FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2003

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

WASHINGTON - The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent and bipartisan federal agency advising the Administration and Congress, will participate in the meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on freedom of religion or belief in Vienna, Austria on July 17-18, 2003, in association with the U.S. delegation. This will be the fourth OSCE meeting in which the USCIRF has participated in this way. The meeting will focus on freedom of religion or belief in the contexts of permissible limitations; promoting tolerance and freedom of religion or belief; and the role of the media concerning freedom of religion or belief. Commissioners Preeta Bansal, Felice D. Gaer, and Dean Michael K. Young will join U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE Stephan M. Minikes in all aspects of the delegation's work, including offering advice to the U.S. delegation and discussing specific ways to promote tolerance, education, and respect for religious freedom in the OSCE region, including the former Soviet Union states.

Commissioners will also meet with experts monitoring violations of religious freedom in the OSCE region, including in Uzbekistan, Russia, and France, who will be offering information and recommendations regarding U.S. policy to improve these situations. The Commission will also seek bilateral meetings with representatives of Uzbekistan, Russia, France, and elsewhere. The USCIRF recently visited and reported on religious freedom in Belarus and Russia, and has recommended that the State Department designate Turkmenistan a "country of particular concern (CPC)."

One issue of concern to the USCIRF regarding several OSCE member states is legislation that establishes overly restrictive criteria for official registration or recognition of religious groups. The Commission will meet privately with several experts and NGO representatives who are very

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2003

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

WASHINGTON -- On July 10, 2003, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) held its second off-the-record roundtable on religious freedom in China in the U.S. Capitol building. The USCIRF created this series to foster dialogue among senior Administration officials, members of Congress, human rights experts, NGOs, and representatives of religious groups to advise the Administration and Congress on U.S. policy options for promoting religious freedom and human rights in China. Commissioners Felice D. Gaer, Nina Shea, and Dean Michael K. Young were joined by State Department officials John Hanford, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, and Lorne Craner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, as well as Congressional staff and experts from academia, commissions, and advocacy, religious, and human rights organizations.

The July 10 roundtable focused on the status of the Uighurs in Xinjiang. Participants discussed the extent to which the Chinese government has permitted or restricted religious freedom among the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, in the context of the government's Uighur and religious freedom policies. Participants suggested steps the U.S. government could take to advance the protection of human rights, including religious freedom, of the Uighurs. Participants also received updates on the Chinese government's ongoing activities to restrict the rights of Falun Gong practitioners, Tibetans, and unregistered house church members like Pastor Gong Shengliang, as well as on the status of the Hong Kong government's implementation of Article 23 ( see USCIRF July 1 press release ).

The USCIRF has produced reports on the status of religious freedom in China and has recommended that China be listed by the State Department as a "country of particular concern" (CPC). Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), a CPC is a country whose government has either engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom, defined as violations that are "systematic, ongoing, and egregious." IRFA sets forth that the policy of the United States is to oppose particularly severe violations of religious freedom. The Commission's report on China may be viewed USCIRF's web site

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.

Felice D. Gaer, Chair

• Dean Michael K. Young, Vice Chair Preeta Bansal, Richard Land, Bishop William F. Murphy, Bishop Ricardo Ramirez, Leila Nadya Sadat, Nina Shea, Ambassador John V. Hanford III, Ex-Officio Joseph R. Crapa, Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2003

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

WASHINGTON-- The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent and bipartisan federal agency, has written to President Bush urging him to raise with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo the need to take action to end recent Muslim-Christian violence that threatens one of the most strategically important nations in Africa and to underscore with African leaders the importance of actively supporting a just peace in Sudan.

"In Nigeria, recent Muslim-Christian violence that has killed thousands since 1999 and threatens to divide the country," said USCIRF Chair Felice D. Gaer. In its letter, the USCIRF states that the expansion of Islamic law (Sharia) into the criminal codes of several northern states in Nigeria has sparked much of the recent violence. "Some specific steps that President Bush could urge Nigerian President Obasanjo to take to reduce such violence include publicly condemning religious intolerance and bringing those responsible for communal violence to justice," said Ms. Gaer.

In Sudan, African governments should use their influence with both parties to the conflict to urge compliance with commitments made as part of the ongoing peace negotiations. Earlier this year the USCIRF called for both Sudan and Nigeria to be placed on the U.S. list of "countries of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act. The Administration has placed Sudan on that list and the President signaled that peace is a major priority.

The text of the letter follows:

Dear Mr. President,

On behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, I am writing to urge you to raise with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo the need to advance religious freedom in his country. We also urge that you raise with African leaders the importance of actively supporting a just peace in Sudan.

In your recent speech to the Corporate Council of Africa, you said the United States will be "fully engaged in a broad, concerted effort to help Africans find peace, to fight disease, to build prosperity, and to improve their own lives." We wholeheartedly agree with these goals, but we also hope you will engage African leaders about the importance of protecting internationally recognized human rights, including religious freedom. These are critical foundations for securing real peace, stability, and democracy in Africa.

In Nigeria, recent Muslim-Christian violence that has killed thousands since 1999 threatens to divide the country and undermine one of the most strategically important nations in Africa.

The expansion of Islamic law (Sharia) into the criminal codes of several northern states has sparked much of the recent violence and places at risk the rights of both Muslims and non-Muslims. Presently, a woman convicted of adultery faces a sentence of death by stoning. A ban on alcohol sales, and gender segregation on public transportation, shows that at least some aspects of the new Sharia codes can be imposed on non-Muslims.

In northern Nigeria, Christians report that they are hindered by local Muslim-controlled governments from building or repairing houses of worship and face official or officially sanctioned discrimination in the media, education, and participation in government. Muslim leaders in southern Nigeria, where Muslims are a minority, voice many of the same complaints.

The Commission recommends that you urge Nigerian President Obasanjo to take the following steps to protect religious freedom and to reduce religious violence:

--investigating and removing legal obstacles to repairing places of worship;

--providing religious instruction that does not compel any student with a religious objection to attend;

--granting equal access to state-run radio and other government media sources for all religious groups.

1. Publicly and vigorously condemn religious intolerance and discrimination.

2. Bring those responsible for communal violence to justice.

3. Ensure that the recent expansion of Sharia-based criminal law does not apply to non-Muslims and respects the human rights, including religious freedom, of all individual Nigerians.

4. Prevent law enforcement activities in northern states by any quasi-official or private corps of Sharia enforcers; and,

5. Counter religiously-based discrimination by

With regard to Sudan, the Commission urges you to encourage the African leaders with whom you meet to support the current Sudan peace process. Your Administration-- through your appointment in September 2001 of former Senator John Danforth as Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan and your signing in October 2002 of the Sudan Peace Act-- has signaled that peace in Sudan is a major priority for U.S. policy in Africa. African governments should use their influence with both parties to the conflict, the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, to urge compliance with commitments made as part of the ongoing peace negotiations. The human rights of all Sudanese must be protected from the horrific abuses that have characterized this conflict, including the Sudanese government's aerial bombardment of civilians and of humanitarian facilities, deliberate denial of international humanitarian assistance, abduction of women and children into conditions of slavery, and the forcible displacement of populations from oil-producing areas. Since Khartoum's effort to impose Islamic law on non-Muslim Sudanese has been a major factor in the conflict, African leaders should urge the Government of Sudan to accept the right to freedom of religion and belief of all Sudanese.

We earnestly hope that your trip to Africa is successful.

Sincerely,

Felice D. Gaer

Chair

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.