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1 [1] (June 5, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/glhnrsil0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Inforrning the legislative debate since 1914 6mmmeemsmsn Updated June 5, 2025 Global Human Rights: International Religious Freedom Policy For decades, U.S. policymakers have sought to promote religious freedom abroad, reflective both of a general interest in promoting human rights through U.S. foreign policy, as well as the emphasis on religious freedom 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 sought to ensure continued support for religious freedom as a focus of U.S. relations with other nations, most prominently through passage of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Legislative Background The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA; P.L. 105-292; 22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) 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 of 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 and prescribed U.S. government actions in response to violations of religious freedom, subject to presidential waiver authority; and created the independent U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Congress has subsequently strengthened IRFA through amendment and the enactment of related provisions, notably through the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (Wolf IRFA; P.L. 114-281), which became law in December 2016. The State Departrent's Role The State Department leads the federal government's efforts to promote international religious freedom. The AAL for IRF heads the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom (IRF Office). Per IRFA, as amended, 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 IRFA-mandated annual international religious freedom report (IRF report) and advise the Secretary of State on U.S. policy actions in response to religious freedom violations. Under IRFA, the AAL for IRF is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. A related senior position is the congressionally mandated Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism (Special Envoy), which is also a presidentially appointed position with the rank of ambassador. President Trump has announced his nomination of Mark Walker to serve as the AAL for IRF, and Yehuda Kaploun to serve as the Special Envoy. A May 2025 proposed Trump Administration reorganization of the State Department may have implications for the placement of the IRF Office and the Special Envoy's office within the State Department's bureaucracy. Within recent annual Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations (SFOPS) Acts and accompanying explanatory statements, Congress has directed certain amounts of funding for the IRF Office and for IRF foreign assistance programs, among other IRF- related directives. The Trump Administration in January 2025 initiated a review of nearly all foreign assistance, pausing assistance programs around the world and ultimately terminating numerous human rights-related projects. Some IRF-related projects are reportedly among those terminated, but the extent and nature of the review's impact on IRF projects is unclear. International Religious Freedom Report The IRF report, which is statutorily required to be issued on May 1 each year or shortly thereafter, covers developments in individual foreign countries 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 executive branch's country of particular concern designations. The report covering calendar year 2023 was submitted to Congress on June 26, 2024, and is available on the Department of State website. The report covering calendar year 2024 has not yet been released by the State Department. Countries (and Entities) of Particular Concern IRFA mandates that the President (subsequently delegated to the Secretary of State), using information from the IRF report and other sources, annually designate as countries of particular concern (CPCs) those countries the governments of which have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe religious freedom violations (see Figure 1). The law defines particularly severe violations of religious freedom as systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations, including violations such as torture; cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; prolonged detention without charges; forced disappearances; or other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of persons. https://crsreport

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