Jun 17, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2004
Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240 (202) 523-3240, ext. 27
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today met with Secretary of State Colin Powell as part of its statutory mandate to advise the President, Secretary of State, and Congress on the promotion of religious freedom in U.S. foreign policy. The Commission reiterated its June 2003 recommendation that the United States appoint a high-level official to the new U.S. Embassy in Iraq, reporting directly to the Ambassador and supported by a unit of personnel within the Embassy, to monitor and report on human rights, including religious freedom, and to promote the protection of international human rights standards as a key U.S. policy objective. The Commission underscored that the new Embassy should have a vigorous program to engage Iraqis to promote the provisions in the Transitional Administrative Law's (TAL) guaranteeing the rights of every Iraqi to freedom of thought, conscience, and religious belief and practice in the permanent Constitution.
"The provisions in the TAL are a milestone in the Arab world, constitutionally protecting not only religious minorities but also individual Muslims, and particularly women, to debate the role of Islam and to pursue reform. The deplorable Abu Ghraib prison incidents highlight the necessity for the United States to ensure that human rights are protected both in U.S. actions in Iraq and in the permanent Constitution," said USCIRF Chair Michael K. Young.
The Commission also urged Secretary Powell to designate Saudi Arabia a "country of particular concern" (CPC) for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief, as outlined in the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA). In a report released yesterday, an independent task force on terrorist financing of the Council on Foreign Relations specifically endorsed several USCIRF recommendations on Saudi Arabia, including that the U.S. government in its bilateral relations with the Saudi government should more frequently identify serious human rights violations and that Congress should initiate and make public a study on Saudi exportation of intolerance.
"In addition to Saudi Arabia, Commissioners also urged Secretary Powell to designate Turkmenistan and Vietnam, and Eritrea as CPCs. In Turkmenistan, recent moves by President Niyazov in response to U.S. pressure have not fundamentally changed the restrictive and abusive policies there. In Vietnam, the Vietnamese government has not taken positive steps despite constant specific high-level diplomatic discussions. In Eritrea, the government has not been forthcoming in response to U.S. efforts to discuss the worsening religious freedom situation there. The integrity and utility of IRFA is being undermined by the failure to name abusive countries as CPCs," said USCIRF Chair Michael K. Young.
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.
|
Dean Michael K. Young,Chair
|
May 28, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2004
Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27
WASHINGTON - "The Commission believes that Turkmenistan should be designated a ‘country of particular concern' (CPC) for its egregious violations of religious freedom," said USCIRF Chair Michael K. Young. "This week's statement by the Turkmenistan's Ministry of Justice, declaring unregistered religious activity illegal, underscores the need for the State Department to set down a series of benchmarks that require more than paper promises. CPC designation would likely lead to significant improvements for the religious communities in Turkmenistan who have been ignored by the outside world for too long."
The Turkmen government deploys a battery of repressive measures such as threats, fines, job demotions and dismissals, beatings, confiscations, and deportations against religious communities, as documented by the USCIRF in its reports. The Ministry of Justice in Turkmenistan this week said that unregistered religious activity remains illegal despite the May 13, 2004, decree by President Niyazov that dropped from the criminal code the practice of unauthorized religious activities. The May 13 decree supplemented a March 11, 2004 decree that dropped from 500 to 50 the number of adherents in a religious community required for registration. Some had hoped that Niyazov's May 13 decree would result in the legalization of Shia Muslim, Baptist, Baha'i, Pentecostal, Adventist, Armenian Apostolic, Lutheran, Hare Krishna, Jehovah's Witness, and Jewish religious activities. As of now, only the state-regulated Sunni Muslim and the Russian Orthodox Church are granted limited legal status in Turkmenistan. On March 29, President Niyazov suddenly announced that no new mosques could be built after that date in Turkmenistan.
On May 13, Niyazov also issued a second decree that nullified a secret decree promulgated on 23 March, eleven days after his "liberalization" of the registration requirements for religious communities. The 23 March decree had required all registered religious communities to subject themselves to strict state financial regulation. Despite the May 13 decree, however, religious communities are required to adhere to a six-page model statute as a condition of registration. These harsh registration requirements violate international law and force many religious communities in Turkmenistan to function "underground."
Despite the blatant and on-going violations of religious freedom in Turkmenistan, some believe that if the government were to allow a few religious communities to register then Turkmenistan should not be designated a CPC. The Ministry of Justice said yesterday, however, that no religious communities have been allowed to register.
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.
|
Dean Michael K. Young,Chair
|
May 25, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 25, 2004
Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240 (202) 523-3240, ext. 27
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly condemns the recent sectarian violence in Plateau and Kano states, which has claimed hundreds of lives since the beginning of this month. The popular movement since 1999 in several northern Nigerian states to expand the legal application of Sharia to criminal matters has exacerbated sectarian and communal violence and is a source of continuing volatility and tension between Muslims and Christians at both the national and local levels. The response of the government of Nigeria to these persistent outbreaks of violence and to the protection of freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief in Nigeria continues to be inadequate.
Since February, some have estimated that nearly 1000 Nigerians have been killed in the small town of Yelwa in Plateau state as a result of the massacre of a Muslim tribe by a predominantly Christian tribe over land issues. This has led to a series of reprisal attacks against Christians in Yelwa and elsewhere in Plateau state and spread to Kano, displacing thousands. Last week, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo declared a state of emergency in Plateau state and suspended the Governor for being "weak and incompetent." He has since appointed a retired general, Chris Alli, to serve for six months. The Commission acknowledges Alli's initial action to engage in the situation but notes that far more needs to be done to contain the sectarian violence.
"Over the past five years, state and local intervention in the communal and sectarian violence in Nigeria has been inadequate and has, in some cases, exacerbated sectarian tensions," said USCIRF Chair Michael K. Young. "The U.S. government should urge the Nigerian government to take effective steps to prevent and contain acts of sectarian and communal violence, prevent reprisal attacks, and bring those responsible for such violence to justice. While many Christians and Muslims have been identified as perpetrators of violence over the years, very few, if any, have been prosecuted. Furthermore, the Nigerian federal police and military have been accused of using excessive force to curb the violence, including extrajudicial killings. The U.S. government should work with other donor governments to ensure that Nigerian security forces receive adequate training, particularly respect for human rights."
Serious outbreaks of Muslim-Christian violence that have resulted in more than 10,000 deaths in the last few years threaten to divide further the populace along religious lines and undermine the foundations of freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief in Nigeria. President Obasanjo has been criticized both inside and outside Nigeria for not responding more decisively to the religious violence and communal tensions. He has primarily played a mediating role, stressing political negotiations rather than ordering the government to intervene to protect the lives of Nigerian citizens and to meet his obligations as the elected president of a democratic state. The Commission urges the U.S. government to press President Obasanjo to expand efforts by the Nigerian government to address this issue in order to prevent further killings and to advance protections of the constitutionally guaranteed human rights, including religious freedom, of all Nigerian citizens. The U.S. government should also urge the Nigerian government to examine the impact of Sharia in exacerbating the sectarian violence. Moreover, the U.S. government should support efforts by the Nigerian government and non-governmental organizations by increasing U.S. support and funding of foreign assistance programs, such as the promotion of conflict management and mitigation at the local and state levels.
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.
|
Dean Michael K. Young,Chair
|