Freedom of Religion as a Priority

Religious freedom promotion needs to be a central aspect of U.S. foreign policy strategic planning. IRFA established as the policy of the United States that the U.S. government would condemn violations of religious freedom and would work to promote, and to assist other governments in the promotion of, the fundamental right to freedom of religion. President Obama's administration has yet to break from the practice of previous administrations of keeping the issue of religious freedom on the margins of U.S. foreign policy.

During the reporting period, there has been a welcome emphasis on religious freedom in the administration's statements on key countries. After the release of the USCIRF 2010 Annual Report, which had criticized the use of the term “freedom of worship,” the Obama administration returned to referencing the broader concept of religious freedom. Since then, the President has repeatedly noted the importance of religious freedom. Notably, during the January press conference with President Hu Jintao of China, President Obama on two occasions raised the importance of religious freedom. Comments by Secretary Clinton have included more references to religious freedom, such as in her August 2010 statement on the treatment of Baha'is in Iran.

There are some areas where more could have been said or done. The May 2010 National Security Strategy made only modest reference to human rights and only passing reference to freedom of worship. Also, during the past year, Secretary Clinton presented the first Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review as a strategic plan for the State Department to advance U.S. national interests and be a better partner to the U.S. military. Although it does recognize the need to engage religious groups along with others to create the partnerships needed to advance American interests, it did not reference religious freedom.

USCIRF welcomes the use of “freedom of religion” language in President Obama's and Secretary Clinton's statements and speeches, and encourages the administration to continue to use this broader, more complete phraseology in all public statements. In doing so, high-level government officials would explicitly affirm their commitment to the broad protection of the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief in all its manifestations and thus signal to administration officials the need to implement IRFA more fully through concrete policies.

Appointment of the Ambassador-at-Large

During the reporting period, the Obama administration nominated in both the 111th and 112th Congresses Dr. Suzan D. Johnson Cook to be the State Department's Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, the highest-ranking U.S. official on religious freedom. After the end of the reporting period but before the issuance of this report, the Senate confirmed her as the Ambassador-at-Large in April 2011. The Ambassador-at-Large is a key official for the coordination and development of U.S. policy regarding freedom of religion or belief, and serves as an ex officio member of USCIRF. The absence of an Ambassador-at-Large for over two years left vacant an important policy position, while other positions with religion in their portfolio had long since been filled—the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, the Special Representative to Muslim Communities, and the Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (none of which required Senate confirmation).

Congress intended the Ambassador-at-Large to be a principal adviser to the President and the Secretary of State regarding matters affecting religious freedom abroad, but USCIRF is concerned that the position is not adequately placed within the State Department hierarchy. Since the position was established, every administration, including the current one, has situated the Ambassador-at-Large in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) and therefore under its Assistant Secretary. This situation exists despite other Ambassadors-at-Large, such as those for Global Women's Issues, Counterterrorism, and War Crime Issues, as well as the AIDS Coordinator, being situated in the Secretary's office and having direct access to the Secretary. The Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom is the only such ambassador positioned this low in the hierarchy, reporting to the Secretary through three intermediate officials: the DRL Assistant Secretary, the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, and the Deputy Secretary.

Also of concern are possible structural changes that have been reported in the press, but thus far not clearly implemented, that could break a decade of practice and result in the Ambassador-at-Large losing direct supervisory control over the staff of the Office of International Religious Freedom. The Office also currently staffs the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, and works closely with the Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Special Representative to Muslim Communities. It has, however, received no additional resources.

USCIRF encourages the Obama administration to fulfill IRFA's intent that the Ambassador-at-Large be a principal adviser and ensure that he or she has direct access to the President and the Secretary of State; ensure that the Ambassador and the Office of International Religious Freedom are provided the necessary resources for travel and staffing, similar to other offices with a global mandate; and continue the practice of having the Ambassador maintain direct oversight of the Office of International Religious Freedom.

Other U.S. Government Activities

Despite the long vacancy in the Ambassador-at-Large position, the administration has moved ahead with other activities, with several U.S. government offices and agencies focusing on inter-religious dialogue and engagement.

At the White House, the President continued his Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, which has paid specific attention to inter-faith dialogue at an international level. The Advisory Council, composed of individuals representing an array of religious communities and civil society groups, established several task forces to report on a variety of issues, including interreligious cooperation. While the previous Advisory Council did not focus on religious freedom overseas directly, USCIRF recommends that the new Council adopt this focus, as religious freedom provides the foundation for any successful interreligious dialogue or engagement of religious actors internationally.

During the reporting period, the United States cosponsored a regional conference at the Vatican on interfaith collaboration in October 2010 and a conference in February 2011 with Jordan at the Human Rights Council in Geneva in observance of World Interfaith Harmony Week. The United States also joined the Alliance of Civilizations group of friends in May 2010. USCIRF recommends that these activities maintain a clear component addressing and promoting the universal norm of freedom of religion or belief because religious freedom is central to meaningful interfaith dialogue and engagement.

In February 2010, the National Security Council launched the Interagency Working Group on Religion and Global Affairs (RGA). The RGA brings together 12 executive agencies to collaborate on religious engagement and help equip U.S. officials to engage religious communities effectively, while respecting constitutional limits on separation of church and state. As a first step, the RGA undertook a survey within the U.S. government to better understand how the federal government interacts with religious leaders abroad. The survey covered 12 agencies and 166 U.S. embassies, but its findings have not been made public. USCIRF recommends that the report, or at least a summary of its findings, be released, so that U.S. government officials will be better informed about how the United States engages religious actors abroad.

As reported last year, the Pentagon issued new regulations expanding the chaplaincy corps' role to include religious engagement. Under Joint Publication 1-05 issued in November 2009, commanders now have the option of deploying chaplains beyond their traditional pastoral roles to serve as liaisons to religious leaders in theaters of operation. Mindful of their noncombatant status, chaplains can engage religious leaders overseas in humanitarian efforts and advise commanders about the concerns of the local religious community in a foreign country. USCIRF has engaged the chaplaincy corps on the importance of religious freedom in the countries where they will be serving and the need for religious freedom to be a core component of training.

Commissioners Leonard A. Leo, Elizabeth H. Prodromou, Imam Talal Y. Eid, Felice D. Gaer, Richard D. Land, William J. Shaw, Nina Shea, and Ted Van Der Meid delivered these remarks in Washington, DC

Leonard A. Leo. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Leonard Leo, and I serve as chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. I'd like to begin by acknowledging that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, also known as USCIRF, has been visited electronically by foreign authorities who'd really like to know what we're saying about their governments; and they're trying awfully hard to read our private emails lately.

So let me, if I may, take a brief moment to address these esteemed authorities publicly: For your reading enjoyment, you can go to our website and see all of our reports on your government. It's www.uscirf.gov. When you get to “countries,” click on “China,” and I'm sure you'll find what you need. But if you want more, we can accommodate. Today, we are releasing our 2011 annual report, which I trust you and others will find enlightening. I've had the privilege of serving as chairman of this commission for the past year, and the privilege of serving with quite a number of distinguished commissioners.

With me today are Vice Chair Elizabeth Prodromou, as well as Commissioners Imam Talal Eid, Felice Gaer, Richard Land, Reverend William Shaw, Nina Shea and Ted Van Der Meid. I want to thank all of them for their tireless efforts. I also want to thank our staff, and especially Executive Director Jackie Wolcott and Elizabeth Cassidy for their essential role in helping to prepare the annual report.

As many of you know, the commission was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, also known as IRFA. We are a bipartisan, independent U.S. government body that monitors religious freedom worldwide and makes policy recommendations to the president, the secretary of state and to Congress. In accomplishing its mission, USCIRF refers to the standards found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international instruments.

This year's annual report represents a year's work by commissioners and the staff; with the reporting period of April 2010 through March 2011, our report covers 28 countries.

Now, to carry out our charge, commissioners traveled during the past reporting period to a number of countries, including Indonesia, Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey and Cyprus. They also consulted at the Council of Europe, the OSCE and Berlin with the Bundestag and government there.

Staff members traveled to Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan and the Philippines. USCIRF discussed with the Obama administration how the United States can promote religious freedom more effectively on issues critical to our foreign policy. We also met with members of Congress, U.S. ambassadors to key countries and high-ranking officials from the State Department and the National Security Council.

Over the past year, USCIRF has championed the rights of a wide range of religious communities: Uighur Muslims in China; Shia and Ismaili Muslims in Saudi Arabia; Christians and Ahmadis in Pakistan and Indonesia; Jews in Venezuela; Bahais, Christians and dissident Muslims in Iran; Buddhists in Vietnam and China; and a range of indigenous groups and movements in China, Egypt, Iraq, Vietnam and a number of other countries. While it is obvious that violations of religious freedom are a fundamental human rights concern, it is also true that they have strong national security implications. For example, the recent assassinations of high-level officials in Pakistan serve to remind us how laws against blasphemy are destabilizing a critical U.S. ally, creating a climate of impunity by fueling hatred and violence against both Muslims and non-Muslims in the country.

We have actually dedicated this year's annual report to one of those brave officials, Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan's minister for minority affairs who was killed on March 2nd by the Pakistani Taliban. On the cover of the annual report is the scene in his hometown where he was buried. He was a good friend of this commission.

For this year's report, USCIRF recommends that the secretary of state designate 14 nations as countries of particular concern, or CPCs, if you will, for their systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom as mandated by the International Religious Freedom Act. My colleagues and I will discuss these momentarily; there is a list of those countries over to my right.

While the Obama administration has relied on the prior administration's CPC designations, we are hopeful that the confirmation of Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook as the new ambassador-at-large for religious freedom—it will make new designations and apply meaningful actions very soon, underscoring America's resolve to bolster the freedom of religion or belief around the world.

When it comes to religious freedom, there are three main kinds of violations our commission has observed and documented in this report: First, there is state hostility toward religion, religious communities and/or religious leadership; second, there is state sponsorship of extremist ideology and education; and third, there is a state's failure to prevent and punish religious-freedom violations perpetrated by private individuals.

State hostility involves active persecution of dissenting religious believers. State sponsorship involves active promotion, including exportation, of radical ideas and propaganda against these or other believers. State failure involves neglecting to take action necessary to protect them against other citizens who threaten them because of their different beliefs.

Another word for a state's failure to protect is “impunity.” It is impunity that has especially concerned the commission lately because it receives the least attention at precisely the time that it is growing tremendously.

It's partly because of our concern about impunity that today, for the first time, we are recommending that Egypt be designated as a country of particular concern. We are acutely aware that the success of Egypt's current political transition depends on its full respect for the rule of law, including respect for fundamental human rights, of which religious freedom is critical.

According to our findings, the Egyptian government engaged in and tolerated religious freedom violations both before and after President Hosni Mubarak stepped down on February 11 of this year. In his waning months, religious-freedom conditions were rapidly deteriorating. And since his departure, we've seen nothing to indicate that these conditions have improved.

This is especially true on the impunity front where attacks on religious minorities, particularly Coptic Christians but also disfavored Muslims, have risen. The severe level of violence and the failure to convict those responsible, including two of the three alleged perpetrators in last year's Nag Hammadi murders, continue to foster a climate of impunity, making violence more likely.

Despite the transitional government's initial efforts to dismantle the state's repressive security apparatus, Egypt's state of emergency remains, and laws and practices that discriminate continue to hinder religious freedom. Since February 11th, military and security forces have allegedly used excessive force, including live ammunition, against Christian demonstrators and churches.

As part of our CPC designation, USCIRF recommends that the U.S. use some of the money it gives Egypt for military assistance to enhance physical protection for Coptic Christians and other religious minorities, and their places of worship. The U.S. government should also provide more aid to organizations promoting democracy and governance training, as well as for civil society groups promoting human rights and religious-freedom reforms.

Now, in our judgment, nations that we recommend for CPC status, like Egypt, are the world's worst violators of religious freedom. But there are other nations that, while being unmistakable violators, don't quite meet the CPC threshold. These are countries that comprise our watch list; and as watch-list nations, they are closely monitored. If little or nothing changes, they stay on the list. If things dramatically improve, we could move them off the list. If things dramatically worsen, we could recommend them for CPC status.

One example of a watch-list country is Turkey. We traveled there in February and met with Turkish officials including the deputy prime minister, as well as leading religious figures including the Diyanet president, the ecumenical patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church, the patriarchs of the Syriac and Armenian Orthodox churches, and the chief rabbi of Turkey, as well as Turkish journalists, academics and civil society representatives.

We've decided to keep Turkey on our watch list because its government continues to stifle religious freedom by imposing suffocating regulations which threaten the vitality and survival of religious minorities in that country. State secularism in Turkey has significantly restricted religious freedom, especially for religious-minority communities, including the Greek, Armenian and Syriac Orthodox churches, Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, and the Jewish community, but also for the majority Sunni Muslim community and the minority Allavis, which some view as a unique sect of Islam.

Through these restrictions on non-Muslim communities, Turkey continues to deny them the right to train their clergy, offer religious education, and own and maintain places of worship. Moreover, through its military control over Northern Cyprus, Turkey supports a web of arbitrary restrictions imposed by Turkish Cypriot authorities resulting in serious limitations on freedom of religion.

We urge the U.S. government to press Turkey toward full legal recognition for religious communities, full permission for religious minorities to train their clergy, full re-opening of the Greek Orthodox theological seminary of Halki for that purpose, full return of the Mor Gabriel Syrian Orthodox monastery to its rightful owners, and full removal of restrictions on religious garb for both men and women.

The removal—excuse me—the U.S. government should also urge Turkey and Turkish Cypriot authorities to abandon all restrictions on Christians and Jews regarding the access, use and restoration of places of worship and cemeteries, and to cease the ongoing desecration of these sites and items.

Now, let me end on a positive note: On March 24th, the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva rejected an approach that favored a global blasphemy law. I'm referring to the so-called “defamation of religions” resolution which had been designed in recent years by certain U.N. member states to protect a specific religion, namely Islam, from criticism. In response, USCIRF worked with the State Department, Congress and human rights NGOs to highlight the dangers of this approach, and to urge its rejection by other U.N. member states.

As a result of our efforts, support for it began to erode. And last month, the council abandoned the defamation approach altogether. In its place, the council adopted a new consensus resolution protecting individuals from discrimination, rather than religions, from any criticism.

It is our hope that in the coming months and years, Pakistan and other nations will abandon their own blasphemy laws, and that the U.S. and world community will support further steps that will strengthen the right to freedom of religion for all.

And now, I'd like to turn to my colleagues for their comments and observations on various countries. And I think we're going to begin with our vice chair, Elizabeth Prodromou.

Elizabeth H. Prodromou. Good morning. Earlier this year in January of 2010, I was part of our commission's delegation that visited Saudi Arabia. We had last visited Saudi Arabia in June of 2007.

On this most recent visit, our commission saw signs of—some signs of improvement in religious-freedom conditions in Saudi Arabia, but we also confirmed ongoing, systematic and egregious violations of religious freedom which persist in the kingdom. And because of these violations, the USCIRF recommends that Saudi Arabia again be named a country of particular concern, or a CPC.

Of course, King Abdullah has actually undertaken some limited reform measures, and he promotes interreligious dialogue in international fora. Nonetheless, the Saudi government persists in banning all public religious expression other than that of the government's own interpretation of Sunni Islam—Hanbali Islam—and likewise continues to interfere with private religious practice, including for non-Muslim expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia. In addition, the Saudi government continues to ban churches, synagogues, temples and other non-Muslim places of worship. Ismaili Muslims suffer repression in Saudi Arabia; there have been numerous arrests and detentions as well of Shia Muslim dissidents, in part as a result of increasing regional unrest.

Members of the Saudi Commission to Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice, the CPVPV—also known as the mutawa— continue to commit abuses in Saudi Arabia, although we found that their public presence had diminished slightly, and the number of reported incidents of abuse had decreased in some parts of the country.

The government still uses in schools, and also posts online, state textbooks which espouse intolerance and also incite violence.

It's been almost 10 years now since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, and it's also been nearly five years since the Saudi government promised to improve religious-freedom conditions in the confirmation of policies that was announced by our State Department.

As a consequence, the USCIRF has concluded that U.S. policy in Saudi Arabia does not adequately prioritize issues of human rights and religious freedom. And as a consequence, our commission recommends that the U.S. government lift the indefinite waiver of action, or at least extend a limited, 180-day waiver during which time the Saudi government should complete reforms on textbooks and certainly rein in the CPVPV.

Now, in terms of Iraq, the USCIRF continues to recommend that that country be named a country of particular concern, or a CPC. Our recommendation is based on the severe religious-freedom violations and abuses in that country, and the inadequate Iraqi government responses and measures to protect religious communities or to hold perpetrators accountable—in other words, to correct the climate of impunity.

Iraq's religious-freedom situation remains especially grave for the country's small and most vulnerable religious minorities. These include Chaldo-Assyrians and other Christians, Sabeans, Mandaeans and Yazidis. The violence, forced displacement, discrimination, marginalization and neglect that's suffered by members of these groups actually threatens their very existence, their sustainability of these ancient communities, and jeopardizes Iraq's future as a diverse, pluralistic and free society.

Although violence in Iraq has decreased overall, late 2010 actually saw a surge in attacks against Christians, and a new wave of Christian displacement. In particular, the attacks included the worst single assault on Christians since 2003; this occurred on October 31 of 2010. It was the hostage siege at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic church in Baghdad. The Iraqi government has publicly condemned such violence, but again continues to fall short in investigating attacks, and likewise, in bringing perpetrators of such attacks to justice.

Many of the remaining Christians and Yazidis in Iraq reside in the country's three—in the three governorates of the Kurdistan Regional Governor at the KRG, and in the highly dangerous Nineveh governorate. Now, this is—the Nineveh governorate is contested between the KRG and Baghdad.

And in these locations in particular, religious and ethnic minorities are caught in the crossfire and the struggle for control between the KRG and Baghdad. And they have been targeted for abuses and discrimination.

USCIRF therefore urges the U.S. government to designate Iraq a CPC, and especially to take concrete steps to make the prevention of abuses against religious minorities a high priority, to make certain that the KRG upholds minority rights, and finally, to ensure that the situation of internally displaced persons—IDPs—and refugees is effectively addressed.

Thank you.

Nina Shea. Good morning. I'm Commissioner Nina Shea. I'm going to be addressing Pakistan and Iran.

In Pakistan, numerous attacks were launched against religious groups during the past year, and two high-profile members of the ruling party were assassinated for their opposition to Pakistan's notorious blasphemy laws.

As Chairman Leo already mentioned, one of the assassinated individuals, federal Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, was a long-time friend of the commission and a personal friend of mine.

In light of these particularly severe violations, USCIRF again recommends in 2011 that Pakistan be designated a country of particular concern. Pakistan is arguably the most glaring omission to the State Department's CPC list, as the government is both responsible for and tolerates egregious violations of religious freedom.

While the Zardari government has taken some positive actions to promote religious tolerance and remedy abuses, mainly through the actions of the late Shahbaz Bhatti, it has failed to protect religious freedom for all Pakistanis. Blasphemy laws are deployed against members of religious minority groups and dissenters within the majority Muslim community, and frequently result in imprisonment on account of religion or belief and/or a vigilante violence.

Three individuals had death sentences imposed or upheld against them during the reporting period, including the outrageous sentence against Asia Bibi. Anti-Ahmadi laws discriminate against individual Ahmadis and effectively criminalize various practices of their faith.

These laws and other religiously discriminatory legislation have created an atmosphere of violent extremism and vigilantism. The forces that threaten Pakistani and U.S. security interests are largely motivated by a violent extremist ideology that rejects international human rights standards, including freedom of religion or belief.

The Pakistani government's response to this extremism remains inadequate, despite increased military operations.

Promoting respect for freedom of religion or belief must be an integral part of U.S. strategy in Pakistan, and designating Pakistan as a CPC would enable the United States to press Islamabad more effectively to undertake needed reforms.

Regarding Iran, since 1999, the State Department has designated Iran a country of particular concern. USCIRF continues to recommend that Iran remain a CPC, as the Iranian government engages in systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.

Since the disputed June 12th, 2009 elections, human rights and religious freedom conditions in Iran have regressed to a point not seen since the early days of the Islamic revolution. Over the past year, religious minorities—in particular, Baha'is, Christians and Sufi Muslims— faced intensified physical attacks, harassment, detention, arrests and imprisonment. The seven Baha'i leaders continue to endure lengthy prison sentences.

During the reporting period, the number of incidents of Iranian authorities raiding church services, harassing and threatening church members, and arresting, convicting and imprisoning worshippers and church leaders has significantly increased. Majority Shia and minority Sunni Muslims, including dissenting clerics, were intimidated, harassed and detained.

During the past year, U.S. policy on human rights in Iran has consisted of increased public statements, heightened activity in multilateral fora, and imposing unilateral sanctions on Iranian officials for human rights violations. USCIRF urges the United States government to continue to impose sanctions on the Iranian government officials responsible for severe abuses.

To date, the U.S. government has named 10 officials, while the European Union announced earlier this month that it had sanctioned 32 individual officials for human rights abuses. USCIRF has recommended other officials this year who should be sanctioned.

And now, my fellow commissioner, Felice Gaer, welcome to the podium.

Felice Gaer. Thank you very much.

Well, for 12 years, this commission has reported on the status of freedom. Freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief in Russia was one of the first countries the commission addressed. Due to the increasing concerns about limitations on religious freedom across the Russian Federation, the commission has this year again placed Russia on its watch list.

Religious freedom conditions in Russia continue to deteriorate, says the commission. Over the past year, the government increased its use of anti-extremist legislation: legislation against religious groups, groups that are not known to use or advocate violence. National and local government officials also harassed Muslims and members of religious groups that they view as nontraditional through the enforcement of other laws, including laws dealing with religious organizations.

Human rights groups are concerned that the heavy-handed way in which the Russian government is addressing security threats could increase instability and radicalism among the Russian Muslim community. Muslims and several minority religious groups continued to experience denials of registration to operate and delays and refusals to permit construction of grant permits to rent places of worship. Their members are often harassed and detained.

A rise in Russian xenophobia and intolerance continues to result in numerous violent attacks and other hate crimes, including anti-Semitic hate crimes.

Despite improved prosecution rates in Moscow, the Russian government has failed to address these serious problems adequately, consistently or effectively.

As part of the so-called reset of bilateral relations, the commission's view is that the United States government should treat religion—freedom of religion and belief— as vital to the U.S.-Russian relationship, recognizing that it is both a human rights and a security concern in Russia. In addition, the U.S. commission has made recommendations on ways the United States could respond to the massive abuses allegedly attributed to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, which the European Court of Human Rights has found responsible for severe ongoing human rights abuses.

I turn now to China. Regarding China, another longtime concern of this commission, we report that there has been no improvement in the religious freedom situation, and the annual report goes so far as to indicate a marked deterioration regarding Tibetan Buddhists and Uighur Muslims in China. It calls the conditions affecting them the worst they have been in the last 10 years.

In addition, human rights defenders who protect the universal rights of every individual, including members of unfavored religious groups, have been tortured, they have been detained, they have been forcibly disappeared, and they have been stripped of their legal licenses.

Some senior-level government officials, including President Hu Jintao, have in fact acknowledged the positive role that religious communities can play. There are reports, now, that the government is considering legalizing charitable activities of recognized religious organizations.

However, in the last year, the Chinese government has issued new guidelines that emphasize guiding or forcing unregistered Protestants to worship in state-sanctioned churches and to break large churches into small groups.

They have issued guidelines that further deny Catholics the freedom to make bishop appointments with the Vatican's approval, that require Muslims to pass political tests to go on a religious pilgrimage, and to better manage Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.

In addition, the Chinese government continues to restrict online access to religious information and the rights of parents to teach their own children religion.

The U.S. commission has concluded that a robust religious freedom agenda should be a critical component of the bilateral relationship and should be woven firmly into the full architecture of the U.S.-China bilateral relationship.

Why?

Religious freedom is directly related to expanding the rule of law, to developing civil society, aiding stability and trust-building in ethnic minority areas, expanding freedom of expression, and bringing China firmly within the international system through assisted implementation of universal human rights norms.

USCIRF has also recommended that the U.S. raise religious freedom concerns in multilateral fora where the United States and China are members, while also raising religious freedom and negotiating binding human rights agreements at the U.S.-China strategic and economic dialogue.

Thank you.

Imam Talal Y. Eid. Good morning. I am Commissioner Imam Talal Eid, and I will share two countries with you: Nigeria and Indonesia.

First, the government of Nigeria continues to tolerate systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom. The government has inadequately and ineffectively responded to acts of religiously-related violence, including reprisal attacks, and has failed to bring those responsible for such violence to justice.

As I have seen during my visit to Nigeria, years of inaction by Nigeria's federal law and the state representatives who created a climate of impunity resulting in thousands of deaths.

Based on these concerns, USCIRF again recommends that Nigeria be designated a CPC country. USCIRF has recommended CPC status for Nigeria since 2009.

Religion and religious identity are intertwined in ethnic, political, economic and social controversies, and can be misused by politicians, religious leaders or others to galvanize their constituencies for political gain. Combined with the Nigerian government's toleration of criminal acts, this has created an atmosphere for violence that has led to the death of 13,000 Nigerians if not more in strife between Muslims and the Christians.

In late 2010, for the first time in years, the government brought some perpetrators to justice, convicting five persons on federal terrorism charges for their role in March, 2010 violence in Jos. These convictions are an important first step to end the culture of impunity. But the government must do more to prevent incidents— prosecute perpetrators and protect all Nigerians from religiously-related violence.

Jurisdictional disputes between federal and state officials prevent prosecutions and are a factor in the culture of impunity.

Second, regarding Indonesia: A USCIRF delegation traveled there in May, 2010 and met with government officials, Indonesian parliamentarians, civil society representatives and religious—and religious leaders.

We found that despite Indonesia's tradition of religious tolerance, religious radicalism and extremism have made inroads, leading to sectarian violence, terrorism and religious freedom violations.

The majority of Indonesia's diverse religious communities operate openly and with few restrictions. The president has condemned violence against religious minorities and has urged their protection, yet religious minorities have continued to experience harassment, intimidation and violence perpetuated by groups espousing intolerance and extremism under the banner of Islamic orthodoxy. Meanwhile, law enforcement and government officials remain passive and sometimes even complicit in the face of violence against religious minorities.

These problems are a threat to Indonesia's tradition of religious tolerance and the pluralism. In the past year, three Ahmadiyya followers were killed in a mob attack, and several Ahmadiyya mosques were forcibly closed. Also, a 2008 joint ministerial decree curtailing the activities of the Ahmadiyya community remained in place and several provinces have issued bans on Ahmadiyya practice.

The Indonesian government continues to allow the enforcement of local laws restricting the rights of women, especially in Aceh. Enforcement of Sharia, particularly the law prohibiting un-Islamic dress and unchaperoned meetings between unmarried men and women, is applied selectively and abusively, and often severely violates women's rights to personal autonomy, expression and freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief.

USCIRF recommends that the Obama administration create regular human right dialogues and target economic assistance to support government offices and civil society organizations working to promote religious freedom, counter extremism, teach tolerance and human rights, pursue legal reform, and build interfaith alliances to deal with the pressing social, political and economic concerns.

Thank you.

Reverend William J. Shaw. Good morning. I'm William Shaw, commissioner. I will be reporting on Sudan, Northern and Southern Sudan.

Sudan was one of the first countries on which the commission focused its attention, due to the role that religion played in the north-south civil war, 1983 through 2005, which war cost 2 million lives, most of them Christians and followers of traditional African religions.

Every year since 1999, and including this year, the commission has recommended that the Sudan be designated a country of particular concern due to Khartoum's severe violations of freedom (of) religion or belief. The State Department has designated Sudan since 1999 as well.

Since the signing in 2005 of the comprehensive peace agreement, also known as the CPA, Sudan has experienced a fragile peace between north and south, and has seen a successful January, 2011 referendum on self-determination for South Sudan, in which southerners voted overwhelmingly for independence. The CPA is scheduled to end in July, with South Sudan becoming a new country. But many questions remain.

Meanwhile, in the north, religious freedom violations continue. They include: the Khartoum government's imposition of its version of Sharia law, and enforcement of religiously-based morality laws through corporal punishment; the criminalization of conversion from Islam, a crime punishable by death; the denial of the rights of non-Muslims to public religious expression and persuasion while Muslims are allowed to proselytize; and the difficulty in obtaining permission to build churches, as compared to government funding of mosque construction.

USCIRF is concerned that religious freedom conditions in the north will further deteriorate once the south becomes independent in July. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has said that once this happens, Sharia will be the basis of a new constitution and that references in the current constitution that Sudan is a multi-religious, -ethnic and -cultural state will be eliminated.

One remaining obstacle on the path to southern independence is the failure to resolve the status of the contested Abyei area, which wants to hold its own referendum for residents to decide if they wanted to remain in the north or join an independent South Sudan. The referendum is indefinitely delayed as negotiations have failed and tensions have led to violence in January and March. Additionally, the citizenship issue remains unresolved, leaving southerners in the north in danger of becoming stateless.

Regarding South Sudan, the commission traveled there a total of three times in this reporting period to investigate religious freedom conditions, monitor CPA implementations, and determine the region's development needs. Since 2005, conditions for religious freedom have improved in Southern Sudan. The interim constitution of South Sudan includes protections for freedom of religion or belief, and the government of South Sudan generally respects religious freedom.

The commission recommends that that U.S. government and international partners work closely with the parties in Sudan to resolve the citizenship issue so that vulnerable populations are not rendered stateless and overcome the Abyei impasse to prevent further violence. UCIRF recommends that the U.S. government maintain current IRFA and IEPA religious freedom sanctions on the north and leverage these sanctions, or impose new sanctions, to prevent further deterioration of freedom of religion or belief.

The commission also recommends that the U.S. government and the international partners urge the governments in the north and the south to ensure that their new constitutions reflect international obligations to religious freedom and human rights, and that the constitution drafting processes are inclusive and transparent. Thank you.

Ted Van Der Meid. I'm Ted Van Der Meid. This is my first year on the commission and I want to say it's been an honor and a privilege to work with these distinguished colleagues and a very dedicated staff on these very important issues.

Since Uzbekistan gained independence in 1991, basic human rights, including freedom or religion or belief, have been under assault. The commission recommends that the secretary of state continue to designate Uzbekistan a CPC. While Uzbekistan has been so designated by the State Department since 2006, a de facto indefinite waiver of any punitive action has been in place since 2008.

Uzbekistan's 1998 religion law places severe limits on the activities of all religious communities. The law allows the Uzbek government to control religious communities and the approved practice of the majority Muslim faith. Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses are often branded as extremists and face harassment, detention and arrest for illegal religious activity.

The Uzbek government continues to arrest Muslims and repress individuals, groups and mosques that do not conform to the government-prescribed practices, or that the government claims are associated with extremist political programs. This policy has resulted in the imprisonment of thousands of persons. Many reportedly are detained, denied due process, and are subjected to torture.

Granted, Uzbekistan faces security concerns as a result of serious threats from groups which advocate or engage in violence in the name of religion. Nevertheless, the Uzbek government's broad-brush approach to this situation is problematic, due to its arbitrary application of vague anti-extremism laws against religious adherents and others who pose no credible threat to security.

Uzbekistan plays an important role in the Northern Distribution Network, NDN, that supplies U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan. There is, however, a concern that Uzbekistan's NDN role could lead the U.S. government to downplay its severe human rights and religious freedom abuses, and that those abuses could have a destabilizing effect on other countries in Central Asia.

USCIRF has concluded that the State Department should again designate Uzbekistan as a CPC. Upon redesignation no waiver should be given and sanctions should be imposed, including a ban on visits to the United States by high level Uzbek officials.

Regarding Vietnam, human rights and religious freedom conditions continue to deteriorate, despite statements by the U.S. government officials to the contrary. The commission has found there continued to be severe religious freedom abuses occurring in Vietnam. The Vietnamese government continues to detain prisoners of concern, restrict independent religious practice, repress individuals and groups viewed as a challenge to political authority, and maintain a religious security police force.

In the past year there have been new arrests and detentions, evidence of forced renunciations of faith, and government sanctioned violence targeting religious communities, including the Catholic village of Con Dau. These ongoing and serious violations, the uneven pace of religious freedom progress, the continued detention of prisoners of concern and new evidence of severe religious freedom abuses—USCIRF again recommends that Vietnam be designated as a CPC.

The CPC designation has proven to be a productive diplomatic tool in the past, spurring discussion that has led to tangible improvements on the ground without halting progress in other bilateral interests. We believe it'll do so again. Thus, USCIRF urges the Obama administration to reevaluate all available diplomatic and political resources to advance religious freedom in Vietnam.

Richard D. Land. Thank you, Chairman Leo. I apologize for being late but I was in the airport for seven hours yesterday in Nashville trying to get here, and then they cancelled the flight. So I got up at 4:00 this morning and got the first flight here.

I've spent nine of the last 10 years on this commission and I want you to know that it's a privilege and an honor to serve on this commission. I think this is one of the most important things, and one of the altruistic things that our government does, and it is in keeping with our basic principles. The people on this commission disagree about lots of things, but we're in unanimity about the right of individuals to worship as they please without the interference of human authorities.

Since 2004, the commission has recommended the Eritrea be designated a CPC. And the country has been so named by the State Department since that year. In September of 2005, the State Department announced a sanction against Eritrea restricting arms exports, which was the first unique action to be undertaken under the International Religious Freedom Act in response to a CPC designation.

Nonregistered religious communities are severely harassed by government authorities. Members of these communities are arbitrarily arrested, detained in crowded prison cells for indefinite periods of time without charge and with no medical attention, and even tortured. Some, reportedly, have died. Human rights groups estimate that there are 2 to 3,000 religious prisoners currently in Eritrean jails. Most of these affected are evangelical or Pentecostal Christians.

Jehovah's Witnesses have been barred from obtaining government-issued identity and travel documents, which prevents the legal recognition of marriages. Some Jehovah's Witnesses who have refused to serve in the military have been imprisoned without trial for over a decade.

In light of this, the commission recommends that in addition to keeping the existing U.S. ban on the export of defense articles covered by the Arms Control Export Act, the U.S. government employ the international emergency powers act to impose targeted sanctions against individuals and institutions identified as responsible for or complicit in serious religious freedom and human rights abuses. USCIRF also reiterates its recommendation that the U.S. government prohibit any foreign company from raising capital or listing its securities in the United States while engaged in developing Eritrea's mineral resources.

Regarding Afghanistan, USCIRF has determined that conditions for religious freedom remain exceedingly poor for minority religious communities and dissenting members of the majority faith, and again, we place it on our watch list. The commission has made this finding, despite the presence of U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan for almost 10 years, and the substantial investment of lives, resources and expertise by the United States and the international community.

In spite of advances in human rights since the ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001, the Afghan government remains unable to protect citizens against violence and intimidation by the Taliban and other illegal armed groups. In addition, many of the religious freedom problems emanate from the government's interpretation of the 2004 Afghan constitution, which has effectively established Islamic law as the law of the land. Afghan jurists and government officials do not view the guarantees to human rights that come late in the document as taking precedence.

As a result, small religious minorities, such as Christians, experience increased repression during the reporting period and Muslims are prevented from openly debating issues relating to religion, society and the state. Considering the emphasis placed on respect for the constitution in negotiations and reconciliation efforts with the Taliban, USCIRF is concerned that this widespread interpretation of the constitution's provisions on Islamic law would seriously undermine freedom of religion and the human rights of women in the country.

To better prioritize freedom of religion on behalf—or belief—in U.S. policy, USCIRF recommends that the U.S. government use its influence to support those who advocate respect for freedom of religion or belief as well as increased efforts to ensure that the formal and informal judicial sectors uphold international standards of human rights.

Mr. Leo. Thank you very much, Commissioner. We have one commissioner who is not here this morning, Commissioner Don Argue, also a vice chair of the commission, and he has been on a number of mission and delegations with us and I know wanted to be here. And we very much appreciate his service and his companionship as a fellow commissioner.

And there was one individual on the dais who has not risen to the podium but who is nevertheless a very important part of our commission's life, and that is Ambassador Jackie Wolcott, to my far left. She is our executive director and a tremendous resource, and those of you in the press and civil society world should, of course, feel free to reach out to her, as well as many of the other policy experts and other staff I'm sure you're familiar with.