Tuesday's News Issue - May 5, 2009
1. What is the purpose of the International Religious Freedom Act passed by Congress in 1998? (see "Background" below for the answer)
2. a) For how many years has Nigeria been on the USCIRF's watch list?
b) How did Nigeria's status change in this year's report?
3. For what reasons has Nigeria been named a CPC by USCIRF?
4. Two of the USCIRF's nine commissioners objected to the new status for Nigeria. For what reason does commissioner Michael Cromartie oppose the new designation?
5. How did the commission's report disagree with commissioner Cromartie's estimation of the Nigerian government's ability to stop the religious violence and intolerance?
6. a) Why did 4 of the 9 commissioners object to USCIRF naming Iraq to its CPC list?
b) Why did the State Department refrain from naming Iraq to its CPC list?
c) Why does the State Department not follow all of the USCIRF's recommendations for the CPC list?
7. Which country will the Commission issue a separate report on this summer?
8. How effective do you think the State Department and USCIRF CPC list is? Explain your answer.
(from uscirf.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=337&Itemid=44):
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and the Congress.
Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) (Public Law 105-292) to promote religious freedom as a U.S. foreign policy goal and to combat religious persecution in other countries. The law created an Office of International Religious Freedom in the State Department, headed by an Ambassador-at-Large. That office is responsible for issuing a report on religious freedom and persecution in all foreign countries by September 1 of each year. On the basis of that report, the State Department designates "countries of particular concern" for their "systematic, ongoing, and egregious" violations of religious liberty. The law identifies the wide range of diplomatic and economic tools that the President can apply to those countries. To assist the President, the law recommended creation of a special advisor on international religious freedom as part of the National Security Council staff. The law also created the Commission on International Religious Freedom [USCIRF] and required it to issue an annual report each May 1. The Commission expires in September 2011.
There two reports - the U.S. State Department's report and the USCIRF report - on international religious freedom. The reports have different purposes. The State Department's report is a country-by-country analysis of religious freedom. The USCIRF report covers select countries, and makes policy recommendations to the executive and legislative branches of government. The USCIRF report also critiques the work of the State Department in promoting international religious freedom.
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(from the USCIRF's 2009 report found at uscirf.gov/images/AR2009/ar%202009%20final%20with%20cover.pdf):
The response of the government of Nigeria to persistent religious freedom violations and violent sectarian and communal conflicts along religious lines has been inadequate and ineffectual. Years of inaction by Nigeria‘s federal, state and local governments has created a climate of impunity, resulting in thousands of deaths. In March-April 2009, the commission traveled to Nigeria to assess religious freedom conditions in the country.
Concerns include:
-an ongoing series of violent communal and sectarian conflicts along religious lines
-the expansion of sharia (Islamic law) into the criminal codes of several northern Nigerian states
-discrimination against minority communities of Christians and Muslims
Therefore, the Commission, for the first time, is recommending that Nigeria be designated as a country of particular concern, or CPC, for tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.