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July 14, 2016
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 testimony:
“Blasphemy laws lie at the intersection of two crucially important freedoms – the freedoms of religion and expression, both of which are being challenged today. In addition, blasphemy laws often lead to instability and violence in countries around the world, with negative consequences for individuals, communities, and nations.”
Click here to read Chair Reese's full testimony.
Click here to watch the hearing.
June 28, 2013
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 a presidential signature before becoming law, most likely on July 1. The bill would punish alleged offenses against religious sentiments by up to three years in prison.
"With space for free expression shrinking rapidly in Russia, enactment of this bill would further erode human rights protections in Russia,” said U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chair Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett. "Speech limitations violate Russia's international commitments, and this law will lead to abuse and arbitrary rulings against permissible speech that some deem ‘offensive.”
First introduced last fall, theso-called "blasphemy law" has provoked an outcry from many who warn that the law would violate the Russianconstitutional separation of religion and state, and predict that officials will use it to target critics of the Moscow Patriarchate. Many also assert that while the Duma's Social andReligious Organizations Committee, theKremlin human rights council, andthe Public Chamber all amendedthe bill, its major flaws were not addressed.
The bill states that "public acts held near religious sites that show blatant disrespect for society and intended to offend believers" religious sentiments' would be penalized by fines of up to 300,000 rubles (more than $9,000) or punished by forced labor or prison terms of up to one year. If alleged offenses are committed inside religious sites, the bill sets higher penalties, with fines of up to 500,000 rubles (more than $15,000) or up to three-years of forced labor and prison plus post-imprisonment restrictions of up to one year. Russian citizens convicted of obstructing religious activities will face increased fines as will those who use their official positions for committing such an offense who also could face "corrective labor" of up to two years or a prison term of up to one year.
" When I was in Moscow in September 2012 , I raised concerns about this measure and the general respect for international human rights norms. If enacted, this new law gives credence to the view Russian human rights activists expressed to me that Russia is in full retreat from democracy and the rule of law,” concluded Dr. Lantos Swett.
USCIRF's concerns about the deteriorating status of religious freedom is detailed in the 2013 Annual Report chapter on Russia .
To interview a USCIRF Commissioner please contact USCIRF at (202) 523-3258 or media@uscirf.gov .
September 25, 2013
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, a colossal gulf is again visible - a gulf between what international human rights law and UN resolutions say, and what some member nations do. A concrete effort must be made by the international community to close this gulf.
One glaring example is how some countries treat people who dare to express dissenting views about religion. A number of nations uphold and enforce laws that punish their own citizens for religious dissent or what they view as deviance from sacred norms. Under such laws and practices, dissidents may find their views labeled as blasphemous, defamatory, or insulting to religious symbols, figures, or feelings. If they are tried and convicted, some face draconian punishments, including execution.
Read full article here.
To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact Kalinda Stephenson at 202-786-0613 or kstephenson@uscirf.gov.
December 07, 2020
Dec 7, 2020
There are 84 countries across the globe with criminal blasphemy laws on the books as of 2020. While only a handful of countries enforce these laws, there are still 84 countries in which a person could face criminal charges for insulting or offending religious doctrines in regions that include Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and others.
There are a plethora of ways that governments’ enforcement of blasphemy laws undermines human rights, including freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression.
Featuring:
Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF
Elizabeth Cassidy, Director of Research and Policy, USCIRF
December 09, 2020
Dec 9, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
USCIRF Releases Groundbreaking Report on the Enforcement of Blasphemy Laws Globally
WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released a new report entitled Violating Rights: Enforcing the World’s Blasphemy Laws. Eighty-four countries around the globe maintain laws that criminalize expression which insults or offends religious doctrines. This report examines and compares the implementation of blasphemy laws between 2014 and 2018, identifying 732 total cases in 41 countries.
“This report provides extensive data and illustrative examples to demonstrate the plethora of ways that governments’ enforcement of blasphemy laws undermines human rights, including freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression,” said USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin. “It is no coincidence that the top six countries with the highest number of blasphemy cases—Pakistan, Iran, Russia, India, Egypt, and Indonesia—are all countries that USCIRF identifies as among the world’s worst violators of religious freedom.”
The report also examines how blasphemy laws can mobilize non-state violence. Of the 732 cases found, 674 of those cases involved state enforcement of criminal blasphemy laws. Seventy-eight of the 674 cases with state enforcement included mob activity, threats, and/or violence around blasphemy. There were 58 additional incidents where mob activity, threats, and/or violence occurred around rumors or allegations of blasphemy without state enforcement of the criminal blasphemy law.
“USCIRF has consistently called on countries to abolish blasphemy laws, and this report provides further evidence of why global repeal is urgently needed,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Tony Perkins. “The existence of blasphemy laws empowers extremists to take the law in their own hands and employ violence extrajudicially. In just one example, we have recently seen a devastating uptick in mob violence related to blasphemy allegations in Pakistan.”
This report is a follow up to USCIRF’s 2017 report Respecting Rights? Measuring the World’s Blasphemy Laws, which compiled many of the world’s blasphemy laws and analyzed the laws’ texts against international human rights principles. In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF noted its concern that several countries implemented new or increased penalties for blasphemy in 2019. USCIRF also has issued reports on the enforcement of blasphemy laws in Indonesia and Pakistan, along with a report on apostasy, blasphemy and hate speech laws in Africa.
USCIRF will be holding a hearing on Blasphemy Laws and the Violation of International Religious Freedom this morning at 10:30 AM EST. Please register for this event here.
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at Media@USCIRF.gov.
December 09, 2020
Click here to view the report Violating Rights: Enforcing the World’s Blasphemy Laws
USCIRF’s groundbreaking report examines the enforcement of blasphemy laws worldwide. Blasphemy laws criminalize expressions that insults or offends religious doctrines. Focusing on five-year period of 2014 to 2018, this report provides extensive data and illustrative examples to demonstrate the plethora of ways that governments’ enforcement of blasphemy laws undermines human rights, including freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression.
Key findings from this study include the following:
- There are 84 countries across the globe with criminal blasphemy laws on the books as of 2020.
- Researchers, using publicly available sources, found 732 reported blasphemy-related incidents from 2014-2018 across 41 countries, or 49%, of countries with criminal blasphemy laws.
- Of those 732 incidents, 674 were reported cases of state criminal blasphemy law enforcement. Of the 674 cases of state enforcement, mob activity, violence, or threats occurred in 78 cases.
- 81% of the cases of state enforcement were in only 10 of the countries: Pakistan, Iran, Russia, India, Egypt, Indonesia, Yemen, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
- Together, the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions accounted for 84% of the world’s enforcement of blasphemy laws.
- In 43, or 51%, of these 84 countries, researchers did not find a single case of enforcement of criminal blasphemy laws. Researchers found no reported cases of state enforcement of criminal blasphemy laws in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Of the 732 incidents, 58 were incidents of mob activity, violence, or threats around blasphemy allegations that occurred in situations where there was no state enforcement of the blasphemy law.
- Nearly 80% of the incidents of mob activity, violence, or threats (with or without state enforcement), took place in only four of the countries: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Egypt.
- In just over half the cases of state enforcement, news reports identified the religion or belief of the accused. Of those cases, Muslims accounted for more than half (56%) of the persons arrested, prosecuted, and/or punished for alleged blasphemy crimes. Other groups frequently targeted for criminal blasphemy law enforcement, where identified, included: Christians (25%), Atheists (7%), Baha’is (7%), and Hindus (3%).
- More than one-quarter (27%) of reported cases implicated alleged blasphemous speech posted on social media platforms.
April 21, 2021
Apr 21, 2021
USCIRF Releases 2021 Annual Report with Recommendations for U.S. Policy
No Longer Recommends Three Countries for Special Watch List
Washington, D.C. – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released its 2021 Annual Report documenting developments during 2020, including significant progress in countries such as Sudan. Meanwhile, other nations implemented laws and policies that further target religious communities, and in some cases amount to genocide and crimes against humanity. USCIRF’s 2021 Annual Report provides recommendations to enhance the U.S. government’s promotion of freedom of religion or belief abroad.
In its report, USCIRF also monitored public health measures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and their impact on freedom of religion or belief. In many cases, these measures complied with international human rights standards, but in some countries, already marginalized religious communities faced official and societal stigmatization, harassment, and discrimination for allegedly causing or spreading the virus.
“This past year was challenging for most nations trying to balance public health concerns alongside the fundamental right to freedom of religion or belief. Though some governments took advantage of the restrictions to target specific religious communities, we were encouraged by the positive steps various countries took. For example, as a result of COVID-19 outbreaks, many prisoners of conscience were furloughed or released, such as in Eritrea,” USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin said. “USCIRF will continue to monitor how countries respond to and recover from COVID-19, and whether the loosening of restrictions is fair to people of all faiths and nonbelievers.”
USCIRF’s independence and bipartisanship enables it to unflinchingly identify threats to religious freedom around the world. In the 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF recommends 14 countries to the State Department for designation as “countries of particular concern” (CPCs) because their governments engage in or tolerate “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations.” These include 10 that the State Department designated as CPCs in December 2020—Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan—as well as four others—India, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam. For the first time ever, the State Department designated Nigeria as a CPC in 2020, which USCIRF had been recommending since 2009.
The 2021 Annual Report also recommends 12 countries for placement on the State Department’s Special Watch List (SWL) based on their governments’ perpetration or toleration of severe violations. These include two that the State Department placed on that list in December 2020—Cuba and Nicaragua—as well as 10 others—Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. In 2021, USCIRF is not recommending SWL placement for Bahrain, the Central African Republic (CAR), and Sudan, which were among its SWL recommendations in its 2020 Annual Report. USCIRF has concluded that, although religious freedom concerns remain in all three countries, conditions last year did not meet the high threshold required to recommend SWL status.
The 2021 Annual Report further recommends to the State Department seven non-state actors for redesignation as “entities of particular concern” (EPCs) for systematic, ongoing, egregious violations. The State Department designated all seven of these groups as EPCs in December 2020—al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, the Houthis, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), and the Taliban.
“In 2020, the Trump administration continued to prioritize international religious freedom. Much progress was made, and our 2021 Annual Report makes recommendations about how Congress and the Executive Branch, now under President Biden, can further advance the U.S. commitment to freedom of religion abroad,” USCIRF Vice Chair Tony Perkins stated. “In order to maintain the crucial momentum of international religious freedom as a U.S. foreign policy priority, USCIRF strongly urges the Biden administration to take a unique action for each country designated as a CPC to provide accountability for religious freedom abuses and to implement the other recommendations contained in our report.”
In addition to chapters with key findings and U.S. policy recommendations for these 26 countries, the annual report describes and assesses U.S. international religious freedom policy overall. The report also highlights important global developments and trends related to religious freedom during 2020, including in countries that do not meet the criteria for CPC or SWL recommendations. These include: COVID-19 and religious freedom; attacks on houses of worship; political unrest leading to religious freedom violations; blasphemy laws; global antisemitism; and China’s international influence on religious freedom and human rights.
“USCIRF’s 2021 Annual Report documents both the deepening of religious divides, and intensified religious persecution and violence during the global pandemics; and the swift and significant progress that can and has been made, as in Sudan, to support and strengthen religious communities of all faiths,” USCIRF Vice Chair Anurima Bhargava added. “We urge the Biden administration and Congress to champion religious freedom and to center the safety and dignity of religious communities as foreign policy priorities. USCIRF recommends that the administration should immediately increase the annual ceiling for refugees; and definitively and publicly conclude that the atrocities committed against the Rohingya people by the Burmese military constitute genocide and take action accordingly; as the State Department recently determined regarding China’s genocide against Uyghur and other Turkic Muslims.”
The report includes two new sections, one highlighting key USCIRF recommendations that the U.S. government has implemented from USCIRF 2020 annual report, and the other addressing human rights violations perpetrated based on the coercive enforcement of interpretations of religion.
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at Media@USCIRF.gov or Danielle Ashbahian at dashbahian@uscirf.gov or +1-202-702-2778.
May 27, 2021
May 27, 2021
Blasphemy laws criminalize expression that insults or offends religious doctrines. Such laws are often used to restrict freedom of religion or belief. As of 2020, 84 countries still had blasphemy laws. The severity of a blasphemy law on the books, however, is only the beginning of the story. The enforcement of such laws—either government enforcement or mob violence—undermines human rights, including freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression.
Joelle Fiss and Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum are the authors of the USCIRF report “Violating Rights: Enforcing the World’s Blasphemy Laws,” released in December 2020. They join us to discuss the findings of their report, and the impact of blasphemy laws on religious freedom.
Featuring:
Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF
Joelle Fiss, Member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief
Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum, Associate Professor of Clinical Law at Cardozo School of Law