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December 17, 2008
Event Transcript
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 Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI)
Statement of Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Full Text of the 2008 USCIRF Report on Iraq
October 12, 2005
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 fled Iraq may not be receiving the protection to which they are entitled under the Refugee Convention. The Commission has written the Department of State urging that the United States protect asylum seekers who are members of vulnerable religious minorities from being returned to Iraq. View Response In December 2004, the Commission wrote President George W. Bush, and subsequently met with him, urging him to take action to protect members of vulnerable religious minorities within Iraq. Since that time, conditions have not improved, and religious minorities such as Chaldo-Assyrian Christians, Yazidis and Mandaeans have continued to be victims of targeted violence throughout the country. In light of the threats to the safety of these communities, USCIRF is concerned by recent reports that U.S. immigration judges in some locations are increasingly denying asylum claims brought by Chaldo-Assyrians from Iraq."The Commission urges the Congress and the Administration to provide legal protection in the United States to those members of the Chaldo-Assyrian community - as well as any other minority religious communities - who were ordered removed after a U.S. immigration judge determination that they may safely return to Iraq," said USCIRF Chair Michael Cromartie.The United States and other countries should ensure that asylum and refugee adjudicators are educated about current country conditions in Iraq. The Commission urges that the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security thoroughly train immigration judges and refugee and asylum officers on conditions faced by religious minorities within Iraq. Training these adjudicators on international religious freedom conditions is required by law under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. The Commission further recommends that attorneys within the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security who have a role in asylum administrative and judicial proceedings should also receive such training. In addition, the Commission repeats its February 2005 recommendation -- made in its Report on Asylum Seekers in Expedited Removal -- that the Department of Justice monitor and take steps to address significant variations in asylum adjudications from judge-to-judge.The Commission also is concerned about a recent Advisory Opinion on Iraq issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Immigration judges in the United States and throughout the world often look to UNHCR for guidance and expertise. In September 2004, the UNHCR Advisory Opinion on Iraq specifically advised against returning rejected asylum seekers to Iraq and twice addressed particular problems faced by religious minorities there. In contrast, the September 2005 Advisory takes a differentiated regional approach. The 2005 Advisory concludes that -- while the security situation in most parts of Iraq has continued to deteriorate -- returns to the three Northern Governorates of Iraq may be facilitated, but only for returnees who have community or family links to the region. Others, UNHCR warned, would face serious protection and integration concerns. Unlike the 2004 Advisory, the current Advisory makes no mention whatsoever of religious minorities. The Commission is concerned that errors of omission in the UNHCR September 2005 Advisory opinion on Iraq could inadvertently lead adjudicators in the United States and elsewhere, who may rely on the Advisory Opinion, to reject asylum claims from members of religious minorities who have fled Northern Iraq."The new UNHCR Advisory fails to address reports that religious minority communities native to Northern Iraq - particularly the Chaldo-Assyrian villages - continue to face similar ‘substantial obstacles' to protection and integration which UNHCR states would confront Iraqis who are not native to the region," noted Cromartie. "The Commission has written Assistant Secretary of State Richard L. Greene to request that the State Department encourage UNHCR to re-issue an opinion which addresses the protection problems faced by religious minorities, particularly in the North."The Commission is concerned that immigration adjudicators in the United States and elsewhere may rely on the September 2005 Advisory Opinion and reject asylum claims from members of religious minorities who have fled Northern Iraq.In summary, the Commission calls upon:
- The Department of Justiceto more effectively train and monitor immigration judges and attorneys within the Office of Immigration Litigation and the Board of Immigration Appeals, to ensure against inconsistent asylum decisions, particularly with regard to Iraqi religious minorities;
- The Department of Homeland Securityto train its immigration trial attorneys on international religious freedom conditions in general and country conditions faced by Iraqi religious minorities in particular;
- The Congress and the Administrationto provide legal protection in the United States for members of religious minorities who have been ordered removed to Iraq;
- The Department of Stateto urge the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)to amend urgently its September 2005 Advisory Opinion on Returns to Iraq to account for the treatment of religious minorities in the three Northern governorates as well as the rest of the country;and
- The United Statesto redouble its efforts with the Iraqi authorities and the international community to stem the flight of members of ancient religious minorities from Iraq by promoting the protection and integration of these communities within Iraq.
- Felice D. Gaer,Vice ChairNina Shea,Vice ChairPreeta D. BansalArchbishop Charles J. ChaputKhaled Abou El FadlRichard D. LandElizabeth H. ProdromouBishop Ricardo RamirezAmbassador John V. Hanford III,Ex-OfficioJoseph R. Crapa,Executive Director
October 21, 2015
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 Freedom Report (IRF Report) for 2014. The IRF Report is required by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), the same law that established USCIRF.
“The IRF Report is a comprehensive resource documenting religious freedom violations in almost 200 countries and territories and highlighting some of the thousands of prisoners of conscience who languish unjustly in prisons around the world solely because of their religion or belief,” said USCIRF Chairman Robert P. George. “We commend the State Department, particularly the Office of International Religious Freedom, led by Ambassador-at-Large David Saperstein, for the significant effort that went into compiling this report,” said Chairman George.
IRFA also requires the United States annually to designate as “countries of particular concern,” or CPCs, those governments that “engage in or tolerate” systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, and to take action to encourage improvements in each CPC country. IRFA provides a range of options for such action, from bilateral agreements to sanctions. “Now that the IRF Report has been released, the next step is for the State Department to promptly designate the worst violators as CPCs and to leverage those designations to press for much-needed reforms in those countries,” said Chairman George.
In July 2014, the State Department designated nine nations as CPCs under IRFA: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. USCIRF’s 2015 annual report, released in April, recommended that these countries be re-designated as CPCs, and also called for eight additional designations: Central African Republic, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, and Vietnam.
“USCIRF urges the State Department to continue the current nine CPC designations,” said Chairman George. “We also urge the State Department to further expand its CPC list to reflect the severe violations occurring in other countries, such as Pakistan, which USCIRF has called the worst situation in the world for religious freedom for countries not currently designated by the U.S. government as CPCs,” said Chairman George. “The just-released IRF Report leaves no doubt that the egregious nature of the violations in Pakistan warrant a CPC designation,” continued Chairman George.
Read USCIRF’s 2015 Annual Report.
To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at media@uscirf.gov or 202-786-0615.
May 21, 2013
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 Report.
"USCIRF congratulates the State Department - particularly its Office of International Religious Freedom and Ambassador-at-Large Suzan Johnson Cook -- for its admirable work reporting on the many ways religious freedom is violated around the world,” said USCIRF Chair Katrina Lantos Swett. "Given that religious freedom conditions are deteriorating in many countries, the State Department's extensive documentation of the nature and extent of these violations is especially important. The next crucial step is for the Secretary of State to promptly designate the worst violators as "countries of particular concern,” or CPCs, under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA).”
IRFA requires the United States annually to designate as CPCs those governments that "engage in or tolerate” systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, and to take action to encourage improvements in each CPC country. IRFA provides a range of options for such action, from bilateral agreements to sanctions. However, the United States has not made CPC designations since August 2011.
"Prompt CPC designations will send the signal that the United States prioritizes religious freedom. These designations, followed up with vigorous U.S. diplomatic activity, also provide the U.S. government with an effective tool to help end abuses and promote this fundamental human right,” continued Lantos Swett.
Prompt CPC designations are also vital because sanctions on the currently-designated CPCs will expire in August 2013. "Allowing sanctions to expire would send the inaccurate message that religious freedom is improving in those countries or that religious freedom is not important to U.S. foreign policy. That message would be especially misguided given the severity of the violations in many nations that top the U.S. foreign policy agenda, and the strong correlation between religious freedom, stability and security,” said Lantos Swett.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recently released its own Annual Report which highlights the status of religious freedom globally and identifies those governments that are the most egregious violators. In its Report, USCIRF recommended that the State Department again designate the following eight countries as CPCs: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan. USCIRF also found that seven other countries meet the CPC threshold and should be so designated: Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.
To interview a USCIRF Commissioner please contact USCRIFat (202) 523-3258 or media@uscirf.gov
March 18, 2016
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, Christians, and Shi’a Muslims in Iraq and Syria are victims of genocide by ISIL, the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also referred to as Daesh. In his statement, Secretary of State John Kerry rightly observed that: “Daesh is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control,” is “genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology, and by actions,” and that it “kills Christians because they are Christians; Yezidis because they are Yezidis; Shia because they are Shia.”
“Secretary of State Kerry’s statement today shines an essential light on ISIL’s horrific actions and its extremist ideology, and correctly calls ISIL what it is: genocidal,” said USCIRF’s Chairman, Robert P. George. “We must all stand against ISIL, which seeks to destroy minority religious communities and members of the majority community who do not subscribe to its barbaric interpretation of Islam. But we must do more. The U.S. government should seek a referral by the U.N. Security Council to the International Criminal Court to investigate ISIL’s atrocities in Iraq and Syria; work with our international partners to develop measures to protect and assist the region’s most vulnerable, including by increasing immediate humanitarian aid; and increase the number of Syrian refugees resettled to the United States, allocating sufficient resources to the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to conduct the necessary vetting so that U.S. national security is not compromised.”
USCIRF called for the U.S. government to designate the Christian, Yazidi, Shi’a, Turkmen, and Shabak communities of Iraq and Syria as victims of genocide by ISIL on December 7, 2015. USCIRF also has urged that the U.S. government and international community condemn the al-Assad regime for its indiscriminate targeting of primarily Sunni Muslims and for using rape, extrajudicial killings, starvation, sniper attacks, and torture in its attempt to maintain power, and make additional designations of international crimes as warranted.
“USCIRF continues to urge the Administration to condemn the al-Assad regime in Syria for its brutal persecution and crimes against humanity committed against Sunni Muslims and others,” said Chairman George. “USCIRF also urges the U.S. government to seek a UN referral for an International Criminal Court investigation into crimes the al-Assad regime has committed, following the models used in Sudan and Libya.”
For more information, please see USCIRF chapters in the 2015 Annual report on Iraq and Syria and its press releases on: USCIRF Statement on the Designation of Victims of Genocide, persecution, and Crimes Against Humanity in Syria and Iraq; and Syria: Five Years of Suffering Must End.
To interview a USCIRF Commissioners, please contact USCIRF at media@uscirf.gov or 202-786-0615.
April 30, 2013
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 Act (IRFA) to monitor religious freedom abuses abroad, today released its 2013 Annual Report. The Report highlights the status of religious freedom globally and identifies those governments that are the most egregious violators.
"The state of international religious freedom is increasingly dire due to the presence of forces that fuel instability. These forces include the rise of violent religious extremism coupled with the actions and inactions of governments. Extremists target religious minorities and dissenters from majority religious communities for violence, including physical assaults and even murder. Authoritarian governments also repress religious freedom through intricate webs of discriminatory rules, arbitrary requirements and draconian edicts,” said Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, USCIRF's Chair.
The 2013 Annual Report recommends that the Secretary of State re-designate the following eight nations as "countries of particular concern” or CPCs: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan. USCIRF finds that seven other countries meet the CPC threshold and should be so designated: Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.
"The Annual Report ultimately is about people and how their governments treat them. Violations affect members of diverse religious communities around the world, be they Rohinghya Muslims in Burma, Coptic Christians in Egypt, Buddhists, Uighur Muslims and Falun Gong in China, Baha'is in Iran, Ahmadis and Christians in Pakistan, or Muslims in Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan and in non-Muslim nations like Russia. We recommend that the White House adopt a whole-of-government strategy to guide U.S. religious freedom promotion and that Secretary of State Kerry promptly designate CPCs, before currently designated actions expire later this year,” said Lantos Swett.
In Burma, ongoing political reforms have yet to significantly improve the situation for freedom of religion and belief. Sectarian violence and severe abuses of religious freedom and human dignity targeting ethnic minority Christians and Muslims continue to occur with impunity.
In Egypt, despite some progress during a turbulent political transition, the government has failed or been slow to protect from violence religious minorities, particularly Coptic Christians. The government continues to prosecute, convict, and imprison individuals for "contempt” or "defamation” of religion, and the new constitution includes several problematic provisions relevant to religious freedom.
In both Pakistan and Nigeria, religious extremism and impunity have factored into unprecedented levels of violence that threaten the long-term viability of both nations. Targeted violence against Shi'i Muslims in Pakistan is pervasive, while repeated Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria exacerbate sectarian tensions.
"Many of these countries top the U.S. foreign policy agenda, and religion is a core component in their makeup. Successful U.S. foreign policy recognizes the critical role religious freedom plays in each of these nations and prioritizes accordingly. Religious freedom is both a pivotal human right under international law and a key factor that helps determine whether a nation experiences stability or chaos,” said Lantos Swett.
USCIRF also announced the placement of eight nations on its Tier 2 List for 2013. The Tier 2 category replaces the Watch List designation USCIRF previously used. These nations are: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos and Russia. USCIRF found the violations these governments engage in or tolerate are particularly severe, and meet at least one criterion, but not all, of IRFA's three-fold "systematic, ongoing, egregious” CPC standard.
In Russia, religious freedom conditions suffered major setbacks in the context of growing human rights abuses. In Indonesia, the country's rich tradition of religious tolerance and pluralism is seriously threatened by arrests of individuals the government considers religiously deviant and violence perpetrated by extremist groups. Federal and provincial officials, police, courts, and religious leaders often tolerate and abet the conduct of religious freedom abusers.
The USCIRF report also highlights the status of religious freedom in countries/regions that do not meet the Tier 1 (CPC) or Tier 2 threshold. These include: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Ethiopia, Turkey, Venezuela and Western Europe. The Annual Report also addresses in-depth thematic issues: Constitutional Changes; Severe Religious Freedom Violations by Non-State Actors; Laws against Blasphemy and Defamation of Religions; Imprisonment of Conscientious Objectors; Legal Retreat from Religious Freedom in Post-Communist Countries; Kidnapping and Forced Religious De-Conversion in Japan; and Religious Freedom Issues in International Organizations.
ABOUT USCIRF
USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government advisory body with its commissioners appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in Congress. The 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) requires that the United States annually designate as CPCs countries whose governments have engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of the universal right to freedom of religion or belief. IRFA also tasks USCIRF with assessing conditions in these and other countries and making recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress.
In accordance with IRFA, USCIRF uses international standards, as found in UN conventions and declarations, for assessing religious freedom conditions.
To interview a USCIRF Commissioner please contact USCRIF at (202) 523-3258 or media@uscirf.gov
August 06, 2014
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 Levant, has taken against Yazidis and other religious minority communities in Sinjar and Tal Afar districts of Ninewa Province in northern Iraq. Reports indicate that ISIL has killed Yazidis, Assyrian Christians, Shi’a and others, and destroyed religious sites. According to the UN, 200,000 civilians, most of them Yazidis, have fled Sinjar. Yazidis, whose ancestral homeland is Sinjar, are adherents of an ancient religion with links to Zoroastrianism.
“ISIL’s offensive against Yazidis and other religious minorities in Sinjar, coupled with its attack against Mosul’s Christians and others two weeks ago, underscore its fanaticism, barbarism and agenda to destroy Iraq’s diversity and its ancient communities,” stated Katrina Lantos Swett, USCIRF Chair.
The State Department’s recently released International Religious Freedom Report notes that 500,000 Yazidis reside in northern Iraq, with most concentrated in Sinjar and some in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
“USCIRF urges the United States, the Iraqi government, the Kurdistan regional government, and like-minded nations to redouble efforts to work together to defend Iraq’s peaceful religious communities against ISIL’s violent religious repression and provide humanitarian assistance to the many thousands of civilians who now are displaced,” Lantos Swett added.
For more information on religious freedom conditions in Iraq see USCIRF’s 2014 Annual Report.
To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at media@uscirf.gov or 202-786-0613.
December 07, 2015
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 designate the Christian, Yazidi, Shi’a, Turkmen, and Shabak communities of Iraq and Syria as victims of genocide by ISIL. USCIRF also urges American and other world leaders to condemn the genocidal actions and crimes against humanity of ISIL that have been directed at these groups and other ethnic and religious groups. USCIRF further urges a firm condemnation of the brutal persecution of, and crimes against humanity committed against, Sunni Muslims by the Assad regime in Syria and by ISIL in the case of Sunni Muslims who refuse to embrace their extremist ideology.
USCIRF also encourages continued and robust efforts by the U.S. and international community to bear witness to these crimes and make additional designations of genocide and crimes against humanity, whether those are committed by ISIL, the Assad regime, or others, as appropriate.
USCIRF recommended in its 2015 Annual Report that the U.S. government should support a referral by the UN Security Council to the International Criminal Court to investigate ISIL’s atrocities against religious groups in both Iraq and Syria. USCIRF also noted in its 2015 Report that the al-Assad regime systemically has targeted and massacred Sunni Muslims, thereby creating the environment in which ISIL could rise and spread, threatening the entire region and all religious communities that reject its violent religious ideology, with the smallest religious minority communities facing an existential threat.
“The hallmark of genocide is the intent to destroy a national, racial, ethnic, or religious group, in whole or in part. ISIL’s intent to destroy religious groups that do not subscribe to its extremist ideology in the areas in Iraq and Syria that it controls, or seeks to control, is evident in, not only its barbarous acts, but also its own propaganda,” said USCIRF Chairman Robert P. George. “The al-Assad regime also must be held to account for its targeting primarily of Sunni Muslims and the crimes against humanity that it is committing.”
For more information, please see USCIRF’s chapters in the 2015 Annual Report on Iraq and Syria.
To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact Travis Horne at thorne@uscirf.gov or 202-786-0615.
October 31, 2013
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) sent the following letter to President Obama on October 30, 2013:
The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
On behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), we respectfully urge you to use your upcoming meeting to press Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to do more to protect the human rights of every Iraqi, including the right to religious freedom regardless of religion or sect.
As you know, over the past year Iraq has experienced the worst sectarian violence since 2008, with the frequency and scope of such violence increasing. This violence is undermining Iraq's progress and threatening its people's safety, particularly the majority Shi'a Muslim population, as well as its smallest religious minority communities, including Christians and Yezidis. The violence also appears to be spreading into areas of northern Iraq that had been previously safer and had become places of refuge for religious minorities. Regrettably, the government of Iraq has been unable to stop sectarian attacks from occurring and often lacks the will to investigate attacks and bring perpetrators to justice. This has created a climate of impunity and a perpetual sense of fear for all religious communities, particularly the smallest ones. The actions of Prime Minister al-Maliki's government have also exacerbated the feelings of exclusion and discontent among the country's Sunni population through political marginalization and prosecutions of Sunni leaders. In addition, the dispute between the central government and Kurdish parties over territory in the north has led to human rights abuses, particularly against the smallest minorities in those areas.
U.S.-Iraqi cooperation under the Strategic Framework Agreement includes cooperation "to promote Iraq's efforts in the field of... human rights." If Iraq is to become a stable democracy, its government must make greater efforts to ensure that the human rights and religious freedoms of all Iraqis are guaranteed and enforced equally in law and practice, without regard to religion or sect. In your meeting with Prime Minister al-Maliki, we hope that you will stress to him the vital importance of reducing sectarian tensions in Iraq and protecting freedom of religion. We also hope that you will press him, and offer U.S. assistance as appropriate, to increase efforts toprovide security to likely targets of religiously-motivated violence and investigate and prosecute perpetrators consistent with due process of law. Finally, we hope that you will discuss the need for the protection of minority rights and freedoms in the disputed territories.
We hope you agree that discussing the problems of sectarian tensions, violence, and human rights abuses in Iraq with Prime Minister al-Maliki is essential. Without addressing these concerns, religious freedom in Iraq will continue to erode and the country will not have the peaceful, democratic future that its people deserve and the United States seeks to encourage
Thank you for considering our request.
Sincerely,
Robert P. George
Chairman
To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact Kalinda Stephenson at 202-786-0613 or kstephenson@uscirf.gov.
June 09, 2017
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. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) commends the passage on June 6, 2017, in the U.S. House of Representatives, of H.R. 390, the Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act. H.R. 390 would promote accountability for atrocities committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and address the urgent humanitarian needs of persecuted religious and/or ethnic minorities targeted for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The Commission urges that the Senate swiftly pass this bill.
“ISIS seeks to destroy the religious and ethnic makeup of Iraq and Syria by committing genocide against vulnerable minorities,” said USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J. “We commend the House of Representatives, and the leadership of Rep. Chris Smith, for passing H.R. 390 and urge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Senate to act swiftly on this vital piece of legislation. The perpetrators of genocide must be held to account.”
The situation is worsening daily for religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria. Key entities that sustain genocide survivors are running out of food, medicine, and shelter. USCIRF urges the Senate to expeditiously pass H.R. 390 so that those who are suffering will have addressed their humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the Congressional leadership of both political parties. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at Media@USCIRF.gov or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications (JLawrence@USCIRF.gov/+1-202-786-0611)