FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2004

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Vice Chair Felice D. Gaer has been invited by U.S. Ambassador Stephan M. Minikes to join the U.S. delegation at the meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on anti-Semitism in Berlin on April 28-29, 2004. The Commission has urged states to take concrete action, create a mandate to monitor and report regularly on anti-Semitic incidents, and review compliance on a regular basis. This is the fifth OSCE meeting in which the USCIRF has participated.

The Commission has emphasized that acts of anti-Semitism should be vigorously combated by states. "It's not hooliganism, it's human rights abuse," said Commissioner Gaer. "The Commission has recommended that the OSCE pay separate attention to monitoring and combating the rise of anti-Semitism in the region." Calling the recognition by the OSCE of a resurgence of anti-Semitism throughout the region a good first step, the Commission has recommended that the U.S. government urge that:

• concrete action be taken within the OSCE to ensure that all participating states are living up to their commitments to combat discrimination and intolerance, in particular to combat anti-Semitism;

• a mandate be created within the OSCE, with the responsibility to monitor and report regularly on anti-Semitic incidents and the implementation by member states of their Copenhagen commitments to eradicate anti-Semitism and other discrimination;

• countries review compliance within the OSCE of commitments of member states on anti-Semitism on a regular basis.

The Commission has made recommendations relating to the work of the OSCE in both the general area of protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief and also specifically on combating anti-Semitism in OSCE member states. Commission participation increased in the last year, as the OSCE held special meetings devoted to both religious freedom and anti-Semitism. Commissioner Gaer made public statements on behalf of the Commission at each of these meetings.

The USCIRF has addressed anti-Semitism and related issues in the course of its work on several countries both inside and outside of Europe, including Belarus, Belgium, Egypt, France, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. The Commission has also consulted with representatives of Jewish communities in several countries, other religious leaders, and NGOs. The Commission worked with the U.S. OSCE delegation to successfully urge member states to agree to hold the OSCE's first-ever special meeting on anti-Semitism in July 2003.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2004

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) will hold a public, on-the-record hearing on Friday, April 30 at the CUNY Queens College School of Law in Flushing, NY on "Bangladesh: Protecting the Human Rights of Thought, Conscience, and Religion." The hearing is scheduled from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law, 65-21 Main Street, Flushing, NY.

The hearing will examine recent trends regarding religious freedom for both Muslims and non-Muslims in Bangladesh and the implications of those trends for U.S. policy. Bangladesh has constitutional and other legal protections for human rights. Nevertheless, there were numerous reports of severe abuses targeting members of religious minorities at the time of the national elections in October 2001. In addition, according to the State Department violence against women is widespread and sometimes led by religious leaders, particularly in rural areas. There is concern that the growth of religious extremism could have a negative impact on the rights of all Bangladeshis.

Congressman Joseph Crowley, representing New York's 7th Congressional District, will participate in this event. Congressman Crowley, a member of the House Committee on International Relations, is Chair and founder of the Congressional Caucus on Bangladesh. He represents the second largest South Asian community in the United States, based in Jackson Heights, Queens. This past January, Congressman Crowley made his second trip to Bangladesh, which was sponsored by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), where he visited with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the leader of the Awami League, and other high level ministerial officials. He also participated in the groundbreaking of the Asian University for Woman in Chittagong, and visited a UNFPA project site.

WHAT:"Bangladesh: Protecting the Human Rights of Thought, Conscience, and Religion"

WHEN:Friday, April 30, 2004, 6:30-8:00 p.m.

WHERE:City University of New York (CUNY), Queens College

School of Law Auditorium, 65-21 Main Street, Flushing, NY

Confirmed witnesses are as follows:

Latifur Rahman, former Chief Justice of Bangladesh

U. A. B. Razia Akter Banu, Professor of Political Science, University

of Dhaka

Abbas Faiz, Amnesty International's lead researcher on Bangladesh

Aroma Dutta, civil society activist and Executive Director, PRIP Trust

Faustina Pereira, advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh

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
April 5, 2004

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is hosting an on-the-record briefing about the situation for religious freedom in Pakistan. Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti will make remarks and take questions.

Bhatti founded the Christian Liberation Front of Pakistan (CLF), which led to the formation of the All Pakistan Minority Alliance (APMA), which joins together Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Balmeek, Bheel, Maingwal, Zoroastrian, Baha'i and Kelash communities from all over Pakistan in an effort to secure and protect the economic, social, and political rights of religious minorities.

Bhatti has met on numerous occasions with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali to discuss the concerns of religious minorities in Pakistan. In his capacities as President of the CLF, Chairman of the APMA, and Executive Director for the Pakistan Council for Human Rights and Democracy, Mr. Bhatti also travels frequently to the United States and Europe in order to make presentations at conferences and other meetings and to participate in sessions of the UN Human Rights Commission.

WHAT:On-the-record briefing: "Religious Extremism and the Situation for Religious Minorities in Pakistan"

WHO:Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti, Lahore, Pakistan

WHEN:Friday, April 9, 2004, 2:00 - 3:30 pm

WHERE:The Offices of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom,

800 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 790, Washington, DC 20002

** Seating is limited, so please RSVP by calling Shahriar Hafizi at (202) 523-3240, ext. 24 or email [email protected] no later than Thursday, April 8th **

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and the Congress.

Visit our Web site at www.uscirf.gov

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.