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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 13, 2001 Contact: Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27 WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent government agency advising the…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 8, 2002 Contact: Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27 WASHINGTON - The upcoming visit of Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov affords President Bush and the Secretary of State the…
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…
Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2226 November 27, 2001 Commission members (left to right): Richard D. Land, Nina Shea, The Hon. Charles R. Stith, Executive Director Steven T. McFarland,…
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 11, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 11, 2013| By USCIRF The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom strongly condemns a series of terror attacks that took place on January 10 targeting Pakistani Shi'a Muslims.…
Mar 2, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMARCH 1, 2013| By USCIRF The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) marked the 2nd anniversary of the murder of Shahbaz Bhatti with a renewed call for the Pakistani government…
. . . that Uzbekistan pressures neighboring Central Asian countries to return asylum seekers who have fled Uzbek government repression of their religious freedoms?Since Uzbekistan gained independence in 1991, its government has systematically and…
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom sent the following letter to Secretary of State Kerry on April 12, 2013. The Honorable John F. Kerry Secretary of State U.S. Department of State Washington, DC 20520 Dear Secretary Kerry: I…
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 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…
Jul 2, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 2, 2013 | By USCIRF WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A suicide bomber attacked a Shia neighborhood in Quetta, the capital city of Pakistan's Baluchistan province, on Sunday June 30, killing at least 36…
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…
Click here to view the July 2013 Factsheet: Pakistan’s History of Violence: A Chronology of Targeted Violence against Religious CommunitiesClick here to view the July 2013 Briefing on the Future of Religious Freedom in Pakistan…
Aug 12, 2013 For Your Information August 12, 2013 | By Robert P. George The following op-ed appeared in Foreign Policy on August 9, 2013: On Sunday, August 11, Pakistan will celebrate National Minorities Day, giving recently-…
Aug 22, 2013 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONAugust 21, 2013 | By Robert P. George and Katrina Lantos Swett The following op-ed appeared in The Washington Post on August 21, 2013. Although religious freedom is a pivotal human right,…
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 25, 2013 FOR YOUR INFORMATION September 20, 2013 | By Robert P. George The following op-ed appeared in the Christian Science Monitor on September 20, 2013. As the UN General Assembly begins its new session,…
Sep 25, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 25, 2013| By USCIRF On Sunday September 22, reportedly the worst attack on Pakistani Christians in that nation's history took place. On that day, two suicide bombers attacked the All…
Oct 18, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEOctober 18, 2013| USCIRF During his October 23 White House meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, USCIRF urges President Obama to raise concerns about the dire religious freedom…
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)…
Nov 8, 2013 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONNovember 7, 2013 | By Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett The following op-ed appeared in the Christian Science Monitor on November 7, 2013. As the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of…
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…
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…
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…
Click here to view the August 2014 Factsheet: Pakistan: Violence Towards Religious Communities in Pakistan 
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…
Many countries around the world have laws that punish expression deemed blasphemous, defamatory of religion, or contemptuous or insulting to religion or religious symbols, figures, or feelings.  The application of these laws has resulted in…
Mar 17, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 17, 2015 WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Sunday, March 15, the day an official U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) delegation to Pakistan departed the country, Pakistani…
May 13, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMay 13, 2015 | USCIRF WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Andijon massacre.  On May 13, 2005, as…
May 14, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMay 14, 2015 | USCIRF  WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Pakistani Taliban splinter group now reportedly affiliated with ISIL, on May 13 murdered at least 45 Ismaili Muslims in Karachi.  The killers…
Jun 3, 2015 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONJune 3, 2015 | Katrina Lantos Swett and Mary Ann Glendon The following op-ed appeared in The National Interest on June 3, 2015 A court in Afghanistan recently sentenced eleven police officers…
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…
Aug 11, 2015 FOR YOUR INFORMATIONAugust 11, 2015 | Katrina Lantos Swett and Mary Ann Glendon The following op-ed appeared in Foreign Policy on August 10, 2015 As their nation celebrates National Minorities Day on Tuesday, August…
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…
Nov 30, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENovember 30, 2015 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemns in the strongest possible terms the heinous attack on an Ahmadi Muslim factory and…
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…
Feb 1, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 1, 2016   WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly condemns the arrest, detention, and sentencing of Abul Shakoor, an 80-year…
Mar 1, 2016 Pakistan: On Fifth Anniversary of Shahbaz Bhatti Assassination, USCIRF Calls for Reform and Repeal of Blasphemy Law   WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on March…
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…
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…
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…
Oct 14, 2016 FOR YOUR INFORMATION October 14, 2016 | Kristina Arriaga and Sandra Jolley  The following op-ed appeard in Newsweek Pakistan on October 14, 2016   “I raise my voice… not so I can shout, but so that…
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…
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 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 9, 2016   WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemns the raid by Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on 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…