Jun 2, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2017
FIRUZ KAZEMZADEH: One of the First USCIRF Commissioners Dies
USCIRF Expresses Its Deepest Regrets at the Passing of a Founder
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was saddened to learn that on May 17 Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh died. He was a professor emeritus of history at Yale, a distinguished member of the American Baha’i community, and a tireless champion of international religious freedom. In the accompanying picture, Dr. Kazemzadeh is shown (right) at a USCIRF hearing on Sudan in 2000.
Dr. Kazemzadeh was one of the first commissioners appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), having been chosen by then President Bill Clinton in May 1999. The U.S. Congress established the Commission in the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA). Dr. Kazemzadeh was a leader of the American Baha’i community serving on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States (the elected Baha’i national governing council) for nearly four decades. In addition, he was a scholar and professor emeritus at Yale University.
USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J., said, on behalf of the Commission, that, “It was leaders such as Dr. Kazemzadeh who helped forge USCIRF into a strong and vibrant voice for religious freedom throughout the world. As we look to IRFA’s 20th anniversary in 2018, we know the debt of gratitude we owe individuals such as Dr. Kazemzadeh. He spoke loudly and continuously about the importance of the freedom of religion or belief and ensured that it was always on the U.S. foreign policy agenda. We have dedicated ourselves to the same cause and will carry on in his spirit and memory.”
In 2001, then U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle reappointed Dr. Kazemzadeh to a second two-year term. He served as a commissioner until 2003 and as Vice Chair from 2001 to 2002. In response to his reappointment, Dr. Kazemzadeh said, “The struggle for religious freedom, like the struggle for the abolition of slavery or the exploitation of child labor will be a long and difficult one, but the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will triumph and the Commission will contribute to their eventual triumph.”
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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 [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611)
May 30, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2017
KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ: New USCIRF Report on Religious Minorities in the KRI
USCIRF recognizes the KRI’s religious freedoms as “comparatively robust” as opposed to its regional neighbors
WASHINGTON, DC – Today the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a report on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) titled Wilting in the Kurdish Sun: The Hopes and Fears of Religious Minorities in Northern Iraq. This groundbreaking report is the first independent report of its kind to involve in-person interviews with representatives of almost all the religious minority groups in the KRI.
The report notes that “the KRI remains far more welcoming and tolerant to minorities than its regional neighbors” and expresses hope that special effort will be taken to “preserve [the] freedoms and rights” of minorities.
USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J. stated: “Since the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria came to power in 2014, it has committed genocide and threatened the very existence of the region’s religious minority communities. These communities, including Yezidis, Christians, Shabaks, and Turkmen, have now fled to the KRI. We praise the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for sheltering and protecting these oppressed groups and urge it to continue to take steps to ensure that these communities realize their rights and fully participate in society.”
This optimism, however, is tempered by research indicating that “troubling issues related to discrimination and even violence targeting ethnic and religious minorities exist, exacerbated by the KRI’s strained resources and security situations.” The deteriorating political and economic condition in the KRI and Iraq, combined with poorly enforced protections for the KRG’s internally-displaced persons (IDPs) communities in the KRI, could put minorities increasingly at risk.
Based on interviews with numerous relevant actors and detailed research, including trips to the region, the authors also found that:
- Kurdish authorities are accused of attempting to “Kurdify” more ethnically diverse parts of the disputed territories. In some instances, groups have reported the destruction of properties and IDPs have been prevented from returning home.
- The Yezidis face discrimination from authorities in Sinjar and report pressure to identify as Kurds.
- Christians have complained of land appropriation by Kurdish landowners and have been prevented from protesting such measures.
Both the full report and a condensed version, titled Executive Summary and Key Findings, may be found at www.USCIRF.gov. Follow USCIRF’s posting about this report on Twitter (@USCIRF/#WiltingInTheSun) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/USCIRF/).
For more information, please see the chapter on Iraq in USCIRF’s 2017 Annual Report. Read the chapter in Arabic or Kurdish.
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 [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611).
May 26, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 26, 2017
IRAN: Release Maryam Naghash Zargaran
Commissioner Cliff May Says Religious Prisoners of Conscience “Should be honored for their contributions to society rather than penalized for…what they believe”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly urges the Iranian government to release Maryam Naghash Zargaran from prison. Not only has she been detained unjustly because of her Christian faith, but the Iranian authorities have denied her urgently needed medical care. On this day last year, Maryam launched a hunger strike, sadly one of many, to protest the authorities’ disregard of her medical needs and refusal to grant her conditional release or medical leave.
“For more than four years, Maryam Naghash Zargaran has suffered in an Iranian prison, falsely charged with ‘propagating against the Islamic regime and collusion intended to harm national security’,” said USCIRF Commissioner Clifford D. May. “The Iranian government must cease its targeting of Christians and release Maryam and other religious prisoners of conscience. They should be honored for their contributions to society rather than penalized for who they are or what they believe.”
Commissioner Clifford D. May has taken up the case of Maryam Naghash Zargaran as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. This project highlights the plight of individuals who have been imprisoned for their religious beliefs, practices, or identity.
Ms. Zargaran was arrested in January 2013 and in July 2013 began serving a four-year prison sentence. Her sentence appeared to be in connection with her work at an orphanage alongside Iranian-American Christian pastor Saeed Abedini, who also had been unjustly imprisoned and was released in January 2016 after much international attention and protest.
Maryam suffers from several serious health issues, including heart disease for which she underwent surgery prior to her arrest and imprisonment. In September 2013, after an apparent heart attack, she reportedly was transferred from Evin Prison to Modares Hospital for treatment. Since then, she has undertaken multiple hunger strikes to protest her prison treatment, and has been granted several temporary medical leaves as a result. However, officials forced her to return to prison before her treatments were finished, causing her condition to worsen. In December 2016, Maryam was informed that her four-year sentence had been extended for 42 days because of the time she spent outside of the prison during the summer of 2016.
Since 1999, USCIRF has recommended, and the State Department has designated, Iran as a “country of particular concern” (CPC), for its “systematic, ongoing and egregious” violations of religious freedom. For more information, please see the chapter on Iran in USCIRF’s 2017 Annual Report. Read the chapter in Persian here.
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, dedicated to defending the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad. To learn more about the Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project or to interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611).