FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 3, 2002

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent federal agency advising the Administration and Congress, yesterday urged President Bush to make clear in U.S. talks with North Korea that significant progress on human rights and religious freedom is necessary for improved bilateral relations. The Commission's recommendation was one of several forwarded on the eve of Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly's visit to Pyongyang urging him to press the North Korean authorities for results.

North Korea was cited by the Bush Administration in 2001 as a "country of particular concern" for religious freedom. The Commission urged Administration action that would "give meaning to that designation."

"The U.S. should not abandon human rights - and be seen to legitimize the horrific abuses of the North Korean regime - for promises on military issues," wrote Commission Chair Felice D. Gaer.

The complete text of the letter follows:

October 2, 2002

Dear Mr. President:

Pursuant to its advisory responsibilities under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom respectfully urges you to ensure that renewed high-level discussions with officials of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) advance an agenda that gives a prominent place to the protection of human rights, including the freedom of religion and belief, the provision of humanitarian assistance, the protection of North Korean refugees, and the reuniting of Korean Americans with their family members in the DPRK.

In the past, discussions with North Korea have centered on nuclear weapons development and missile proliferation. But U.S. interests go beyond these issues. As you said in Seoul in February 2002: "I'm deeply concerned about the people of North Korea. And I believe that it is important for those of us who love freedom to stand strong for freedom and make . . . clear the benefits of freedom." In this spirit, the Commission recommends that the United States make clear to the North Korean government that measurable, significant progress on religious freedom and other human rights is a central component of improvement of relations between our two countries. The U.S. should not abandon human rights - and be seen to legitimize the horrific abuses of the North Korean regime - for promises on military issues.

The people of North Korea are perhaps the least free on earth, barely surviving under a regime that denies human rights and lets them starve while its leaders pursue military might and weapons of mass destruction. By all accounts, there are no personal freedoms of any kind and no protection for human rights. Religious freedom does not exist as the state severely represses public and private religious activities, including arresting and imprisoning - and in some cases torturing and executing - persons engaged in such activities. In addition, the state actively discriminates against religious adherents in all aspects of political, economic, and social life.

North Korea is also a humanitarian disaster of unimaginable proportions. Failed economic policies and natural disasters have reportedly left more than 1 million North Koreans dead from starvation and disease in the last 10 years. Tens of thousands of refugees have fled to China to escape the dire economic and political conditions in North Korea and many have been forcibly repatriated by the Chinese government. Those who return - voluntarily or otherwise - face imprisonment, or even death, at the hands of DPRK officials.

As recommended by this Commission, the Secretary of State has designated North Korea as a "country of particular concern" for particularly severe violations of religious freedom. We now urge the U.S. government to give meaning to that designation by pressing the North Korean authorities for results. In particular, the United States should urge the North Korean government:

1. To stop seeking forced repatriation of North Koreans who have fled the country and to cease the harsh and sometimes lethal treatment of returnees;

2. To abide by its international human rights commitments by, at a minimum:

   • addressing the concerns and implementing the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Committee's recent review of North Korea's compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including concerns regarding religious freedom;

   • permitting the monitoring of human rights conditions by UN human rights mechanisms and extending an invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief and others;

3. To allow immediate expansion of both the amount of humanitarian assistance to the North Korean people and the number of providers - which should include non-governmental organizations - and to permit all assistance to be adequately monitored and not misrepresented through false claims that the aid is being provided by the North Korean government;

4. To lift restrictions on the freedom of movement by foreign diplomats, independent journalists, humanitarian organizations, and others, and to invite the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom and the Commission to visit the country; and

5. To negotiate and enter into a binding agreement with the United States, as authorized under IRFA, to cease violations of religious freedom.

Thank you for your consideration of these recommendations.

Respectfully,

Felice Gaer

Chair

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2002

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent federal agency advising the Administration and Congress, today recommended that the Secretary of State designate Burma (Myanmar), the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India, Iran, Iraq, Laos, Pakistan, People's Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam as "countries of particular concern" (CPCs) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA). Full text of letter to Secretary Powell.

Under the law, CPCs are those countries which the Secretary finds to have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom. Once a country is designated, the IRFA requires the president to oppose those violations by taking specified actions. Such measures can range from a diplomatic demarche to economic sanctions or a waiver of action.

"The designation of countries of particular concern is one of the most important human rights acts taken by any U.S. administration," said Commission Chair Felice D. Gaer. "The IRFA requires the U.S. to oppose these egregious and systematic violations, whether the government itself commits them or tolerates them. We hope to see actions commensurate with the severity of these abuses."

The Commission also created a Watch List of countries - Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Uzbekistan - where it found grave violations of religious freedom have occurred.

Despite the Commission's recommendations over several years that Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, and Laos be designated as CPCs, the State Department has failed to name them. Today marks the first time the Commission has urged the Secretary to designate India, Pakistan, and Vietnam as CPCs. The Secretary designated Burma, China, Iran, Iraq, and Sudan as CPCs in 1999 and 2000, adding North Korea in 2001 following a Commission recommendation.

The full text of the Commission's findings on each country recommended for CPC designation can be found on its Web site at www.uscirf.gov. Copies can also be obtained from the communications office by calling 202-523-3240. Excerpts of Commission findings include the following:

The Commission found that in China, particularly severe violations have actually increased in the past year. The Chinese government has intensified its violent campaign of repression against Evangelical Christians, Roman Catholics, Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, and groups - such as the Falun Gong - that have been labeled as "evil cults." This campaign has included imprisonment, torture, and other forms of ill treatment.

In India, the government has tolerated severe violence against religious minorities. In 2002, at least 1,000 Muslims were killed and more than 100,000 forced to flee their homes as a result of violence by Hindu mobs in Gujarat State after 58 Hindus were killed on a train in Godhra. India's National Human Rights Commission found substantial evidence of premeditation by members of Hindu extremist groups; complicity by Gujarat state government officials; and police inaction in the face of these violent attacks on Muslims, in which many persons were shot, stabbed, raped, mutilated, and/or burned to death. Christians, too, were victims in Gujarat. Many churches were also destroyed. Although the state government took some steps to prevent further violence, it has failed to hold key violators accountable. The federal government did not take preventive action to impose direct control in Gujarat. And "fear ... is still a palpable reality" for the displaced riot victims.

Pakistan has failed adequately to protect religious minorities from sectarian violence. Discriminatory religious legislation, including the blasphemy and anti-Ahmadi laws, helps create an atmosphere of religious intolerance. Attacks against members of the Shi'ite minority by organized groups of Sunni militants continue. Blasphemy charges, often false, result in lengthy detention and sometimes violence, including fatal attacks, against religious minority members as well as Muslims. This year has seen an upsurge in attacks targeting Pakistan's Christian minority. American journalist Daniel Pearl was forced to "confess" his religion as Jewish before being beheaded on a training video by Islamic extremists. Although the government took some steps, it has not brought to justice those responsible for recent attacks. Despite the proposed madrassah reform law, too many religious schools provide ideological training and motivation to those who take part in violence targeting religious minorities in Pakistan and elsewhere.

As noted in past years by the State Department, religious freedom "does not exist" in Saudi Arabia. The government vigorously prohibits all forms of public religious expression other than the government's interpretation and presentation of Sunni Islam. Last year, numerous foreign Christian workers were detained, arrested, tortured, and subsequently deported. Shi'a clerics and religious scholars are detained and imprisoned for their religious views, which differ from those of the government. The Saudi government's severe violations of religious freedom include torture and cruel and degrading treatment or punishment; prolonged detention without charges; and flagrant denials of the right to liberty and security of the person, including coercive measures directed against women and the extended jurisdiction of the religious police, who exercise their vague powers in ways that violate others' religious freedom.

The government of Vietnam continues repressive policies toward all religions and their followers. A Commission delegation that visited Vietnam in February 2002 found that religious dissidents remain under house arrest or are imprisoned, including Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly, who was detained after submitting testimony to the Commission last year. In addition, government officials continue to suppress organized religious activities and to harass leaders and followers of unregistered religious organizations, as well as clergy members of officially recognized religious groups.

The Commission also is very concerned about violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the governments of Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Uzbekistan. Because the governments of these countries have not taken effective steps to halt repression and/or violence against religious believers, nor, in most cases, to punish those responsible, the Commission determined to place them on a new "Watch List."

Commissioners Felice D. Gaer and Michael K. Young dissented from the recommendation that India be designated a CPC. Commissioners Leila N. Sadat and Shirin Tahir-Kheli dissented from the decision not to recommend that Uzbekistan be designated a CPC

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

Felice D. Gaer, Chair

• Michael K. Young, Vice Chair Firuz Kazemzadeh, Richard D. Land, Bishop William Francis Murphy, Leila Nadya Sadat, Nina Shea, The Hon. Charles R. Stith, The Hon. Shirin Tahir-Kheli, Tad Stahnke, Acting Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 19, 2002

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent federal agency advising the Administration and Congress, has written to Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage requesting that he raise religious freedom concerns during his visit to India, Pakistan, and China later this month. The Commission specifically asked Mr. Armitage to raise the recent sectarian violence in Gujarat, India; attacks on Christians in Pakistan; the need to discuss religious freedom during the upcoming Bush-Jiang talks; and the situation of North Korean refugees in China.

The text of the letter follows:

August 15, 2002

Dear Deputy Secretary Armitage:

Pursuant to its advisory responsibilities under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom respectfully urges you to raise religious freedom concerns with the governments of India, Pakistan, and China during your visit to Asia later this month.

In India, we urge you to express publicly the U.S. government's profound concern about the widespread killing of Muslims in the state of Gujarat earlier this year. Sparked by the killing of 58 Hindus on a train, mobs of Hindus killed at least 1,000 Muslims, many of whom were mutilated and burned alive. There have also been instances of retaliatory violence against Hindus. Although some U.S. administration officials have commented in response to questions by reporters about the "horrible violence in Gujarat" and about their expectation that the Indian government would "do the right thing," as far as we know no senior U.S. administration official has expressed concern over the killings or called for accountability for those responsible. In fact, Secretary Powell said that the violence in Gujarat "did not come up in any of the conversations that I had in both India and in Pakistan" during his recent visit to the region. Although the Indian federal government has taken some positive steps, the situation in Gujarat remains highly volatile and highly visible in the Indian press. India's own National Human Rights Commission has detailed evidence of premeditation by members of Hindu extremist groups, complicity by Gujarat state government officials, and police inaction in the face of orchestrated violence against Muslims. Clearly it is important that the United States speak out publicly against such religion-based extremist violence,all the more so in view of our country's war on terrorism.

In Pakistan, we urge you to similarly speak out publicly against recent attacks on Christian targets, reportedly by Islamic extremists. Pakistan's government should forcefully combat such violence, punish its perpetrators, and work more effectively to foster an atmosphere of tolerance and respect for the rights of everyone, regardless of religion or belief. Unlike in the case of the terrible murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl (who was forced to "confess" his religion before he was killed), the Pakistani government has not demonstrated a similar resolve to find and bring to justice those directly responsible for recent attacks against Christians. We also hope that you will underline the Commission's conclusion that discriminatory religious legislation (notably, the blasphemy and anti-Ahmadi laws) promotes religious intolerance that in turn encourages acts of sectarian and religiously motivated violence in which both Muslims and non-Muslims are victims. Despite the proposed Madrassa reform law, too many of Pakistan's Islamic religious schools continue to provide ideological training and motivation to those who go on to fight in Afghanistan and Kashmir, and who take part in violence targeting religious minorities in Pakistan.

In China, in your meetings with Chinese officials in preparation for President Jiang Zemin's October 2002 visit to the United States, we urge you to ensure that religious freedom is a prominent agenda item for discussion between Presidents Bush and Jiang. Goals and benchmarks should be established prior to President Jiang's visit in order to measure progress in the protection of religious liberty in China, which has been designated by the Secretary of State as a "country of particular concern" under IRFA. Among these benchmarks should be the release of persons confined on account of their religion or belief and an end to the detention, imprisonment, torture, and other forms of ill treatment of Protestant Christians, Roman Catholics, Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, and other groups, such as Falun Gong, that the government has labeled "evil cults." Urging the Chinese government to take such steps would demonstrate a determination on the part of the administration to follow up on the recent visit to China of the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, from whom we await a report.

In addition, the Commission strongly recommends that you communicate to Chinese officials U.S. concerns about the situation of thousands of North Koreans who have fled to China and urge the Chinese government to abide by its international commitments to refrain from forcibly repatriating North Koreans and to grant refugee status to those who meet international criteria. In particular, there are reports that 12 North Koreans who, led by South Korean Pastor Chun Ki Won, were arrested by Chinese officials in December 2001 while attempting to enter Mongolia are now facing involuntary repatriation - where they will likely face severe penalties, some say including execution, upon their return due to the international publicity surrounding their case.

We understand that there are many interests that the U.S. government must pursue in each of these countries. However, we strongly recommend that religious freedom concerns be prominent in your dialogue with their governments. This is important not least because it is the protection of religious freedom and other human rights that has proven often to be the most effective guarantor that other U.S. interests will be advanced.

Respectfully,

Felice Gaer

Chair

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

Felice D. Gaer, Chair

• Michael K. Young, Vice Chair Firuz KazemzadehRichard D. LandBishop William Francis MurphyLeila Nadya SadatNina SheaThe Hon. Charles R. StithThe Hon. Shirin Tahir-KheliTad Stahnke, Acting Executive Director