Oct 1, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USCIRF Releases New Report about Religious Tensions and Fulani Communities in West and Central Africa
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report on religious tensions and Fulani communities in west and central Africa:
West and Central Africa Factsheet – This factsheet explores the role that religion plays in escalating violence committed by and against Fulani communities in west and central Africa. Predominantly Muslim and historically associated with cattle herding and livestock rearing, Fulani communities – one of the largest ethnic groups in the world – stretch across the African continent from Senegal to Sudan and have been both the victims and perpetrators of violence against civilians in many countries in recent years. Although the extent to which religious ideology contributes to driving this violence remains a subject of debate, the trend of increasing violence by and against Fulani groups is clearly aggravating religious tensions in countries such as Nigeria and the Central African Republic.
In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S State Department designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its ongoing, systematic, and egregious religious freedom violations. USCIRF also recommended that the State Department place the Central African Republic on its Special Watch List (SWL).
###
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].
Jul 24
Jul 24th 10:30am
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing
Deteriorating Religious Freedom Conditions in Nicaragua
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
10:30 AM-12:00 PM ET
Virtual
Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a virtual hearing on deteriorating religious freedom conditions in Nicaragua and suggested policy options for the U.S. government.
Since 2018, the Nicaraguan government has severely restricted freedom of religion or belief. Catholic clergymen and laypeople have been arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned, and exiled. Catholic charitable and educational organizations have been shuttered on false allegations of money laundering and failure to properly register with authorities. Uniformed and plain clothes officers routinely monitor, harass, and intimidate worshipers during peaceful religious processions. The government has targeted Evangelical pastors as well, sentencing 11 such pastors in March 2024 to imprisonment on spurious money laundering charges. In addition, religious leaders and worshipers in Indigenous communities, including members of the Moravian Church, face harassment and intimidation for peacefully practicing their faith.
Witnesses will discuss Nicaragua’s repressive governance framework and the authorities’ severe crackdown against the Catholic, Protestant, and Indigenous religious communities. They will also explore further policy options for the U.S. government to foster improved religious freedom conditions in the country to help stem the relentless persecution of religious communities in Nicaragua beyond holding government officials accountable for religious freedom violations.
Opening Remarks
- Stephen Schneck, Chair, USCIRF
- Maureen Ferguson, Commissioner, USCIRF
Panel
- Christopher Hernandez-Roy, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Felix Maradiaga, Trustee, Freedom House and Exiled Nicaraguan Human Rights Activist
- Jon Britton Hancock, Founder and President, Mountain Gateway Ministry
- Anexa Alfred, Member of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and exiled Miskitu leader
This hearing is open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the public, and the media. The video recording of the hearing will be posted on the Commission website. For any additional questions or to schedule an interview, please email [email protected].
Jul 3, 2024
In 1998, Republicans and Democrats came together to pass the International Religious Freedom Act, creating USCIRF as an independent government Commission led by a bipartisan group of nine Commissioners appointed by both political party leaders in Congress, and by the president. Twenty-five years later, USCIRF’s Commissioners continue to lead the non-partisan staff to monitor egregious religious freedom violations around the world and to make independent policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress.
On today’s episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck and Vice Chair Eric Ueland join us to discuss USCIRF's bipartisan nature and its unique framework to ensure international religious freedom remains a bipartisan issue in U.S. foreign policy.
Read USCIRF’s 2024 Annual Report