Mar 14, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2007
Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urges Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to press Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem for the immediate release of Father Nguyen Van Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, and others recently arrested for advocating for the freedoms of speech, association, and religion in Vietnam.
Rice meets with Khiem on Thursday, March 15, to discuss agreements reached during President George W. Bush's November visit to Vietnam. Since that visit, Vietnam has received Permanent Normal Trading Relations (PNTR) with the United States, been removed from the State Department's Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list for severe violations of religious freedom-an action that was premature, in the Commission's view-and joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Only a few weeks after gaining WTO membership, Vietnam has initiated an extensive crackdown on democracy and human rights activists.
"The timing of this crackdown-only a few weeks after getting into WTO-raises serious questions about the government's credibility on its pledges to respect human rights, including freedom of religion," said Felice D. Gaer, chair of the Commission.
Father Ly and Nguyen Van Dai have been vocal proponents of religious freedom in Vietnam. This work has led them to press for greater democracy and legal reforms, as well as protections for the freedoms of speech, assembly and association.
"We urge Secretary Rice to seek the immediate release of Father Ly and other human rights defenders in Vietnam. Moreover, the U.S. should make the strongest possible case to the Government of Vietnam that the responsibilities of joining the international community are not fully realized by Vietnam's WTO membership. Protection for universal human rights must come first," Gaer said.
Father Ly, founder of the Vietnam Progression Party and one of the editors of "Freedom of Speech" magazine, was arrested on February 18 in Hue. He was also one of the original founders of the Block 8406 democracy movement, which started in April 2006 when hundreds of people signed public petitions calling for greater democracy and human rights.
Previously, Father Ly was arrested in 2001 and sentenced to 15 years in prison after submitting written testimony to the USCIRF, in which he was highly critical of the state of religious freedom in Vietnam and advocated that the U.S. Congress should refrain from ratifying the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement due to the Vietnamese Government's lack of respect for human rights and freedom of religion. Father Ly had been released in a general amnesty in 2005.
Nguyen Van Dai, one of Vietnam's few human rights lawyers, was arrested in Hanoi on March 6. He has defended individuals arrested for their religious activities, and is co-founder of the Committee for Human Rights in Vietnam and one of the principal organizers of Block 8406.
The two have been charged with disseminating propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam under Article 88 of the Penal Code. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison.
Others who have been arrested, temporarily detained or interrogated include Father Chun Tin and Father Phan Van Loi, Pastor Nguyen Quang, and Nguyen Cong Chinh, and lawyers Li Thi Cong Nhan and Le Quoc Quan.
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.
Felice D. Gaer,Chair•Michael Cromartie,Vice Chair•Elizabeth H. Prodromou, Vice Chair•Nina Shea,Vice Chair•Preeta D. Bansal•Archbishop Charles J. Chaput•Khaled Abou El Fadl•Richard D. Land•Bishop Ricardo Ramirez•Ambassador John V. Hanford III,Ex-Officio•Joseph R. Crapa,Executive Director |
Mar 14, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2007
Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 127
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan federal agency, has sent a letter to President George W. Bush urging renewed U.S. leadership to achieve implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of January 2005 that brought an official end to the North-South civil war in Sudan and to advance United Nations protection efforts in Darfur. The Commission urges President Bush to use his personal prestige to enlist international support to press Khartoum to end its delaying tactics on CPA implementation.
USCIRF is concerned that the North-South peace is in jeopardy and that the crisis in Darfur, in addition to being a dire human tragedy, has contributed to severe delays in implementing CPA mechanisms, including promised commissions to resolve disputes over distribution of Sudan’s oil wealth and boundaries, elections, revenue-sharing, local governance and human rights.
At a reception March 13 honoring the Congressional Human Rights Caucus’ Task Force on International Religious Freedom and highlighting its upcoming work on Sudan, Commission Chair Felice D. Gaer said: “In this dark hour, when the progress enshrined in the CPA is imperiled, we urge you to exercise leadership in pressing Khartoum to end its delaying tactics on CPA implementation and United Nations protection efforts in Darfur.”
“The high-level attention of the Administration was pivotal to bringing about the CPA in January 2005 and is sorely needed today, when we note the palpable lack of progress in implementing the CPA’s mechanisms and the genocide in Darfur,” Gaer added.
Following is the full text of the letter, including recommendations.
March 13, 2007
The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent, bipartisan federal body, respectfully requests your leadership to prevent the Sudanese people from losing the hard-won gains that owe so much to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of January 2005. In addition to the grave situation in Darfur, North-South peace in Sudan appears to be in jeopardy. Now is the time to renew the high-level attention of your Administration that was pivotal to bringing about the CPA in 2005 and is so sorely needed today. In this dark hour, when the progress enshrined in the CPA is imperiled, we urge you to exercise leadership in pressing Khartoum to end its delaying tactics on CPA implementation and United Nations protection efforts in Darfur.
Sudan is now almost halfway between the signing of the CPA in January 2005 and national elections that should be held by July 2009. Although the CPA brought a halt to Sudan's North-South civil war, there has been a palpable lack of progress in implementing the CPA's mechanisms, including the promised commissions to resolve disputes over the distribution of Sudan's oil wealth and boundaries, elections, revenue-sharing, local governance and human rights, and the Commission for the Protection of the Rights of non-Muslims in the National Capital.
The genocide in Darfur is necessarily a huge focus of the world’s attention. In addition to the tragic consequences for its victims, the Darfur crisis has severely delayed implementation of the CPA. Since 2003, government forces and “Janjaweed” have carried out a genocide in slow motion. Though Darfur is a Muslim region, Khartoum’s policies and tactics regarding Darfur are shockingly similar to those it used previously in the South, where the victims were predominantly Christians or followers of traditional African religions. The Darfur conflict illustrates a broader pattern of deliberate marginalization and resource-deprivation of all of Sudan’s regions with non-Arab or non-Muslim populations by an unrepresentative and unelected elite drawn from a handful of tribes in the Khartoum area.
Implementation of the CPA, including elections to establish representative democratic institutions and governmental accountability at all levels, would go a long way to end the concentration of political power that has led to so much bloodshed.
More efforts are obviously needed, not only by the United States, but by others concerned with stability in a volatile and resource-rich part of the world: our European allies, Sudan’s neighbors, and countries such as China and India that are Khartoum’s economic partners in the oil sector and whose expanding international roles entail increased responsibilities for international peace and security.
The Commission calls on your Administration to lead others in ensuring high-level action on implementation of the CPA. Specifically, we ask you to use your personal prestige to enlist international support, including from the European Union, Sudan’s neighbors and nations such as China and India to press Khartoum to end its delaying tactics on CPA implementation. Other specific recommendations are included in an appendix to this letter.
Mr. President, success in Sudan is still achievable but it is absolutely contingent on sustained and far-reaching U.S. leadership. Thank you for considering the Commission’s recommendations on how that success can be secured.
Very truly yours,
Felice D. Gaer
Chair
cc: The Honorable Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State
The Honorable Stephen J. Hadley, National Security Advisor
The Honorable John Hanford, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom
The Honorable Jendayi Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
The Honorable Michael Kozak, Senior Director for Democracy, Human Rights, and International Operations, National Security Council
Andrew Natsios, Special Envoy for Sudan
Appendix
The Commission on International Religious Freedom recommends that the U.S. government should take the lead in the following areas:
Coalition Building
Verification and Follow-through
Strengthening the Peace
Increasing Resources
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.
Felice D. Gaer,Chair•Michael Cromartie,Vice Chair•Elizabeth H. Prodromou, Vice Chair•Nina Shea,Vice Chair•Preeta D. Bansal•Archbishop Charles J. Chaput•Khaled Abou El Fadl•Richard D. Land•Bishop Ricardo Ramirez•Ambassador John V. Hanford III,Ex-Officio•Joseph R. Crapa,Executive Director |
Mar 13, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2007
Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom emphasizes its grave concern about the growing Iraqi refugee crisis that has seen more than 1.8 million people displaced from their homes inside Iraq and close to 2 million forced to take refuge outside their homeland. The Commission has raised this issue repeatedly in recent years and urges the U.S. government to take decisive action to accommodate more Iraqi refugees in this country.
The Commission notes with interest that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently established a task force on Iraqi refugees and that the U.S. agreed to take in up to 7,000 displaced Iraqis this year and increase the amount of aid to refugees living in countries neighboring Iraq. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is convening a conference in April to address the humanitarian and protection needs of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons. We call on the U.S. to take a leadership role in this conference.
Yet the Commission regards these measures as inadequate to respond to the alarming situation and calls on the U.S. government to do more.
"The United States must act immediately to identify the most vulnerable Iraqi refugees and move quickly to resettle them in the United States," said Felice D. Gaer, chair of the Commission.
Among the most vulnerable are Chaldo-Assyrians, Sabean Mandaeans and Yazidis, who make up a disproportionately large number of refugees from Iraq. These religious minorities report that they are targeted because they do not conform with Muslim practices or are perceived as working for the U.S.-led multinational forces. Members of these communities have been targeted in violent attacks, including murder, torture, abductions for ransom and reportedly for forced conversion, rape and destruction of community property. Additionally, in the sectarian strife that has engulfed Iraq, members of many Muslim communities have suffered attacks by their rivals.
According to the Iraqi Ministry for Migration and Displacement, nearly half the members of Iraq's non-Muslim minorities have fled abroad. The UNHCR estimates that these minorities, who account for 3 percent of the population, comprise about a third of the Iraqis who have sought sanctuary outside their country.
"As a nation founded by those fleeing repression, we must find room in our hearts and communities to help these uprooted people," Gaer said.
The Commission recommends that the U.S. State Department:
The Commission urges the U.S. Congress to:
Finally, the Commission urges the U.S. government to encourage the UNHCR to:
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan federal agency established by Congress in 1998 to review violations of the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad.
In 2004, the Commission raised with President George W. Bush the drastic effect of escalating religious violence on Iraq's ancient Christian and other minorities. We heard more about the downward spiraling situation from representatives of Iraqi Chaldo-Assyrian refugees with whom a Commission delegation met in Turkey last fall.
We then wrote to Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky about the urgent need to provide members of religious minorities who have fled Iraq with access to the U.S. refugee program. In December, the Commission published an op-ed on the subject in The Washington Times, which helped spur Congressional hearings and led to the decision to establish the task force on Iraqi refugees.
We are convinced that now is the time for urgent action on protecting Iraqi religious minorities both inside and outside their homeland.
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.
Felice D. Gaer,Chair•Michael Cromartie,Vice Chair•Elizabeth H. Prodromou, Vice Chair•Nina Shea,Vice Chair•Preeta D. Bansal•Archbishop Charles J. Chaput•Khaled Abou El Fadl•Richard D. Land•Bishop Ricardo Ramirez•Ambassador John V. Hanford III,Ex-Officio•Joseph R. Crapa,Executive Director |