Displaying results 1 - 100 of 344

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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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,…
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…
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…
Jul 26, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON D.C. -- The Kazakh government reportedly soon will try two activists for their religious freedom-related activities. Atheist blogger Aleksandr Kharlamov, 63, had been held for four…
Click here to view the August 2013 Policy Brief, Burma: Implications of Religious and Ethnic Violence
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Click here to view the September 2014 Factsheet: Burma: USCIRF Examines Religious Freedom Violations During Fact-finding Trip to Burma
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…
Click here to view USCIRF's report, Burma: USCIRF Issues Report on Religious Freedom and Related Human Rights Violations.
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 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…
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)…
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 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…
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-…
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…
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 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 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…
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…
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…
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…
Burma Chapter - 2017 Annual Report Burmese Translation
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. –…
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 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 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"  …
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,…
Click here to view the April 2018 Country Update, Burma: Insights from USCIRF’s Visits to Burma and Bangladesh
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…
Nov 29, 2018 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 29, 2018   USCIRF Applauds Passage of H.R. 390 by Congress    WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today applauded…
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 11, 2018 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 11, 2018   USCIRF Welcomes President Trump Signing the Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act    WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on…
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…
 Burma Chapter - 2019 Annual Report Burmese Translation
Host: Anurima Bhargava, Commissioner Country Expert: Tina Mufford, Deputy Director of Research and Policy