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                                                                                           Updated June 29, 2020

Global Human Rights: International Religious Freedom Policy


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For decades, U.S. policymakers have sought to promote
religious freedom abroad, reflecting both support for human
rights in U.S. foreign policy as well as the particular
emphasis on freedom of religion in U.S. domestic law and
political culture. Protection of religious freedom is also
affirmed in international law through the United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other
instruments. Congress has been an advocate for
international religious freedom issues and has sought to
ensure continued support for religious freedom as a focus of
U.S. foreign policy, most prominently through passage of
the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA).

LegislativeB         g
The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (P.L.
105-292) is the foundational legislation for U.S.
international religious freedom (IRF) policy. Recognizing
religious freedom as a universal human right, IRFA
created various government mechanisms aimed at
cementing IRF as a foreign policy priority of the United
States. Most significantly, the law
*  created an Office on International Religious Freedom
   within the State Department headed by an Ambassador
   at Large (AAL) for IRF;
*  required that the Secretary of State issue an annual
   report on the status of religious freedom around the
   world;
*  mandated that the President identify countries of
   particular concern (CPCs) and prescribed punitive
   actions in response to violations of religious freedom,
   subject to presidential waiver authority;
*  created the independent U.S. Commission on
   International Religious Freedom (USCIRF); and
*  amended  the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to
   make  inadmissible into the United States foreign
   government officials who have committed particularly
   severe religious freedom violations.
Congress has subsequently strengthened IRFA via
amendment,  notably through the Frank R. Wolf
International Religious Freedom Act (Wolf IRFA; P.L.
114-281), which became law in December 2016. The major
provisions of the law
*  called for the AAL for IRF to have a greater role within
   interagency policy processes and to report directly to the
   Secretary of State;
*  mandated designation of a special watch list of
   countries with severe violations of religious freedom but
   that did not meet CPC criteria; and
*  mandated designation of nonstate entities of particular
   concern (EPCs).
The   State   Departents R           e
The State Department leads the federal government's
efforts to promote international religious freedom. The


AAL  for IRF heads the Office on International Religious
Freedom  (IRF Office). Per IRFA, the AAL integrates IRF
policies into U.S. foreign policy efforts and is to participate
in any interagency processes in which the promotion of IRF
can advance United States national security interests. The
AAL  and the IRF Office lead the drafting of the annual
international religious freedom report and advise the
Secretary of State on U.S. policy actions in response to
religious freedom violations. Sam Brownback, confirmed
by the Senate in January 2018, serves as the current AAL.
Other senior State Department positions related to religious
freedom include the congressionally mandated positions of
Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-
Semitism (currently held by Elan S. Carr) and Special
Advisor for Religious Minorities in the Near East and
South/Central Asia (situated in the IRF Office, and
currently held by Knox Thames).

In June 2019, Secretary of State Pompeo announced that the
State Department was elevating the IRF Office and the
Office of the Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating
anti-Semitism by designating that these offices report
directly to the Under Secretary of State for Civilian
Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. The offices had
previously been situated within the Bureau of Democracy,
Human  Rights, and Labor. Pursuant to IRFA, the AAL for
IRF continues to report to the Secretary of State.

    IRF Adviser on  the National  Security Council
  IRFA amended  the National Security Act of 1947 to
  add a sense of Congress provision that there should
  be an adviser on IRF issues on the National Security
  Council (NSC) staff. In February 2020, news reporting
  indicated that the White House had appointed an
  individual to the NSC staff to focus on IRF issues. The
  U.S. Commission on  International Religious Freedom
  had recommended   the filling of a position in line with
  IRFA and applauded the reported appointment in a
  press statement.

     intenatinalReliigious Freedom
Report
The IRF report, which is statutorily required by May 1 each
year, covers developments in each foreign country during
the prior calendar year and includes information on the
status of religious freedom, violations of religious freedom,
and relevant U.S. policies. The IRF report is the official
U.S. government account of religious freedom conditions
abroad, and is a primary information source for the
Secretary of State's country of particular concern
designations. The report covering calendar year 2019 was
submitted to Congress on June 10, 2020, and is available on
the Department of State website.


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