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April 29, 2019
April 25, 2017
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.
July 09, 2019
On June 27, 2019, Vice Chair Nadine Maenza testified at a Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing on violations of the right to freedom of religion of Christian communities around the world.Written Testimony
Hearing Webpage
September 04, 2014
August 20, 2013
January 15, 2015
May 06, 2013
FOR YOUR INFORMATIONMay 6, 2013
Beyond Boko Haram: Nigeria's History of Violence
By: Tiffany Lynch for the Council on Foreign Relations - Posted on May 6
For almost two years, stories about violence in Nigeria have focused almost exclusively on Boko Haram's attacks on churches and Christians; police stations and other government buildings; schools and politicians; and Muslim critics. Forgotten is Nigeria"s longer and more deadly history of religiously-related violence. Too much of the analysis of Boko Haram fails to take into account how Nigeria's history of Muslim-Christian violence directly contributes to the Boko Haram phenomenon.
Since 1999, more than fourteen thousand Nigerians in the Middle Belt and north have been killed, hundreds of thousands displaced, and thousands of churches, mosques, and other property destroyed in Muslim and Christian communal violence. However, lack of political will and jurisdictional disputes to prosecute perpetrators of the violence means that almost universally, those and responsible for violence remain free. In more than a decade, fewer than 200 individuals have been prosecuted for their involvement in sectarian violence, despite available video and photographic evidence. Rather than prosecute, federal and state officials have repeatedly formed commissions of inquiry to review the causes of the violence and make recommendations to prevent further violence. But these recommendations are rarely implemented.
This failure to prosecute has created a climate of impunity with dangerous consequences. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), where I serve as senior policy analyst, has drawn attention to this in our recently released Annual Report on Nigeria . USCIRF found that a lack of consequences for violence gives a green light for future depredations. An incident sparking Muslim-Christian violence can trigger retaliatory ricochet riots in other areas.
Pour the gasoline of Boko Haram attacks onto this already burning fire and the consequences of religiously-related violence become even more dangerous. Boko Haram is using this culture of impunity as a recruitment tool -- young Muslim men, angered by the government's failure to address violence, respond to the call of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau call to attack Christians in "retaliation.” They are joining Boko Haram to attacks churches and individual Christians. In fact, many of Boko Haram's most deadly and prominent church service attacks in 2012 occurred in cities with problematic Muslim-Christian relations and histories of sectarian violence: Bauchi, Jos, and Kaduna.
Policy recommendations to tackle Boko Haram have focused on addressing political and economic marginalization in the north and ending abuses by security forces. Yet, the U.S. and Nigerian governments should focus on ending impunity and addressing Nigeria"s problem of Muslim-Christian violence. Boko Haram is feeding off of and fueling Nigeria"s history of religious related violence, adding momentum to an already vicious cycle. The United States needs to press its ally to do more, so this cycle is interrupted and perpetrators are brought to justice.
Tiffany Lynch is a Senior Policy Analyst at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The views expressed are her own and may or may not reflect the views of the Commission.
To reach USCIRF please send an email to media@uscirf.gov or contact the Commission at (202) 786-0613.
August 23, 2013
December 13, 2016
Click here to view the English versionClick here to view the Burmese version
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has monitored religious freedom conditions in Burma (also known as Myanmar) since the Commission first began its work in 1999. The law that created USCIRF, the International Religious Freedom Act, instructed the Commission to, among other things, recommend U.S. government policies in response to religious freedom violations around the world. Based on Burma’s systematic, egregious, and ongoing violations of the freedom of religion or belief, USCIRF consistently has recommended it be designated as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, every year since the Department of State first made the designation in 2000. USCIRF based this recommendation on its comprehensive assessment of the situation for religious minority communities, and also at times the ill treatment of majority Buddhists, relative to international human rights standards.
As part of its monitoring, USCIRF in 2016 commissioned a research project to investigate religious freedom conditions for Christian communities in Burma. The research sought to investigate the facts and causes of discrimination, violence, and other abuses against Christians. The result of this research, called “Hidden Plight: Christian Minorities in Burma,” is available at www.uscirf.gov.
In seeking to shed light on the little-known circumstances of Christians in Burma, USCIRF acknowledged the serious humanitarian crisis faced by Rohingya and other Muslims—and indeed all people in Rakhine State. The deprivation of their rights—by both government and societal actors—is one of the most profound human rights tragedies of the 21st Century. In recent years, some within and outside Burma have argued the Rohingya situation has nothing to do with religious freedom. Yet this viewpoint ignores the fact that while Rohingya Muslims may not be targeted entirely based on religion, they are singled out as different and perceived as a threat because of their religion and ethnicity.
While the lengthy history of the Rohingya Muslim crisis is beyond the scope of this paper, an examination of the marked deterioration of rights under the previous government provides insight into ways Burma’s government can address the crisis and the international community can encourage and assist. The following policy paper analyzes religious freedom conditions for Rohingya Muslims from 2011, when President Thein Sein’s government took office, to July 7, 2016, the date marking the National League for Democracy (NLD) government’s first 100 calendar days in office.