Feb 2, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 1, 2008
Contact: Judith Ingram, Communications Director
(202) 523-3240, ext. 127
WASHINGTON-Commissioner Felice D. Gaer will testify at a hearing of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 7, on global efforts to monitor and combat anti-Semitism. Commissioner Gaer will focus on U.S. policies to fight anti-Semitism within the context of the 56-state Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as the OSCE's own initiatives and performance.
Ms. Gaer is Director of the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights of the American Jewish Committee. Ms. Gaer, who was first appointed to the Commission in 2001, has served twice as Chair of the Commission, as well as Vice Chair. She has taken part in numerous meetings of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on behalf of the Commission, including the first-ever special meeting on anti-Semitism in 2003 and the 2004 Conference on Tolerance and the Fight Against Racism, Xenophobia, and Discrimination. Encyclopedia Judaica describes Ms. Gaer as having "played the key role in assuring passage by consensus of the UN General Assembly's first-ever condemnation of anti-Semitism" in 1998.
The other witnesses at the hearing include Dr. Gregg Rickman, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, U.S. Department of State; Rabbi Andrew Baker, Director of International Jewish Affairs, American Jewish Committee; Rabbi Marvin Hier, Dean and Founder, Simon Wiesenthal Center; Mark Levin, Executive Director, National Conference on Soviet Jewry; and Ms. Stacy Burdett, Associate Director, Government and National Affairs, Anti-Defamation League.
WHAT: Helsinki Commission Hearing on U.S., Civil Society Efforts to Combat Anti-Semitism
WHEN: Thursday, February 7, 2008, 2:30 p.m.
WHERE: 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Jan 25, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 25, 2008
Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 127
WASHINGTON-The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urging U.S. action to intervene in the case of Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh, a 23 year old Afghan student and journalist sentenced to death for his alleged connection to the procurement and dissemination of writings that comment on Islam and women. "The Commission strongly urges the U.S. government to insist that the rule of law be respected by Afghan officials, in order to ensure that such severe human rights violations are not carried out in the name of so-called justice," Commission Chair Michael Cromartie wrote in the letter.
The Commission has previously pressed the need for U.S. officials to urge Afghanistan's government to protect freedom of expression against charges that may be used to stifle debate, such as blasphemy or apostasy. Particularly given the resurgent presence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, vigorous support for the right of every individual to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief is necessary to ensure the full protection of fundamental human rights.
The text of the letter follows.
January 24, 2008
The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
Department of State
2201 C St, NW
Washington, D.C. 20520
Dear Secretary Rice:
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom requests urgent U.S. action to intervene with the government of Afghanistan in the case of Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh, a 23-year-old Afghan student and journalist who was sentenced to death on Tuesday for allegedly distributing literature deemed to violate the tenets of Islam. Mr. Kambakhsh's conviction and sentencing on a spurious allegation of blasphemy is a clear violation of Afghanistan's commitments under international human rights laws and an alarming signal of deteriorating conditions for the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief and other human rights in the country. The rights to debate and to question the meaning or requirements of one's faith, as well as to dissent from state-imposed orthodoxy, are vital aspects of this fundamental freedom.
Mr. Kambakhsh was arrested in Mazar-e-Sharif in October 2007 in connection with an article that was downloaded from the Internet and sent to other students at his university. The article allegedly commented on Koranic verses about women. According to press reports, Mr. Kambakhsh was sentenced in a closed trial in which he had no lawyer to represent him, a clear violation of the internationally-guaranteed right to due process. Most significantly, his case was heard by the Shura-ye-Ulema, or Council of Religious Scholars, rather than by the country's media commission, as the law requires; only the media commission has the authority to determine whether the case should be heard before the courts. The Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), a non-governmental organization that promotes independent journalism, alleges that the case against Mr. Kambakhsh was motivated by some officials' desire to punish his brother, an IWPR contributor.
The Commission has previously voiced grave concern over the absence of adequate guarantees of freedom of religion and expression in the Afghan constitution, which can lead to unjust criminal accusations of apostasy and blasphemy. The Commission has called on the U.S. government to urge the government of Afghanistan to ensure the protection of all Afghan citizens from unfounded accusations of blasphemy, and to allow the peaceful discussion of the appropriate role of Islam in Afghan law and society. The U.S. government should also express serious concern over declining press freedom in Afghanistan, including increased official intimidation and harassment of journalists who are critical of the government.
Mr. Kambakhsh's case is sadly reminiscent of the 2006 threat of execution against Abdul Rahman, who had been sentenced to death for changing his religion, and the conviction of journalist and Islamic scholar Ali Mohaqiq Nasab in 2005 on charges of blasphemy and "insulting Islam" after he questioned discrimination against women and the use of amputation, public stoning, and other harsh punishments under traditional Islamic law. It is significant-and highly troublesome-that although both of those cases have been resolved, neither was settled in a manner demonstrating that human rights are adequately protected in Afghanistan; rather, Mr. Rahman was forced to flee the country and Mr. Nasab was required to issue an "apology" for his purported crime.
All three cases illustrate the increasingly problematic conditions for freedom of religion or belief in Afghanistan in recent years. These developments make clear that religious extremism-even in official circles-is an increasingly viable threat in Afghanistan, a threat heightened also by the return of the Taliban. The threat is exacerbated by the fact that the 2004 Afghan Constitution lacks clear protections for the right to freedom of religion or belief for individual Afghan citizens. The judicial system is empowered to enforce the so-called "repugnancy clause," which states that "no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam." But interpretation of prevailing "beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam" is guided by particular views and jurisprudential schools within Islam, without regard to other strands of Islamic jurisprudence and without allowing room for debate and dissent within Islam.
Madame Secretary, the Commission has always believed that Afghanistan's unique circumstances present the United States with a special responsibility to act in the face of such travesties of justice as has occurred in the case of Mr. Kambakhsh. The U.S. government should therefore immediately contact President Hamid Karzai and other leading Afghan officials to communicate in the strongest possible terms that Mr. Kambakhsh must be freed immediately and the dubious case against him closed. It should reiterate that the United States vigorously supports respect for the right of every individual to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief, and that the Afghan government must protect this and other constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms against charges that are clearly being used to stifle debate, including such as charges as blasphemy, "offending Islam," apostasy, or similar offenses. The Commission strongly urges the U.S. government to insist that the rule of law be respected by Afghan officials, in order to ensure that such severe human rights violations are not carried out in the name of so-called justice.
Sincerely,
Michael Cromartie
Chair
cc: The Honorable John D. Negroponte, Deputy Secretary of State
The Honorable Richard A. Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs
The Honorable John V. Hanford, III, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom
The Honorable Stephen J. Hadley, National Security Advisor
The Honorable William Wood, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan
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."
Michael Cromartie,Chair•Preeta D. Bansal,Vice Chair•Richard D. Land, Vice Chair•Don Argue•Imam Talal Y. Eid•Felice D. Gaer•Leonard A. Leo•Elizabeth H. Prodromou•Nina Shea•Ambassador John V. Hanford III,Ex-Officio
Jan 15, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 14, 2008
Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240
WASHINGTON-The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is alarmed by the coordinated bomb attacks against churches and monasteries in Iraq last week. At least six people were reportedly wounded in seven separate attacks in Baghdad and Mosul as Christians were celebrating Christmas and the Epiphany on Jan. 6; three days later, bombs targeted three churches in Kirkuk. The attacks were the latest to target Iraq's shrinking non-Muslim population, many of whose members have fled the country in the wake of violence directed against their communities.
"Iraq's smallest religious minorities lead a very tenuous existence, and such attacks targeting them on religious holidays underline the specific and immediate threat they face," said Commission Chair Michael Cromartie. "The Iraqi government must do much more to protect these minorities from violence."
The Commission welcomed Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi's categorical condemnation of the attacks; he reportedly expressed his "closeness to Christians" and referred to them as "brothers." Such expressions of solidarity by government officials and among all religious communities in Iraq should help facilitate efforts to achieve reconciliation and a democratic society under the rule of law.
Chaldo-Assyrian Christians, Sabean Mandaeans, and Yazidis make up a disproportionately large number of refugees from Iraq; nearly half of these communities' members fled abroad between 2003 and 2006, according to Iraqi government estimates. 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 and leaders of these communities have been targeted in violent attacks, including murder, torture, and abductions.
The U.S. government should do more to aid those members of Iraq's smallest religious minorities who have fled persecution in Iraq and who wish to seek refuge in the United States. The Commission has long recommended the establishment of a so-called "Priority 2" category for members of these groups, which would allow them to apply directly to the U.S. Refugee Program without having to go first through the process of the UN High Commissioner on Refugees. Such a designation does not necessarily nor automatically guarantee every applicant refugee status or resettlement in the United States, but it would acknowledge that Iraq's smallest religious minorities face targeted abuses, speed up the resettlement process, and allow UNHCR to focus on other vulnerable groups.
Such a designation would not automatically mean resettlement to the United States of every individual who applies, but it would speed up the resettlement process, allow UNHCR to focus on other vulnerable groups, and acknowledge that Iraq's smallest religious minorities face targeted abuses.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) to monitor violations of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in IRFA and set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress. It is the first government commission in the world with the sole mission of reviewing and making policy recommendations on the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom globally.
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.
| Michael Cromartie, Chair • Preeta D. Bansal, Vice Chair • Richard D. Land, Vice Chair • Don Argue • Imam Talal Y. Eid•Felice D. Gaer•Leonard A. Leo• Elizabeth H. Prodromou• Nina Shea•Ambassador John V. Hanford III, Ex-Officio |