Defending Freedoms Project

In December 2012, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, in conjunction with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and Amnesty International USA, launched the Defending Freedoms Project (DFP) to support prisoners of conscience around the world. DFP aims to increase attention to human rights abuses by encouraging Members of Congress to advocate on behalf of prisoners of conscience wherever they may be found. The project allows these Members and USCIRF Commissioners to stand in solidarity with prisoners of conscience, let them know they have not been forgotten, and encourage accountability for unjust treatment.

Click on the following links to read op-eds co-authored by Members of the Defending Freedoms Project and USCIRF Commissioners:

• Hopes and fears for religious freedom in Vietnam
• Iran Must Free Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani
• The Rising Cost of Religious Freedom in Vietnam
• President Trump: Tell Saudi Arabia to Free Raif Badawi
• Iran’s religious minorities deserve better: Calling for the release of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani

Click on the following links to watch recent DFP hearings:

• Religious Freedom in China: The Case of Bishop James Su Zhimin
  Date: Thursday, July 30, 2020 - 9:00am
  Location: 2172 Rayburn House Office Building and Virtual
• Human Rights in Russia on the 5th Anniversary of the Nemtsov Assassination
  Date: Thursday, February 27, 2020 - 10:00am
  Location: 2200 Rayburn House Office Building
• Jammu and Kashmir in Context
  Date: Thursday, November 14, 2019 - 2:00pm
  Location: 2200 Rayburn House Office Building