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Nov 14, 2000
The Washington Post
November 14, 2000
By Elliott Abrams
An amendment signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens the "liquidation" of thousands of religious groups at the end of…
Presented by Commissioner Richard D. Land
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
Religion, Politics, and Human Rights
Russian Academy of Public Service
Moscow, Russia
March 18, 2002
Introduction
Russia has been traveling…
"Religious Freedom and U.S. Foreign Policy"
Presented by Commissioner Richard D. Land
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
Religion, Politics, and Human Rights
Russian Academy of Public Service
Moscow, Russia…
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…
As prepared
Presented by Commissioner Elizabeth Prodromou
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
Russian Presidential Administration's Academy of State Service, Moscow, Russia
February 9, 2006
"Human Rights and…
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…
Hearing on Sectarian Violence in Iraq and the Refugee Crisis: Remarks by Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR)
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.…
Hearing on Sectarian Violence in Iraq and the Refugee Crisis: Remarks by Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR)
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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Commissioner Statements
Statement of Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Co-Chairmen of the Helsinki Commission
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Statement of Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Co-Chairmen of the Helsinki Commission
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... that in 2012 Vladimir Putin signed into force five new Russian laws that restrict the civil and political rights of Russian civil society, including those of religious communities?Protests erupted across the Russian Federation, but particularly in…
Click here to view January 2013 Policy Brief, Russia: Unruly State of Law.
...that Turkey’s strict adherence to secularism has lead to religious freedom violations for Muslims and non-Muslims alike?Turkey imported and enshrined the French concept of secularism, or laïcité, into its constitution on February 5, 1937. Often…
Feb 14, 2013
FOR YOUR INFORMATIONFebruary 14, 2013 | By Katrina Lantos Swett and Catherine Cosman
The following op-ed appeared in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs on Wednesday, February 13, 2013.
"Russia is now a…
Apr 1, 2013
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
By USCIRF Chair Katrina Lantos Swett
Even as we prepare to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, European society's dark past of bigotry haunts our present
The following op-ed appeared…
…that April 8 is Yom Ha Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, but acts of anti-Semitism still occur in Europe?In Russia, xenophobia and intolerance, including anti-Semitism, fuel hate crimes by skinhead groups. In Belarus, the anti-Jewish utterances of…
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…
...that Europe’s largest internal armed conflict is in Russia’s North Caucasus, particularly Dagestan and Chechnya? The conflict in Russia’s North Caucasus region is the largest internal armed conflict in Europe, pitting Russian government forces against…
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…
Jun 28, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJune 28, 2012 | By USCIRF
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Russian State Duma on June 26 passed a controversial bill on "causing offense to the sentiments of religious believers." The bill now awaits only…
Aug 15, 2013
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
August 15, 2013 | By Katrina Lantos Swett and M. Zuhdi Jasser
The following op-ed appeared in The Moscow Times on August 15, 2013 | Issue…
...that since August 2011 Turkey has returned more than 300 previously-expropriated properties to the country’s religious minority communities? However, many more properties have not been returned.Starting in 1936, the Turkish government expropriated…
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,…
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)…
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…
Feb 5, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 5, 2014 | USCIRF
The upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics has thrust Russia into the world spotlight. The Kremlin’s increasing intolerance, however, deserves equal, if not greater, attention.…
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…
Nov 10, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENovember 10, 2014 | USCIRF
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two anniversaries this month highlight the importance of continually confronting and combatting anti-Semitism wherever and whenever it arises.…
Nov 20, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENovember 20, 2014 | USCIRF
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today urged the Turkish government to reopen the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary, the…
Dec 1, 2014
FOR YOUR INFORMATIONDecember 1, 2014 | By Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett and Dr. Robert P. George
The following op-ed appeared in The Moscow Times on November 26, 2014. The op-ed also appeared in the Kyiv Post.…
Apr 23, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 23, 2015 | USCIRF
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today solemnly marks the 100 year anniversary of the tragic killing of over one million…
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 27, 2015
FOR YOUR INFORMATIONJuly 27, 2015 | By: M. Zuhdi Jasser and Katrina Lantos Swett
The following op-ed appeared in The Moscow Times on July 26, 2015
How will Europe's human rights court respond to a…
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…
Oct 14, 2015
FOR YOUR INFORMATIONOctober 14, 2015 | Mary Ann Glendon and Katrina Lantos Swett
The following op-ed appeared in the Atlantic Council on October 14, 2015. This op-ed also appeared in Newsweek.
"We cannot stand…
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 24, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENovember 24, 2015
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) calls on the Turkish government to reopen the Greek Orthodox Theological School of Halki,…
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 17, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDecember 17, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C – A new study of textbooks used in Turkey’s compulsory “Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge” class found both improvements and issues of concern. The U.S.…
A new study of textbooks used in Turkey's compulsory "Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge" class found both improvements and issues of concern. USCIRF sponsored this study, which was conducted by Ziya Meral, a Turkish expert and 2010 USCIRF Crapa Fellow…
Jan 27, 2016
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
January 27, 2016 | M. Zuhdi Jasser and Thomas J. Reese
The following op-ed appeared in USA Today on January 27, 2016
As the United States and the world today mark International…
Mar 18, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two years ago today, Russia unlawfully annexed the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, cynically using the Orthodox “culture, civilization, and…
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,…
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…
May 4, 2016
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
May 4, 2016 | Robert P. George and Hannah Rosenthal
The following op/ed appeared in USA Today on May 3, 2016
Should it be a crime to deny the existence of God?
In the Russian city…
Jul 8, 2016
Click here to view this press release in Russian.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 7 signed into law a package of anti-terrorism…
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…
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…
Apr 3, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2017
RUSSIA: Russia Suspends Jehovah’s Witnesses
USCIRF Condemns Actions That Would Eliminate the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Legal Existence in Russia
Washington, D.C. – Russia…
Apr 20, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2017
RUSSIA: Supreme Court Outlaws the Jehovah’s Witnesses
USCIRF Condemns Russian Supreme Court Decision Banning the Jehovah’s Witnesses
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S.…
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…
Apr 28, 2017
The following op-ed appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer on April 27, 2017
By former USCIRF Commissioners Thomas J. Reese and Daniel Mark
On April 26, the U.S. Commission on International…
May 19, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2017
RUSSIA: Release Bagir Kazikhanov
USCIRF Commissioner John Ruskay tells the Russian Government to
“Stop Equating Peaceful Religious Behavior with Terrorism…
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…