Oct 7, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 6, 2005
Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240 (202) 523-3240, ext. 27
WASHINGTON - As part of its ongoing work with U.S. policymakers and others involved in Iraq's political transition, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has released its analysis of human rights provisions from Iraq's final draft permanent constitution, which is scheduled to be voted upon by the Iraqi people in a referendum on October 15, 2005. Iraq's final draft constitution incorporates positive provisions related to human rights protections and makes significant improvements over previous drafts. The Commission, however, finds that several provisions remain cause for concern. While the number of judges on the Federal Supreme Court and their mode of appointmentwill be established by a two-thirds vote of the members of Iraq's Council of Representatives, the constitution allows for the appointment to Iraq's highest court of experts in Islamic jurisprudence who may not have any training in civil law or other relevant subjects.
"This provision in the draft increases the possibility of a court in which restrictions in the name of Islamic law will be permitted to limit fundamental freedoms, including the right of every Iraqi as an individual to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief," said USCIRF Chair Michael Cromartie.
Similar constitutional provisions allowing for the appointment of Islamic experts to the Supreme Court are found in Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Afghanistan. Appointing judges whose sole expertise is Islamic law to the Court threatens the constitution's human right protections, in turn threatening the fundamental rights of individual Muslims, members of religious minorities, non-religious individuals, and women, to dissent from state imposed religious orthodoxies.
The Commission recommends that the U.S. government urge Iraq's Council of Representatives, after it is elected, to ensure that any enabling legislation concerning the appointment criteria for judges to the Federal Supreme Court not be based solely on an individual's training in Islamic jurisprudence, but rather should require, at a minimum, that all judges have adequate training in civil law.
"Given the short amount of time left to educate Iraqi voters on the content of the draft constitution, much will depend upon the composition of Iraq's next government and assembly, and the direction these bodies will take with respect to implementing legislation, particularly with regard to the formation of Iraq's Federal Supreme Court. The United States and the international community therefore should launch an education campaign so that the Iraqi electorate will be better able to understand their rights and ascertain how political parties intend to reconcile the principles of Islam with Iraq's international human rights obligations," Cromartie noted.
USCIRF has stressed repeatedly that the successful restoration of freedoms and building of democracy in Iraq would require, at a minimum, the inclusion of guarantees for every Iraqi of the right to freedom of religion or belief and other related human rights in Iraq's permanent constitution, in accordance with international standards which Iraq has pledged to uphold. According to a recent USCIRF study, Islam can coexist with guarantees protecting freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief. The Commission continues to stress that this fact must form the centerpiece of U.S. and international engagement on Iraq's political transition, including its permanent constitution.
The Commission's analysis calls particular attention to the following provisions in the constitution:
Article 2
First: Islam is the official religion of the State and it is a fundamental source of legislation:
A.No law that contradicts the established provisions of Islam may be established.
B.No law that contradicts the principles of democracy may be established.
C.No law that contradicts the rights and basic freedoms stipulated in this constitution may be established.
Second:This Constitution guarantees the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people and guarantees the full religious rights of all individuals to freedom of religious belief and practice such as Christians, Yazedis, and Mandi Sabeans.
Article 89
...
Second: The Federal Supreme Court shall be made up of number of judges, and experts in Islamic jurisprudence and law experts whose number, the method of their selection and the work of the court shall be determined by a law enacted by a two third majority of the members of the Council of Representatives.
Article 39
Iraqis are free in their commitment to their personal status according to their religions, sects, beliefs, or choices and that shall be regulated by law.
Article 100
The High Commission for Human Rights, Independent Electoral High Commission and Commission on Public Integrity are independent commissions, which shall be subject to monitoring by the Council of Representatives. A law shall regulate their functions.
Copies of the analysis prepared by the Commission are available for download from the Commission's website, http://www.uscirf.gov .
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.
Michael Cromartie,Chair
|
Oct 6, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 6, 2005
Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240 (202) 523-3240, ext. 27
WASHINGTON - As part of its ongoing work with U.S. policymakers and others involved in Iraq's political transition, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has released its analysis of human rights provisions from Iraq's final draft permanent constitution, which is scheduled to be voted upon by the Iraqi people in a referendum on October 15, 2005. Iraq's final draft constitution incorporates positive provisions related to human rights protections and makes significant improvements over previous drafts. The Commission, however, finds that several provisions remain cause for concern. While the number of judges on the Federal Supreme Court and their mode of appointmentwill be established by a two-thirds vote of the members of Iraq's Council of Representatives, the constitution allows for the appointment to Iraq's highest court of experts in Islamic jurisprudence who may not have any training in civil law or other relevant subjects.
"This provision in the draft increases the possibility of a court in which restrictions in the name of Islamic law will be permitted to limit fundamental freedoms, including the right of every Iraqi as an individual to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief," said USCIRF Chair Michael Cromartie.
Similar constitutional provisions allowing for the appointment of Islamic experts to the Supreme Court are found in Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Afghanistan. Appointing judges whose sole expertise is Islamic law to the Court threatens the constitution's human right protections, in turn threatening the fundamental rights of individual Muslims, members of religious minorities, non-religious individuals, and women, to dissent from state imposed religious orthodoxies.
The Commission recommends that the U.S. government urge Iraq's Council of Representatives, after it is elected, to ensure that any enabling legislation concerning the appointment criteria for judges to the Federal Supreme Court not be based solely on an individual's training in Islamic jurisprudence, but rather should require, at a minimum, that all judges have adequate training in civil law.
"Given the short amount of time left to educate Iraqi voters on the content of the draft constitution, much will depend upon the composition of Iraq's next government and assembly, and the direction these bodies will take with respect to implementing legislation, particularly with regard to the formation of Iraq's Federal Supreme Court. The United States and the international community therefore should launch an education campaign so that the Iraqi electorate will be better able to understand their rights and ascertain how political parties intend to reconcile the principles of Islam with Iraq's international human rights obligations," Cromartie noted.
USCIRF has stressed repeatedly that the successful restoration of freedoms and building of democracy in Iraq would require, at a minimum, the inclusion of guarantees for every Iraqi of the right to freedom of religion or belief and other related human rights in Iraq's permanent constitution, in accordance with international standards which Iraq has pledged to uphold. According to a recent USCIRF study, Islam can coexist with guarantees protecting freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief. The Commission continues to stress that this fact must form the centerpiece of U.S. and international engagement on Iraq's political transition, including its permanent constitution.
The Commission's analysis calls particular attention to the following provisions in the constitution:
Article 2
First: Islam is the official religion of the State and it is a fundamental source of legislation:
A.No law that contradicts the established provisions of Islam may be established.
B.No law that contradicts the principles of democracy may be established.
C.No law that contradicts the rights and basic freedoms stipulated in this constitution may be established.
Second:This Constitution guarantees the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people and guarantees the full religious rights of all individuals to freedom of religious belief and practice such as Christians, Yazedis, and Mandi Sabeans.
Article 89
...
Second: The Federal Supreme Court shall be made up of number of judges, and experts in Islamic jurisprudence and law experts whose number, the method of their selection and the work of the court shall be determined by a law enacted by a two third majority of the members of the Council of Representatives.
Article 39
Iraqis are free in their commitment to their personal status according to their religions, sects, beliefs, or choices and that shall be regulated by law.
Article 100
The High Commission for Human Rights, Independent Electoral High Commission and Commission on Public Integrity are independent commissions, which shall be subject to monitoring by the Council of Representatives. A law shall regulate their functions.
Copies of the analysis prepared by the Commission are available for download from the Commission's website, http://www.uscirf.gov .
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.
Michael Cromartie,Chair
|
Oct 4, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 3, 2005
Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has written to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales expressing its concern over the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the case Li v. Gonzales, which involves an asylum claim by a Chinese Christian who organized an unregistered house church in China. The Fifth Circuit upheld a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals overturning an Immigration Judge's decision to grant Mr. Li withholding of removal from the United States. The Fifth Circuit adopted the Justice Department's position that Mr. Li had been prosecuted for failing to register his church with the government, not persecuted on account of his religion. The Commission is deeply troubled by the potential impact of this decision and the positions advanced by the Department of Justice in the case, which we believe undermine the international leadership of the United States in protecting asylum seekers and advancing the right to freedom of religion or belief.
"The decision to deny Mr. Li protection is at odds with the positions advanced by the Administration and the State Department on conditions for freedom of religion in China and whether or not those conditions amount to violations of international human rights standards," said USCIRF Chair Michael Cromartie. "As a precedent, Li v. Gonzales will effectively provide a refuge from international law for those countries that criminalize ‘unregistered' religious activity. It will refuse refuge, however, to those who flee persecution from such countries."
The text of the letter follows:
Dear Mr. Attorney General:
I am writing on behalf of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. We would like to thank the Department of Justice for the recent meeting which was convened at our request by Assistant Attorney General Peter Keisler. At the meeting, Assistant Attorney General Keisler and his colleagues from the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security listened to our concerns regarding the recent Fifth Circuit decision inLi v. Gonzales. The Commission is deeply troubled by the potential impact of this decision and the positions advanced by the Department of Justice in that case, which we believe undermine the international leadership of the United States in protecting asylum seekers and advancing the right to freedom of religion or belief.
The Commission is an independent government agency which advises the President, the Secretary of State, and the Congress on matters relating to international religious freedom. The Commission has focused considerable attention on the situation in China, where the government has engaged in severe and systematic violations of freedom of religion or belief against members of virtually all religious communities, including Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, underground Catholics, house church Protestants, and spiritual movements such as the Falun Gong.
As you are aware, the Commission recently completed a Congressionally authorized study on the treatment of asylum seekers in Expedited Removal proceedings. The Department of Justice has maintained a cooperative relationship with the Commission, and the Executive Office for Immigration Review has invited the Commission to participate in numerous trainings of immigration judges and attorneys at the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The Commission has not previously taken a position on an individual asylum case, but is compelled as a matter of principle and precedent to do so now.
Li v. Gonzales involves an asylum claim by a Chinese Christian who organized an unregistered house church in China. For his role in this activity, Mr. Li was arrested, beaten and detained for five days, lost his job, was forced to clean public toilets without pay, and faced prosecution and - potentially - years of imprisonment. The Immigration Judge granted Mr. Li withholding of removal, having found that Mr. Li would "more likely than not" face persecution for his religion were he to return to China. The INS trial attorney appealed, and the BIA (in a 2 to 1 decision) reversed the Immigration Judge, and ordered Mr. Li removed. The Fifth Circuit upheld the decision by the Board. While the BIA and the Fifth Circuit found Mr. Li to be credible, they ordered him removed. They found that Mr. Li had been subject to prosecution for failing to register his church - which they distinguished from persecution on the basis of religion.
The Commission - which recently returned from China - is concerned with the increasing trend by China and other authoritarian governments to criminalize religious activity on the sole basis that the activity is not approved or the relevant religious organization registered by the government. Section 3 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 explicitly defines arbitrary religious registration requirements as a "violation of the internationally recognized right to religious freedom." The President clearly shares this concern in China and has raised the issue on numerous occasions with the Chinese leadership.
Mr. Li is a case in point, and the decision to deny him protection is at odds with the positions advanced by the Administration and the State Department on conditions for freedom of religion in China and whether or not those conditions amount to violations of international human rights standards. As a precedent, Li v. Gonzales will effectively provide a refuge from international law for those countries that criminalize "unregistered" religious activity. It will refuse refuge, however, to those who flee persecution from such countries.
We have provided Assistant Attorney General Keisler with documentation of the human rights violations endured by those who belong to unregistered - as well as registered - churches in China. We look forward to continue working with the Department in addressing this important issue.
Sincerely,
Michael Cromartie
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.
Michael Cromartie, Chair