United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2014
Floor Speech
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 4653 demonstrates--again, introduced by our distinguished friend and colleague Frank Wolf--the strong bipartisan support that exists for religious freedom, with nearly an equal number of Republican and Democrat cosponsors of the legislation.
I believe this makes a powerful statement in a world where we see the rights of religious minorities and conscientious objectors being trampled upon in countries where intolerant ideologies, be they of a sectarian or secular nature, seek to crush moral and spiritual thought and conscience.
The headlines, indeed, are filled with examples in country after country in the world. A 27-year-old mother in Sudan was imprisoned and faced a death sentence in Sudan because, under shari'a law, she was considered an apostate as the child of a Muslim father, even though the only religion she herself had ever practiced was Christianity. To this day, Meriam Ibrahim remains unable to leave Sudan.
Anti-Semitism, pervasive and lethal in the Middle East, has spread like a cancer in many parts of Europe, and has resurfaced in Ukraine with a series of shocking and violent attacks following the ouster of former Prime Minister Yanukovych.
In communist dictatorships such as China, religious believers are imprisoned, tortured, and even executed for attempting to practice their faith. In China today, there is a pernicious, escalating war on believers, made worse by the wanton brutality of the regime's ubiquitous secret police. In North Korea, the situation couldn't be more dire, with Christians in particular subject to what human rights observers have termed genocide, dying by the tens of thousands from starvation and torture in concentration camps for daring to hold true to their consciences--that innermost sanctuary of the individual.
Tragically, many countries of the world are a long way from achieving the human right of religious freedom recognized by article 18 of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Mr. Speaker, in 1998, with great legislative skill, commitment, and driving passion, Chairman Frank Wolf pushed a somewhat supportive Congress but highly reluctant White House into enacting a singularly important human rights law: the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
For the first time ever, Frank Wolf's law made the protection and promotion of religious freedom a serious priority in U.S. foreign policy by creating an Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom; by establishing the Office of International Religious Freedom at the Department of State, which, among other duties, compiles the International Religious Freedom Reports on every country in the world; and by crafting the independent-minded U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the subject of today's reauthorization.
Importantly, Frank Wolf's landmark law also created a system for naming and taking action against Countries of Particular Concern, or CPCs. History has shown that when the U.S. elevates religious freedom--and that priority is conveyed to Countries of Particular Concern--conditions often change for the better, prisoners of conscience gain their freedom, and progress is made in the free, or at least a freer, exercise of religious liberty.
According to the Commission, three themes guide the nine Commissioners' discussions on priority countries with serious violations of religious freedom: state-sponsored hostility to and repression of religion; state-sponsored extremist ideology and education; and state failure to prevent and punish religious freedom violations--or, a sense of impunity. Several of the CPC countries that systematically violate religious freedom fall into all three of those categories.
Mr. Speaker, when an administration, be it Republican or Democrat, demotes or trivializes religious freedom to a minor talking point, human rights-abusing nations construe such indifference as license to harass, abuse and exploit persons of faith.
Since its founding, the International Religious Freedom Commission has issued 15 annual reports and 14 special reports covering 76 countries. Of these, the Commission has identified 16 of these as countries that ought to be designated as Countries of Particular Concern.
I would also point out the Commission has acted as a true watchdog, recommending with incisive commentary--and I read their reports, as I know Frank Wolf and many other Members in this Chamber read them--twice as many countries as CPCs than the State Department has designated as Countries of Particular Concern.
Our hope is that the State Department will say other diplomatic concerns need to be subordinated and just call it the way it is. If a designation is warranted, then name them a Country of Particular Concern and begin a robust intervention to try to get that nation to mitigate and, hopefully, end such egregious practices.
This includes the Commission's list of eight nations that are not on the list currently. One is Vietnam, which is an egregious violator of the rights of religious minorities. The Commission always calls it like it is and pulls no punches.
I would hope--and I would add this parenthetically--that when Members travel, they ought to look up on the Commission Web site and read what the country they are going to visit has said and done about religious freedom violations. Read the country specific report on it, and bring it up with your interlocutors in the country you are going to.
It is unfortunate, Mr. Speaker, that while the CPC designations remain, the penalties associated with the designations have now essentially lapsed. The last designations by the Obama administration were in 2011, and as 2 years have passed, the sanctions directly linked to the International Religious Freedom Act's sanctions authority have expired. This failure to implement our law on religious freedom sends a deeply troubling message to violators of this fundamental human right. It is thus more important than ever that we in Congress speak with a clear and loud voice today.
Two-and-a-half years ago, after passing with strong bipartisan support in the House, reauthorization of the Commission got bogged down in the Senate. Eventually, through the tenacity of Chairman Wolf, holds were lifted and the bill passed and was signed into law. We hope that the Senate will move swiftly to passage.
Mr. Speaker, let me also point out that in the House there has been tremendous cooperation on both sides of the aisle. This is, as I said at the outset, a truly bipartisan piece of legislation. We have had excellent input from the Commission itself throughout this process, including testimony from then-Chairman Dr. Robert George of Princeton University, who attended my hearing on May 22 and laid out in long, and very, I think, precise detail what needs to be done to combat the religious intolerance that exists today.
I would point out parenthetically that on July 1, Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett was elected as the new Chairman. Dr. George is now the Vice Chairman.
I would also point out that at my hearing members from the religious minority communities--Muslim, Baha'i, Christian, and Jewish--spoke out about the importance of the work of the Commission in countries like Iran, Pakistan, and China, helping to shine a bright light on the serious abuses that take place in all three countries. Of course, they raised other concerns as well.
Therefore, I ask all of our colleagues to join us in supporting this fine bipartisan piece of legislation, sending a very important message to the world that the United States of America deeply values religious liberty, and that it should continue to be a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
To conclude, I want to thank Chairman Wolf again for, authoring the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998. What we reauthorize today is just one part of it, and that is the International Religious Freedom Commission.
For the record, the Commission is comprised of nine Commissioners, plus the Ambassador at Large. As of July 1, the current Chairman is Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, Dr. Robert George is Vice Chairman; Dr. James Zogby is Vice Chairman; and Dr. Zuhdi Jasser and Mary Ann Glendon are Commissioners.
Dean Eric Schwartz--who, as we all know, used to work up on the Hill as a staffer on the Democrat side and who went on to work in the NSC and work on refugee policies--is also a Commissioner, as are Daniel Mark, Father Thomas Reese, and Hannah Rosenthal--who acted as--as point person in combating anti-Semitism. They work at their own expense. These are very, very dedicated individuals and their work is supported by a highly professional staff.
Again, I would ask Members to read their reports. They are among the best reports that have been produced anywhere in Washington. They are accurately posting what is going on, and then they go into great depth as to what some of the remedies ought to be.
I want to thank, again, Chairman Wolf for his extraordinary leadership for 34 years as a Member of Congress in combating all forms of human rights abuse, especially religious persecution. This is just another manifestation of his extraordinary leadership.
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