Apr 25, 2017
Click here to read the Chinese translation of the letter. Click here to read the Tibetan translation of the letter.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2017
OPEN LETTER FROM USCIRF COMMISSIONER TENZIN DORJEE
TO THE PANCHEN LAMA ON HIS BIRTHDAY (April 25)
Your Holiness Gedhun Choekyi Nyima:
Tashi Delek. I write to wish you a happy and healthy 28th birthday. Even though it saddens me to think that you may never read this, every Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, on which I serve, is thinking of you on this special day.
Ever since you were abducted as a young child at the age of six, the Chinese government has refused to share even basic information about you and your whereabouts. Please know that I think about you every day, and as each year passes, my resolve to find you and restore you to your rightful role becomes stronger.
By the age of 28, I had received both a Tibetan and modern education, as well as advanced Buddhist studies in the Tibetan diaspora in India. I would like to know more about you, especially about your well-being and the education you have received. I fear that the Chinese government has taken away your religious identity. I pray that you will one day be able to live a free life and take your rightful place as the 11th Panchen Lama.
Please know that it is my responsibility to advocate on your behalf, and for those others in China who are being persecuted because of their religious beliefs and activities.
On behalf of all Tibetans, most respectfully, I offer you the traditional mandala for your good health, and long life. I fervently pray for your freedom and receiving your blessing in person.
May you celebrate your 29th birthday, and every birthday thereafter, in freedom.
With deepest respect,
Tenzin Dorjee
Tenzin Dorjee is a Commissioner at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a U.S. government body that monitors the universal right to the freedom of religion or belief. Commissioner Dorjee is also the first Tibetan Buddhist appointed to serve on the Commission.
USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project highlights the plight of individuals who have been imprisoned for their religious beliefs, practices or identity. To learn more about this project or to interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].
Apr 20, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2017
RUSSIA: Supreme Court Outlaws the Jehovah’s Witnesses
USCIRF Condemns Russian Supreme Court Decision Banning the Jehovah’s Witnesses
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is disappointed, but not surprised, at the recent Russian Supreme Court decision to ban the Jehovah’s Witnesses from operating anywhere in the country. USCIRF Chair, Thomas J. Reese, S.J., commented that “The court’s decision sadly reconfirms the disregard of the government for religious freedom in present-day Russia. Individual and community expressions of faith, and even private religious beliefs, are not safe from state-sponsored repression and coercion in Russia today.”
Russian Justice Ministry attorney Svetlana Borisova reportedly said in court that the Jehovah’s Witnesses “pose a threat to the rights of citizens, public order and public security.” USCIRF Chair Reese dismissed this statement as “simply a politicized assault on a religious group known worldwide for its pacifism and avoidance of politics.”
USCIRF firmly believes that a stable, prosperous, and tolerant Russia is in the world’s interest. Yesterday’s ruling, however, can only lead to the impression that Russia is isolating itself from other advanced nations. USCIRF Chair Reese went on to say that “The Russian government’s premeditated attack demonstrates that it does not consider itself bound by internationally recognized norms or conventions. With this decision, the Russian government takes another unnecessary step away from the international community and toward isolation.”
Should the Jehovah’s Witnesses choose to appeal this decision, USCIRF urges the Russian court system to overturn this unjustified ruling.
To interview a Commissioner please contact [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611).
Apr 11
Apr 11th 8:10pm
The State of International of International Religious Freedom
May 17, 2017
USCIRF held a public event to discuss the 2017 Annual Report, including the newly launched Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. Tom Gallagher of Religion News Service moderated the panel. Panelists included: Chair Thomas J. Reese, Vice Chairman Daniel Mark, Commissioner Kristina Arriaga, Commissioner Sandra Jolley, Commissioner Clifford D. May, Commissioner John Ruskay, and Commissioner Jackie Wolcott. More information on the event here.
Launch of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project
April 6, 2017
USCIRF publicly launched its Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project at the Capitol Hill Visitor’s Center in Washington, D.C.. USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J., and Commissioners Kristina Arriaga de Bucholz, Tenzin Dorjee, and Sandra Jolley spoke on behalf of their religious prisoners of conscience.
Tolerance: A Key to Religious Freedom
February 9, 2017
USCIRF cohosted with the Religious News Service/Religious News Foundation a panel discussion on tolerance. The panel discussion focused on the grave humanitarian consequences when religious freedom is violated, the role of education in building tolerance and religious understanding, and the need for members of Congress to set aside partisan differences and continue to travel together to investigate religious persecution firsthand and visit the imprisoned and their families. Panelists were: former Rep. Frank Wolf, former Ambassador-at-Large Rabbi David Saperstein, John Sexton, president emeritus of New York University, and Joyce Dubensky, CEO of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding. USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J. moderated the panel.
Read the full transcript of the event here.
Barriers to Protection: Expedited Removal and the Detention of Asylum Seekers
January 19, 2017
USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese Reese, S.J. and Senior Policy Analyst Tiffany Lynch discussed the newly released USCIRF report Barriers to Protection at a panel discussion held at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonito, Texas.
Burma at the Brink: Religious Freedom Violations Threaten its Future
December 13, 2016
USCIRF at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. publicly released two reports highlighting Burma’s serious religious freedom challenges: Hidden Plight: Christian Minorities in Burma and Suspended in Time: The Ongoing Persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Burma.
With opening remarks from USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J., panelists included: Rachel Fleming, independent human rights research and activist, and author of Hidden Plight: Christian Minorities in Burma, Susan Hayward, Director at Religion and Inclusive Societies at the United States Institute of Peace, and Tina Mufford, Senior Policy Analyst at USCIRF.
Barriers to Protection – USCIRF Issues Report on the Treatment of Asylum Seekers in Expedited Removal
August 3, 2016
USCIRF, along with Human Rights First, held an event specific to USCIRF’s report, Barriers to Protection. The report highlights challenges with the U.S. government’s treatment of asylum seekers in Expedited Removal the moment asylum seekers enter the United States. USCIRF’s Director of International Law and Policy, Elizabeth K. Cassidy, and Senior Policy Analyst Tiffany Lynch served as panelists.
Click here to watch the event. Click here to read a transcript of the event.
Religious Extremism in Africa
August 1, 2016
USCIRF and CSIS examined the dynamics that drive extremism among some Muslim and Christian communities in parts of Africa and analyzed the threat such extremism poses to security, community cohesion, and social development. The discussions focused on how governments and non-governmental actors (religious communities, civil society, and the media) address the threat of extremism, including examples of successful approaches and what can be learned from these approaches. USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst Tiffany Lynch served as a panelist.
Europe at a Crossroad: Civil Society Efforts to Counter Religious Hatred and Bigotry in Europe,
April 11, 2016
USCIRF hosted a conversation at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. that examined efforts by grassroots, student, and faith leaders to prevent and combat religious hatred, counter extremism, and improve religious freedom and equality for all, taking into account recent terrorist attacks. Panelists included Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, and European civil society leaders. Former USCIRF Commissioner Hannah Rosenthal moderated the panel, and former USCIRF Chair George and former Commissioner Lantos-Swett, along with then Commissioner Zogby provided remarks.
A Global Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis
October 28, 2015
Then UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres participated in a conversation hosted by USCIRF at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. which focused on the urgent refugee crisis taking place in Syria and across many parts of the world, the role of religious freedom violations in this crisis, and policies that best would address conflicts and their humanitarian consequences. Then USCIRF Chairman Robert P. George and Commissioners Eric P. Schwartz spoke at the event.