FOR YOUR INFORMATION 

May 20, 2013| By Commissioners William Shaw and M. Zuhdi Jasser, and former Commissioner Azizah al-Hibri

When President Obama meets with President Thein Sein of Myanmar (Burma) today, he should emphasize Washington’s commitment to Myanmar’s progress, while stressing the importance of preventing discrimination and violence against ethnic minority Muslims and Christians.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

May 16, 2013 | By USCIRF

WASHINGTON, D.C.–  The two-year armed conflict in Syria has left at least 80,000 people dead and more than 5 million displaced.  In his May 13, 2013 press conference with UK Prime Minister David Cameron, President Obama noted the difficulty of  “putting things back together” in Syria after “the furies have been unleashed.”  

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

May 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 favor of a landmark effort to promote a pivotal human right abroad.  In October of that year, the Senate also acted and President Clinton signed the International Religious Freedom Act, or IRFA, into law.  Among other provisions, IRFA created the Office of International Religious Freedom in the State Department and the independent, bipartisan Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), of which I am chair.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 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 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 write today on behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to respectfully urge that the United States raise questions about violations of religious freedom and related human rights in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Bangladesh during the sixteenth session of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) scheduled for April 2013.  The United States also should ensure that these issues are included in the recommendations that result from the UPR.  The UPR forum provides a unique opportunity to shine a light on the violations of religious freedom in these countries and to encourage these nations’ governments to comply with international norms.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 22, 2013 | By USCIRF

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent federal agency created to monitor religious freedom abuses abroad and make policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress, today issued “Protecting and Promoting Religious Freedom in Syria.”