FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 06, 2007

Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 127

-PRESS ADVISORY-

USCIRF EXPEDITED REMOVAL STUDY REPORT CARD: 2 YEARS LATER

When:Thursday, February 8, 2007, 9:30-10:30 am

Where:Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 342

Agenda: The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) published its congressionally authorized Report on Asylum Seekers in Expedited Removal on February 8, 2005. The study identified serious flaws in implementation of the Expedited Removal policy that put asylum seekers at risk of being returned to countries where they may face persecution, and it documented that they were held in inappropriate, prison-like conditions or even actual jails, among other findings.

Despite the passage of two years since the report was released, most of its recommendations have yet to be implemented. Senators Lieberman (ID-CT) and Brownback (R-KS) requested that the Commission report on progress made by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.

The Commission will hold a press conference to present its report card on the performance of those Departments and their subsidiary agencies dealing with expedited removals. The speakers will include:

• Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
• Felice D. Gaer, Chair, USCIRF
• Preeta D. Bansal, Commissioner, USCIRF

RSVP:Angela Stephens, [email protected], (202) 523-3240, x114

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
January 31, 2007

Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 127
cell (202) 375-3787

-EVENT ADVISORY-

The Many Faces of China's Repression: Human Rights, Religious Freedom, and U.S. Diplomacy in China

When: Wednesday, January 31, 2007, 1:30 - 4:00 pm

Where:Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 538

Agenda:

Panel I:Current policy statement from the administration
State Department official invited

Panel II:China's major religious communities: The faces of repression

• Bhuchung Tsering -Vice President, International Campaign for Tibet
• Bob Fu - President, China Aid Association
• Kamila Telenbidaeva - wife of Huseyin Celil, Uyghur Canadian Association
• Erping Zhang - President, Association for Asia Research
• Joseph Kung - President, Cardinal Kung Foundation

Panel III:Human Rights and U.S. Diplomacy in China

• Michael Green - Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies (former Senior Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council)
• Sharon Hom - Executive Director, Human Rights in China

RSVP:Angela Stephens, [email protected], (202) 523-3240, x114

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
January 26, 2007

Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 127
cell (202) 375-3787

Holocaust Remembrance: USCIRF Calls for Renewed Fight against Anti-Semitism

WASHINGTON- This weekend, people around the world will commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day, marked on the anniversary of the Soviet troops' entry into the Auschwitz Nazi death camp in 1945. It is a time to reflect anew on the tragedy of the Holocaust, to pay homage to its 6 million victims and to recommit ourselves to ensuring that such a catastrophe never again be allowed to occur.

Despite the horrifying lessons and staggering losses of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism is still a potent force and reports of anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise. In too many countries, media and hate groups are given free rein to incite ethnic, religious and other irrational hatreds, and anti-Semitism is used as a tool to smear opponents. Some governments do not do enough to fight anti-Semitism; others even fuel it.

In a particularly egregious example last month, the government of Iran sponsored a conference questioning the legitimacy-indeed veracity-of well-established facts of the Holocaust. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other senior Iranian government officials hosted numerous Holocaust deniers, racists and anti-Semites from around the world.

"Six decades after the Holocaust, anti-Semitism remains a grave threat to Jews around the world, as well as to international peace and stability," said Felice D. Gaer, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. "The danger is all the more apparent in the efforts of those who would deny the fact of the Holocaust."

The Commission notes that an important 55-country international organization, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, has made valuable advances in devoting resources and attention to the distinct problem of anti-Semitism. Additionally, the Commission commends the United Nations General Assembly for adopting a resolution Friday that urges member countries to condemn statements or activities that deny the Holocaust. The U.S. government, which introduced the resolution at the Assembly, played a particularly important role in preparing and gathering support for the resolution.

Individual governments and citizens must do more to uproot anti-Semitism from their communities and deprive it-and any other form of hatred based on race, creed or ethnicity-of any place in civilized discourse. Only then can we have hope that the words "Never again" will not ring hollow.

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.