FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 31, 2002

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

WHAT:Michael K. Young, Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federal agency advising the Administration and Congress, will testify at a hearing of the House International Relations Committee on "Defining the Next Step on the Path to Peace in Sudan."

WHEN:Wednesday, June 5, 2002, at 10:15 a.m.

WHERE:Room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC.

BACKGROUND:The Commission has studied the civil war in Sudan since 1999, and has made recommendations to Congress and the Administration in reports issued in 2000, 2001, and 2002. (The reports and recommendations are available on the Commission's Web site at www.uscirf.gov.) Several Commission recommendations have become U.S. policy. With the recent release of a report by the president's Special Envoy to Sudan, former Sen. John Danforth, debate over next steps for U.S. policy in Sudan has heated up. The Commission backs capital-market reforms, drawn from Commission recommendations, that are included in the Sudan Peace Act as passed by the House. The Senate has yet to go to conference on the measure.

Also testifying at the hearing will be Walter Kansteiner, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa; Roger Winter, U.S. Agency for International Development; Francis Deng, UN Special Rapporteur for internally displaced persons; John Prendergast, Africa Director, International Crisis Group; and Prof. Eric Reeves, Smith College.

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 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."