before Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee at a hearing titled "The Global Crisis of Religious…
Dec 7, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDecember 7, 2015 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today issued the following statement:   USCIRF calls on the U.S. government to…
Dec 10, 2015 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONDecember 10, 2015 | Mary Ann Glendon and Katrina Lantos Swett The following op-ed appeared in The National Interest on December 10, 2015 December 10 marks Human Rights Day, the sixty-seventh…
Mar 18, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MArch 18, 2016   Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes the State Department’s decision proclaiming that groups including Yazidis,…
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 Chairman Robert P. George testified on Tuesday, April 19, 2016 before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a hearing entitled "Confronting the Genocide of Religious Minorities: A Way Forward."From the testimony: "USCIRF in 2015 called on the U…
Jul 6, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 6, 2016   WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Muslims around the world mark the end of Ramadan with Eid al-Fitr celebrations, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)…
Aug 25, 2016 FOR YOUR INFORMATION August 25, 2016 | Kristina Arriaga and Rev. Thomas J. Reese, S.J. The following op/ed appeared in The Hill on August 25, 2016.   Many men, women, and children each year…
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…
Aug 31, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 31, 2016   WASHINGTON, D.C. – Religious freedom conditions in China have deteriorated under the leadership of President Xi Jinping.  Given this deterioration, the U.S.…
Nov 10, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON, D.C. – As coalition forces begin the liberation of Mosul, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) notes that November 13 is the one-year…
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…
Apr 25, 2017 Click here to read the Chinese translation of the letter. Click here to read the Tibetan translation of the letter.    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 25, 2017   OPEN LETTER FROM USCIRF…
May 30, 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 1, 2017     KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ: New USCIRF Report on Religious Minorities in the KRI USCIRF recognizes the KRI’s religious freedoms as “comparatively robust” as…
Click here to view the report: Wilting in the Kurdish Sun: The Hopes and Fears of Religious Minorities in Northern IraqClick here to view the printable version of the report (High resolution) Click here to view the condensed version of the…
Jun 9, 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   USCIRF Commends House Passage of Genocide Accountability Act Urges Senate Action USCIRF declares that “the perpetrators of genocide must be held to account”   WASHINGTON, D.C. –…
Jul 5, 2017 Click here to see coverage from The Economist on USCIRF's press release. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 5, 2017 CHINA: USCIRF Condemns Ramadan Restrictions in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region “The Chinese government…
USCIRF Commissioner Tenzin Dorjee testified on July 12, 2017 before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a hearing titled: "Tibet: Freedom of Religion." Commissioner Dorjee is the first Tibetan Buddhist appointed to serve on USCIRF and was…
Jul 13, 2017 Click here to read Vice Chair Jolley's letter to Gulmira Imin. Click here to read the Uyghur translation of the letter to Gulmira Imin   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 14, 2017   Open Letter from…
Aug 3, 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 3, 2017   USCIRF Condemns Egypt’s Deportation of Uighur Muslims to China “These latest moves show a calculated indifference to the Uighur Muslim community” WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S…
Oct 5, 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEOctober 5, 2017   H.R. 390: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Passes Genocide Bill USCIRF Chairman Mark calls committee action “a key step toward helping victims of ISIS genocide”  …
Oct 12, 2017 The following op-ed appeared in Huffington Post on October 12, 2017 By former Commissioner Tenzin Dorjee and Congressman Jim Mcgovern   Imagine you are a 6-year-old. Your world is your family, friends…