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August 28, 2020
Oct 23
WHEN:
Oct 23rd 3:00pm
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing
Protecting Houses of Worship and Holy Sites
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
3:00 – 4:30 PM
106 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Hearing Summary
Hearing Transcript
Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a hearing about the global targeting of houses of worship and holy sites around the world and how to protect them.
Houses of worship and other religious sites should be sanctuaries where worshippers feel safe to practice their faith. Tragically, as the 2019 incidents in New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Burkina Faso attest, attacks on houses of worship are increasingly occurring around the globe. These attacks aim to destroy the place of worship precisely for its religious significance, cause harm to a unique religious group, and instill fear in those that worship there.
Alongside these horrific attacks, places of worship are often harmed more subtly through the misuse of registration procedures to prevent their construction or renovation, the malicious surveillance of holy sites to intimidate worshippers, or acts of vandalism that aim to send a threatening message and harm property. Different types of buildings and properties that are significant to religious communities, such as cemeteries, monasteries, or community centers, also have been targeted. While violent attacks on such places are typically committed by non-state actors, less overt forms of harms and restrictions are often imposed by state authorities as well. This includes the failure of states to ensure the preservation of sacred places, places of worship, and cultural property that constitutes the cultural or spiritual heritage of people.
How can the international community better work together to stem the global violent targeting of houses of worship? Witnesses will highlight U.S. programs, intergovernmental initiatives, interfaith efforts, and other policy recommendations that aim to ensure that holy places remain safe havens and not sites of bloodshed.
Opening Remarks
- Tony Perkins, Chair, USCIRF Written Remarks
- Gayle Manchin, Vice Chair, USCIRF Written Remarks
- Nadine Maenza, Vice Chair, USCIRF Written Remarks
- Honorable Sam Brownback, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, U.S. Department of State Written Testimony
- H.E. Miguel Moratinos, High Representative, U.N. Alliance of Civilizations Written Testimony
- Hassan Abbas, Distinguished Professor of International Relations at Near East South Asia Strategic Studies Center, National Defense University Written Testimony
- Sharon Rosen, Global Director for Religious Engagement, Search for Common Ground Written Testimony
February 11, 2020
Feb 11
WHEN:
Feb 11th 10:30am
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Briefing
Freedom of Religion or Belief and Security:
New Policy Guidance from the OSCE
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Senate Visitors Center (SVC) 203-02
Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a briefing on the nexus of freedom of religion or belief and security, including findings from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights’ (ODIHR) recent publication, Freedom of Religion or Belief and Security: Policy Guidance.
In the OSCE region, freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is violated by some governments who use the pretext of national security to justify repression. For example, in Russia’s Tatarstan region, cameras are installed in mosques to transmit videos of worshippers during their prayers to state security services. In Uzbekistan, thousands of religious prisoners remain incarcerated for “extremism” or the possession of “extremist” religious literature. In Azerbaijan, authorities continue to deny legal registration to Baptists and Jehovah’s Witnesses residing outside the capital. Although these actions aim to improve security, failure to balance security with freedom of religion or belief can actually undermine it.
Freedom of Religion or Belief: Policy Guidance clarifies the interrelationship between FoRB and security as mutually reinforcing objectives, in line with the OSCE’s comprehensive framework for peace and security. The document includes guiding principles, practical guidance, and recommendations to address pertinent issues at the intersection of the freedom of religion and security, including the registration of religious communities, religious literature deemed “extremist”, the monitoring of places of worship, and restrictions on conversion.
Panelists will present the policy guidance document, discuss its findings and recommendations, further explore the intersection of security and FoRB, and consider tools and strategies for governments and other relevant stakeholders to advance both objectives simultaneously. There will be an interactive question and answer period with audience members after the panelist presentations.
Remarks
- Tony Perkins, Chair, USCIRF Written Remarks
- Gayle Manchin, Vice Chair, USCIRF Written Remarks
- Kishan Manocha, Senior Advisor on Freedom of Religion or Belief, OSCE/ODIHR
- Douglas Padgett, U.S. Department of State, Office of International Religious Freedom
- Elizabeth Clark, Professor of Law, Brigham Young University School of Law
August 29, 2020
Mar 04
WHEN:
Mar 4th 2:30pm
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing
Citizenship Laws and Religious Freedom
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
2:30 – 4:00 PM
325 Russell Senate Office Building
Hearing Summary
Hearing Transcript
Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a hearing about how citizenship laws are leveraged to deny religious minorities the legal protections of citizenship, making them vulnerable to exploitation, discrimination, and mass atrocities.
The recognition of an individual’s citizenship is the bedrock for all accompanying political and civil rights, “the right to have rights.” In recognition of the importance of citizenship, the 1961 United Nations Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness argues that an individual may not be deprived of one’s nationality on “racial, ethnic, religious, or political grounds” or if this “would render him stateless.”
With widespread protests in recent months in India in response to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and a proposed National Register of Citizens, however, citizenship laws as a tool to target religious minorities is receiving much needed international attention. This phenomenon has a long-standing precedent with such measures as the 1982 Citizenship Law in Burma stripping the Rohingya of their rights as citizens. Without citizenship rights, minority communities are left to face further persecution and violence by both governments and non-state actors. In particular, government efforts to strip religious minorities of their citizenship can be a key predictor of mass atrocities.
Witnesses will discuss how citizenship laws are used to target religious minorities, particularly in Burma and India, and will highlight the importance of the atrocity prevention framework for understanding the potential consequences of these laws.
Opening Remarks
- Tony Perkins, Chair, USCIRF Written Remarks
- Gayle Manchin, Vice Chair, USCIRF Written Remarks
- Anurima Bhargava, Commissioner, USCIRF Written Remarks
- Naomi Kikoler, Director, Simon Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Written Testimony
- Dr. Azeem Ibrahim, Director, Displacement and Migration, Center for Global Policy Written Testimony
- Aman Wadud, Human Rights Lawyer, Assam, India Written Testimony
- Dr. Ashutosh Varshney, Sol Goldman Professor of International Studies and the Social Sciences and Director of the Center for Contemporary Asia, Brown University Written Testimony
- Elizabeth Seshadri Statement
- Collective of Indian Scholars Statement
- Hindu American Foundation
- Hindus for Human Rights Statement
- Justice for All Statement
- Shiromani Akali Dal Amritsar America Statement
- Sindhi Foundation Statement
- South Asian American Civil and Human Rights Lawyers Statement
- South Asian Organizations' Joint Statement
- South Asian Scholar's Statement
January 29, 2021
Feb 10
WHEN:
Feb 10th 10:30am
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Feb 10th 12:30pm
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing
Refugees Fleeing Religious Persecution
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Virtual Hearing
Hearing Transcript
Hearing Summary
Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a virtual hearing about ways the U.S. government can better protect and support individuals fleeing religious persecution through the U.S. refugee resettlement program, the U.S. asylum system, and overseas assistance.
The United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) has been a critical pathway for refugees seeking safety in the United States. Since its creation through the Refugee Act of 1980, three million refugees have been resettled in this country. Today, however, there are 1.4 million extremely vulnerable refugees who urgently need to be resettled, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), many of whom have fled religious persecution. Overall, UNHCR estimates that as of the end of 2019, an unprecedented 79.5 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced—many in less developed countries that are struggling to host them—by conflict, persecution, or for other reasons. Managing this crisis will require the U.S. government to invest in refugee resettlement, improve its processing of asylum seekers, review vetting procedures, and improve its humanitarian assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons, and the countries hosting them, abroad.
Witnesses will provide an overview of U.S. refugee resettlement, asylum, and humanitarian aid policies and present recommendations for improving these programs to better protect the most vulnerable.
Opening Remarks
- Gayle Manchin, Chair, USCIRF Written Remarks
- Tony Perkins, Vice Chair, USCIRF Written Remarks
- Anurima Bhargava, Vice Chair, USCIRF Written Remarks
- Jenny Yang, Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, World Relief Written Testimony
- Mark Hetfield, President and CEO, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) Written Testimony
- Leon Rodriguez, Immigration Attorney, Seyfarth; former Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Written Testimony
- Elizabeth Neumann, Senior Advisor, National Immigration Forum; former Assistant Secretary for Threat Prevention and Security, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Written Testimony
- Murad Ismael, Co-founder and former Executive Director, Yazda Written Testimony