FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2002

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

While acknowledging major improvements in the situation of religious freedom in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet regime, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is concerned about numerous unfavorable developments since the passage of the 1997 law on religion that restricts religious activity and grants unfair advantages to so-called "traditional" religions. "Particularly ominous is the role of the Russian federal government in recent official discrimination against religious minorities," said Michael K. Young, Chair of the Commission, a federal agency advising the Administration and Congress.

"During his upcoming summit in Moscow, President Bush must meet with non-Orthodox Christian leaders as well as with the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church and non-Christian religious groups," said Chairman Young. "Meeting only with Russian Orthodox leaders at this sensitive time for religious freedom in Russia will very much send the wrong signal. The President must also make it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that religious freedom has to be fully protected in order to build closer ties between Russia and the United States," Young continued.

Last month, Russian officials revoked the visa of Roman Catholic Bishop Jerzy Mazur, one of only four Catholic bishops in the country. Bishop Mazur, who heads the diocese of Irkutsk, was also apparently put on a list of persons permanently barred from entering Russia. The visa of at least one other Catholic priest has also recently been revoked, and Russian officials are reportedly trying to expel another foreign-born priest who resides in Magadan. After decades of repression during the Soviet period, the Catholic Church in Russia is still highly dependent on foreign-born clergy. This pattern of harassment has emerged following a decision by the Church in February to establish formal dioceses in Russia, and has coincided with demonstrations against Catholics, reportedly organized by a coalition of Russian lawmakers and nationalist activists, and proposals in the Duma (lower house of parliament) to favor the Russian Orthodox Church and repress other Christian Churches.

Roman Catholics are not the only group experiencing problems in Russia. Some two thousand religious organizations face liquidation under a restrictive 1997 law requiring registration with the state. Dozens of groups have already been liquidated, including several that apparently were functioning actively. Local officials have refused to register several other groups, exposing them to potential liquidation and other forms of harassment. These problems affect Jehovah's Witnesses, Evangelical Christians, Pentecostals, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and others. There has also been a recent upswing in anti-Semitic incidents.

The Commission is also concerned that the Russian government continues to attempt to justify its human rights abuses in Chechnya as necessary to combat terrorism, while at the same time it has not taken effective steps to control its security forces or investigate and hold accountable those responsible for past abuses

The Commission welcomes President Bush's upcoming visit to Russia as an opportunity for him to raise these concerns publicly and at the highest levels of the Russian government. The Commission urges the President to meet with representatives from a variety of religious communities in Russia, including those groups that have come under pressure recently. The Commission also urges President Bush to raise these concerns directly with President Putin - concerns that call into question the Russian government's commitment to uphold its international obligations to protect religious freedom and other human rights for all in Russia.

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
May 2, 2002

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

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federal agency advising the Administration and Congress, will publicly release its third Annual Report, containing policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress, at a press conference Monday, May 6. The Commission will also issue country reports and recommendations on China, Indonesia, North Korea, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The Annual Report addresses religious freedom issues in more than 20 countries and also contains a critique of the State Department's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom and its implementation of the International Religious Freedom Act. Commissioners will discuss highlights of the reports and recommendations and take questions from the media.

Who:U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

What:Press conference, third Annual Report

When:Monday, May 6, 2002, 2:30 p.m.

Where:National Press Club, Holeman Lounge, 13th Floor

Copies of the Annual Report and individual country reports will be available at the press conference and will also be posted on the Commission Web site at www.uscirf.gov. They can also be obtained by contacting the Communications department at (202) 523-3240. Interviews with Commissioners may be arranged by contacting Lawrence J. Goodrich, Director of Communications, at (202) 523-3240, ext. 27.

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
April 14, 2003

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

WASHINGTON - A just peace in Sudan is not possible unless the Khartoum regime is prevented from using the country's oil revenues to step up its brutal war against the south, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federal agency advising the Administration and Congress, said in a report and recommendations released today. In its three years of studying Sudan's civil war, the Commission has found that the development of Sudan's oil wealth has become an increasingly important factor in the intensification of the conflict.

"The U.S. government should not push the parties into a cease-fire agreement that allows Khartoum to continue to build up its military," said Commission Chair Michael K. Young. The Commission recommended that any comprehensive cease-fire in Sudan be conditioned on placing the country's oil revenues in an internationally administered trust fund to be expended solely for developmental and humanitarian purposes on an equitable basis in both the north and the south. "A cease-fire without such an arrangement will make the regime far less likely to engage in good-faith bargaining over power-sharing," Chairman Young said.

In order to move Khartoum to the peace table, the Commission also urged the Administration and the Senate to support the House version of the Sudan Peace Act, which includes important disclosure requirements and a provision limiting access to American capital markets by foreign oil companies involved in Sudan's oil industry (provisions that were first proposed by the Commission in its 2000 Annual Report).

"The Commission acknowledges the efforts of the President's Special Envoy for peace in Sudan, Sen. John C. Danforth, to relieve humanitarian suffering caused by the brutal 19-year civil war in that country, a war that has killed more the 2 million people and in which religion plays a major role," said Commission Chair Michael K. Young. However, with the delivery of Senator Danforth's report to President Bush, it is absolutely essential that the United States government stay engaged in the peace process, Chairman Young said. In its report, the Commission recommended that peace talks should be based on the Declaration of Principles previously agreed to by Khartoum and opposition groups under the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), including self-determination for the south and a secular government that would ensure religious freedom for all individuals, north and south.

The Commission, in its past two annual reports, found the government of Sudan to be the world's most violent abuser of the right to freedom of religion and belief. The Commission also found that religion is a major factor in Sudan's ongoing civil war, and that religious persecution by the Khartoum regime is intertwined with other human rights and humanitarian violations in Sudan, including aerial bombardment of civilians and of humanitarian facilities, deliberate denial of international humanitarian assistance, abduction of women and children into conditions of slavery, and the forcible displacement of populations from oil-producing areas.

As was graphically demonstrated in the bombing of the World Food Program's feeding center in Western Upper Nile on February 20, 2002, and the April 2002 denial of access for humanitarian relief flights on which almost 2 million people depend, Sudan's government continues to commit genocidal atrocities against civilian populations in the south and central parts of the country.

Over the past three years, the Commission has made a series of recommendations regarding U.S. policy toward Sudan, several of which have been adopted. President Bush prominently raised the situation in Sudan in a major address in May 2001. The President appointed former Senator John Danforth as Special Envoy for Sudan in September 2001. The Administration has also taken several steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis of the Sudanese people, including designation of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Andrew Natsios as Special Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan and several reforms undertaken by USAID. All of these efforts implement directly or indirectly prior recommendations of this Commission.

The complete text of the Commission's latest report and recommendations on Sudan can be found on the Commission's Web site at www.uscirf.gov ; print copies can be obtained by calling the phone number above.

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."