Displaying results 1 - 100 of 380

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…
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-…
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…
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-…
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;…
...that two years later there still have been no prosecutions stemming from Nigeria’s presidential post-election violence that killed more than 800?In April 2011, immediately following the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan, more than 800 people…
Apr 15, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 15, 2013| By USCIRF  WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ongoing attacks and retaliations by Muslims and Christians in Nigeria's violent, religiously and ethnically mixed Middle Belt has left more…
Click here to view USCIRF's report, Promoting and Protecting Religuous Freedom in Syria .
Apr 19, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent federal agency created to monitor religious freedom abuses abroad and make policy recommendations to the…
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…
FOR YOUR INFORMATIONMay 6, 2013 Beyond Boko Haram: Nigeria's History of Violence By: Tiffany Lynch  for the Council on Foreign Relations  - Posted on May 6 For almost two years, stories about violence in Nigeria have focused almost exclusively…
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 16, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMay 16, 2013 | By USCIRF WASHINGTON, D.C.- The two-year armed conflict in Syria has left at least 80,000 people dead and more than 5 million displaced. In his May 13, 2013 press conference with…
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 particularly severe religious freedom violations are increasingly perpetrated by non-state actors in failing or failed states?One of the greatest emerging threats to freedom of religion or belief comes not from the actions of governments but from…
Click here to view the July 2013 Factsheet: Syria’s Refugee Crisis and its Implications
....that Boko Haram has attacked more than 40 churches since 2012? Boko Haram, a Hausa-language name meaning “western education is a sin,” is an Islamic sect that sees the federal and northern state governments, as well as political and religious elites…
Click here to view the August 2013 Factsheet: Nigeria: Boko Haram’s Religiously-Motivated Attacks
Sep 11, 2013 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONSeptember 11, 2013 | By Robert P. George The following op-ed appeared in CNN World on September 11, 2013. Editor's note: Robert P. George is chairman of the U.S. Commission on International…
Sep 23, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 23, 2013| By USCIRF USCIRF Letter to President Obama on Upcoming Meeting with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) sent…
Oct 18, 2013 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONOctober 4, 2013 | By Robert P. George The following op-ed appeared in CNN World on October 4, 2013. Editor's note: Robert P. George is the chairman of the U.S. Commission on International…
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 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 15, 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 14, 2014| USCIRF The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today urged the U.S. government to emphasize the plight of religious minorities and the protection of…
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…
Dec 2, 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 2, 2014 I USCIRF WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly condemns the horrific November 28 attack on worshippers at Kano’s Central…
Click here to view the January 2015 Factsheet: Religious Freedom and Nigeria's 2015 Elections
Feb 2, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 2, 2015 | USCIRF WASHINGTON, D.C. - Reports of pre-election violence, combined with rising societal and political tensions, increase the likelihood of religiously-motivated violence…
Nigeria will hold presidential, federal parliamentary, and state parliamentary elections on March 28, 2015. The election previously was scheduled for February 14, 2015, but was pushed back due to security concerns in the north-east region of the country.…
Feb 27, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 27, 2015 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly condemns the abduction of more than 200 Assyrian Christians by militants of the…
Mar 16, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 16, 2015 | USCIRF WASHINGTON, D.C. — March 15 marked the 4th anniversary of the protests in Damascus, Aleppo and Daraa which set the stage for the Syrian conflict.  On this sad…
Apr 3, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 3, 2015 | USCIRF Calls on President-Elect to Govern Inclusively and Address Inter-Faith Tensions WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)…
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)…
Jul 17, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 17, 2015  WASHINGTON, D.C. – Hundreds of people have been killed in Boko Haram terrorist attacks throughout northern Nigeria and in sectarian violence in the Middle Belt during the past…
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…
Dec 1, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDecember 1, 2015 USCIRF Calls for Continued Syrian Refugee Resettlement Rigorous individualized vetting allows the United States to both welcome Syrian refugees and protect security.…
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 14, 2016 For Immediate Release March 14, 2016   WASHINGTON, D.C. — March 15 marks the 5th anniversary of the peaceful protests that set the stage for the Syrian conflict.  This conflict has spawned a…
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…
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…
Mar 15, 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 15, 2017   WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 15 marks the 6th anniversary of the start of the Syrian conflict. Since the conflict began, an estimated 400,000 people have been killed;…
Apr 27, 2017 The following op-ed appeared in the Georgetown University Berkley Forum on April 26, 2017. The op-ed also appeared in Religious Freedom Institute: Cornerstone.   By former USCIRF Commissioner Thomas J. Reese…
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. –…
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”  …
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,…
Jul 30, 2018 This op-ed originally appeared in The Hill on July 27, 2018. By former USCIRF Commissioners Tenzin Dorjee and Kristina Arriaga To the surprise of many, there is a foreign policy issue on which…
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 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…
The full report may be found here.   Summary of Findings   In Nigeria, a range of state and societal violations have adversely impacted religious freedom conditions in the country. As a result, since 2009, USCIRF has recommended the U.S…
Feb 16, 2019 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 15, 2019   USCIRF Releases Report on Violence in Central Nigeria on Eve of Presidential Elections   WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious…
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