FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2006

Contact:
Angela Stephens, Assistant Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan federal agency, deeply regrets the decision by the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt on Saturday to uphold the Egyptian government's discriminatory policy of prohibiting Baha'is from obtaining a national identity card. A lower court decision in April had allowed members of the Baha'i faith in Egypt to obtain a national identity card and to list their religious affiliation, but the Egyptian government appealed that ruling to the Supreme Administrative Court.

"The court's ruling denies Egyptian Baha'is their rights as citizens of Egypt and would subject them to particular hardship in obtaining education, employment, and social services," said Commission Chair Felice D. Gaer. Baha'is are put to the choice of claiming adherence to a religion other than their own or foregoing an identity card and other official documents.

Last month, the Commission issued a statement noting that Egypt's policy requires all citizens to carry a national identity card that lists one's religion, permitting only Islam, Christianity, and Judaism as choices for that listing. This policy:

• runs contrary to Article 40 of the Egyptian Constitution which states that: "All citizens are equal before the law. They have equal public rights and duties without discrimination between them due to race, ethnic origin, language, religion or creed;"
• violates Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Egypt is a party. The UN Human Rights Committee has stated that no one can be "compelled to reveal [his or her] adherence to a religion or belief." Furthermore, in a 2004 report, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief stated that mention of religion on government identity cards is at "variance with the freedom of religion or belief that is internationally recognized and protected" and that Egypt's policy of excluding "any mention of religions other than Islam, Christianity or Judaism would appear to be a violation of international law;" and
• is inconsistent with the practice of many other countries in the region where Islam is the state religion and/or a source of legislation. Countries in the region that either do not require religious affiliation or do not list it at all on national identity cards include Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Sudan, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.

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
December 13, 2006

Contact:
Angela Stephens, Assistant Communications Director, (202) 523-3240

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a bipartisan, independent federal agency, today expressed regret that while one of the Iraq Study Group's recommendations recognizes the importance of guaranteeing the rights of religious and ethnic minority communities and women, "the final report does not broadly incorporate fundamental human rights standards, including the right to freedom of religion, as an integral component of any way forward for U.S. policy in Iraq," said USCIRF Chair Felice D. Gaer.

"The Commission has repeatedly stressed that, at a minimum, human rights guarantees in Iraq must protect the security and freedom of all Iraqis, and not be limited only to particular groups," Gaer said. "Every Iraqi, including individual Muslims, should have the freedom not only to worship and to practice his or her faith, but also the right to debate and dissent from state-imposed orthodoxy on issues related to religion."

In Recommendation 32 of its report, the Iraq Study Group recommends that "The rights of women and the rights of all minority communities in Iraq, including Turkmen, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Yazidis, Sabeans, and Armenians, must be protected," a recommendation the Commission called for during its presentation to the Iraq Study Group's experts in November. "Yet the Iraq Study Group's recommendations fail to present a strategic vision of human rights promotion and religious freedom advocacy that the Commission believes is critical to securing durable stability in Iraq," Gaer added. "In its 160 page-report, the Iraq Study Group fails to mention the term ‘human rights' or its significance to Iraq even once."

The Commission has long identified the need for a strong and proactive U.S. role to help advance human rights protections for all Iraqis, a need accentuated by the Abu Ghraib events revealed in 2004 and their aftermath. A redoubled and clear commitment to human rights is vital to any successful policy shift in Iraq. A strong guarantee of equality and nondiscrimination in Iraqi society will be a prerequisite to reducing tensions between Sunni and Shi'a. Human rights protections and accountability for abuses will serve to address past abuses under Saddam Hussein and ongoing abuses that have arisen in the form of death squads and other unlawful violence. Without an effective system that can account for these and other human rights violations, instability will persist. Moreover, human rights protections will, over the long term, help combat extremism and prevent the return of authoritarianism and/or the rise of theocratic rule-an eventuality that would have negative implications for women, minority groups, and others, including individual Muslims who choose to debate or dissent from state-imposed orthodoxy.

The Commission urges the administration, the Congress, and other policy makers to incorporate human rights principles into any new approach or strategy for Iraq.

The Commission's policy recommendations on Iraq can be found on the USCIRF website,  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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 14, 2006

Contact:
Angela Stephens, Assistant Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240

-MEDIA ADVISORY-

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan federal agency, today released its new Policy Focus on Russia at a panel discussion held in collaboration with the National Endowment for Democracy on "The Threat to Civic and Religious Freedom in Russia."

In the new Policy Focus, the Commission recommends measures to combat xenophobia, intolerance and hate crimes in Russia, and to ensure the equal legal status and treatment of Russia's various religious communities. The Russia Policy Focus is available in English and Russian on the Commission web site, www.uscirf.gov .

The Commission also recommends reforming or withdrawing the 2006 Russian law on non-commercial (non-governmental) organizations, which may be used to restrict severely the NGOs' ability to function. Sergei Movchan, the director of Russia's Federal Registration Service (FRS), confirmed to the Commission that some of the law's most intrusive provisions apply to religious organizations, to charitable and educational entities set up by religious organizations, as well as to groups defending human rights. Other Commission recommendations in the new Policy Focus include measures to address the crisis in Chechnya and the North Caucasus. The Commission has received increasing reports of unwarranted official government detention and prosecution of Muslims in Russia, which are described in the Policy Focus.

Since Vladimir Putin gained the presidency of Russia in 2000, the Russian government has steadily retreated from democratic reform, endangering significant gains, including in the areas of freedom of religion or belief. Such developments include: curtailments of media freedom and of the independence of political parties; tighter restrictions on non-governmental organizations, religious communities, and other civil society groups; harassment of human rights organizations; legal restrictions on freedom of assembly; constraints on the use of popular referenda; and President Putin's decision to end the direct popular election of regional governors.

A Commission delegation visited Russia in July 2006, meeting with senior government officials, religious leaders, human rights monitors, civil society representatives and journalists.

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.