WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today mourns the death of Tahir Ahmad Naseem, a U.S. citizen who was shot in a courtroom in Peshawar, Pakistan on July 29, 2020. The assailant claimed to have shot Naseem because he had belonged to the Ahmadiyya faith. “Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are…
WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) calls on the governments of Thailand and Malaysia to admit boats carrying Rohingya Muslim refugees stranded at sea. “Thai and Malaysian authorities must recognize their obligations under international law to refugees fleeing ethnic and religious violence,” USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin stated. “USCIRF urges…
WASHINGTON, DC – The USCIRF (U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom) released the following statement urging the Administration to immediately enforce the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, which was signed by President Donald Trump: “Along with Congress, the official communication and policy of this administration has been unambiguous in expressing both concern and outrage over…
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomed the Pakistani government’s recent establishment of the National Commission for Minorities to oversee religious minorities’ rights.. In a June 2014 ruling, the Pakistani Supreme Court directed the government to form a commission “to monitor the practical realization of the rights and safeguards provided…
WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today expressed its concern over reports of the provincial government of Balochistan, Pakistan targeting Hazara Shi’a for the spread of COVID-19 amid the Coronavirus lockdown. “We are troubled that government officials in Balochistan are scapegoating the already vulnerable and marginalized Hazara Shi’a community…
WASHINGTON, DC – The passage of the FY2020 Federal spending bill on December 19th ensures government funding for the US Commission on International Religious Freedom for another three years. Congress must re-approve funding of the USCIRF before the 2023 fiscal year. Although many government programs are included in the $1.4 trillion package, the USCIRF came…
WASHINGTON — With its particular focus on China’s oppression of religious and human rights, an independent watchdog group has decried in its annual report the state of religious freedom across the globe. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan organization created 20 years ago, concludes in its Monday (April 29) report that “innumerable…
WASHINGTON, DC – Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council and anchor of the daily radio broadcast Washington Watch, has been appointed to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) upon the recommendation of Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The appointment was announced on Monday, May 14, 2018. Perkins earned a BS…
WASHINGTON — Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty today published an updated edition of its report “Free to Believe? The Intensifying Intolerance Toward Christians in the West,” which seeks to provide a better understanding of religious freedom violations perpetrated by Western governments against Christian individuals, organizations, and churches. Between January 2020 and December 2023,…
WASHINGTON — Mike Pence, the 48th Vice President of the United States, will speak during the afternoon plenary at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit on Tuesday, Jan. 30. The IRF Summit is the world’s premier annual gathering of international religious freedom advocates and activists. The Summit’s convening co-chairs, former U.S. Ambassador at Large for…
WASHINGTON — The International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit, the world’s premier annual gathering of religious freedom advocates and activists, will be held January 31–February 1. The Summit, usually held in the summer, has been moved several months earlier in 2023 and coincides with the start of the National Prayer Breakfast. IRF Summit 2023 will be…
WASHINGTON — In recent years levels of persecution and restriction based on faith or belief have increased around the world. This is despite a growing movement of people who are committed to protecting this fundamental human right. It is time to think big for religious freedom. The International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit 2022 will convene…
WASHINGTON — On June 27, one day ahead of the International Religious Freedom Summit 2022, the summit is hosting a Congressional Advocacy Day to encourage convening organizations to present their causes and discuss religious freedom concerns with members of Congress and their staff on Capitol Hill. The day will kick off with a breakfast meeting…
WASHINGTON — On June 28-30 religious freedom leaders, advocates and activists from around the world, spanning a wide range of faith traditions and political affiliations, will gather in Washington, D.C., for the second annual International Religious Freedom Summit. The Summit will highlight increasing threats to freedom of religion, conscience and belief, and it will once…
WASHINGTON — Ten years ago, on October 9, 2011, the Egyptian Army murdered 27 Copts and injured 327 others for peacefully protesting the destruction of a church, in what became known as the Maspero Massacre. Coptic Solidarity’s virtual Zoom program will honor the rally participants, heroes, and martyrs from that day. Register today to join…
WASHINGTON — Ahead of the International Religious Freedom Summit 2021 (IRF Summit), co-chairs Samuel Brownback and Katrina Lantos Swett, along with the Summit’s over 70 partner organizations around the world, have issued A Charter of Religious Freedom, calling for the protection of the universal human rights of religion, thought and conscience: A CHARTER OF RELIGIOUS…
WASHINGTON — As part of International Religious Freedom Summit 2021, young leaders ages 15 to 35 are invited to participate in the Young Leaders Track, chaired by Nguyen Dinh Thang, president and CEO of Boat People SOS (BPSOS). The Young Leaders Track will take place Tuesday, July 13 through Thursday, July 15 virtually and at…
WASHINGTON — The International Committee on Nigeria (ICON), a nonprofit working to secure a future for all Nigerians, launched a new Data Tome (“report”) today proving the religious persecution and genocide that has been occurring in Nigeria over the last 20 years. The report includes recent testimonies of some of the more than 60,000 victims…
WASHINGTON, DC – Its 2020 Annual Report on international freedom of religion has been made available to the public by the USCIRF. Various media reports have created confusion concerning the publication, with some referring to it as “the 2019 report” and others as “the 2020 report.” For clarification, the title of the 104-page document is…
WASHINGTON — The International Committee on Nigeria (ICON), a nonprofit working to secure a future for all Nigerians, released a statement today, applauding a new executive order signed by President Trump advancing international religious freedom. The order directs the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to take action to…
The long-awaited National Commission for Minorities, now inaugurated in Pakistan on 5 May, has been welcomed as “an important step” in the country’s “continuing journey towards the protection of religious freedom” by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Commissioner Johnnie Moore added that the formation of the minorities commission is “undoubtedly a…
A house church pastor in China’s Hunan province has been arrested for “inciting subversion of state power” after he refused to join the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s Three-Self Patriotic Association. Radio Free Asia reports that pastor Zhao Huaiguo, the founder of Bethel Church, was arrested on April 2 in China’s Hunan province, after being criminally…
HAVANA – As Cuba deals with the coronavirus pandemic, a group of pastors is banding together to help save lives and share the gospel message. Vernon Brewer, the CEO and founder of World Help, a Christian humanitarian aid organization, shared about the creative idea in the island nation that relies heavily on tourism. One man…
WASHINGTON – An international organization representing Baha’is says it is extremely concerned about Iran’s ongoing detention of up to 100 Baha’is at risk of contracting the coronavirus in Iranian prisons. In a VOA Persian interview on Monday, the Baha’i International Community’s chief representative to the U.N. in New York, Bani Dugal, said an estimated 50…
KHARTOUM – Life for Christians is beginning to change for the better in Sudan. Mission Box News published a story on March 20, 2020, reporting that Sudan’s Transitional Government had disbanded the “church councils” operating under the previous 30-year regime of dictator Omar al-Bashar. The so-called “church councils” were fronts for persecuting Christians and demolishing…
KHARTOUM – The nation of Sudan has been a veritable poster child for the persecution of Christians. Recent news, however, indicates that things may be about to change. The World Watch List 2020, published by Open Doors, ranked Sudan as the seventh most dangerous country for Christians, mainly due to extremely high levels of violence….
NIGERIA – The Nigerian government now agrees with what church leaders have been complaining for years: Christians are the target of jihadist terrorism. “In the wake of a renewed onslaught by our tireless military against Boko Haram and their ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) allies in recent times, the insurgents have apparently changed their…
The U.S. State Department removed Sudan from its list of governments that are engaging in or tolerating systemic and ongoing religious freedom violations and has placed Nigeria, Cuba, and Nicaragua on a special watch list for “severe violations of religious freedom” for the first time. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Friday the State Departments’…
PAKISTAN – New reports highlight continuing concern over Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, six months after Asia Bibi was finally allowed to leave the country. The reports come from sources as diverse as the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCRIF) and Humanists International. The USCIRF reports there are still 80 people in Pakistan imprisoned on blasphemy…
WASHINGTON, DC – A recent meeting of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom declared that “Places of worship and other religious sites should be sanctuaries where worshipers feel safe to practice their faith.” Based on statements made at meetings of, or contained within documentation published by, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,…
JERUSALEM, Israel – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the terror attack near a synagogue in Halle, Germany that killed two people Wednesday is “additional testimony that anti-Semitism in Europe is increasing.” The anti-Semitic attack took place during Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Witnesses say the gunman tried but failed to break…
WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was founded in 1998. The mission of the USCIRF is “To elevate and promote international religious freedom as a norm and practice.” During the past year, the USCIRF has issued four factsheets that summarize four types of laws used internationally to prevent the…
BEIJING – Barely six months ago, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIFR) identified its current Countries of Particular Concern (CPC). Sixteen of the CPC were ranked as Tier One, those of the most significant concern. Of those, committee member Gary Bauer said,“If we were going to rank the Tier 1 countries, China would…
WASHINGTON — Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), co-chairman of Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission along with Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), today held a bipartisan hearing on the perilous state of religious freedom for Christians in China, Nigeria, Iran and other places around the world. Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, head of the U.S. State Department’s Office…
WASHINGTON —Travis Weber, Vice President for Policy and Director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council, spoke in Taiwan at the Taiwan International Religious Freedom Forum (TIRFF) on the importance of promoting religious freedom around the world, particularly in China. The conference is a joint effort of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan,…
A local government communications agency in China held a seminar in April to discuss with Communist Party members the “enormous harm” the growth of Christianity is to the atheist nation. The Chinese Christian persecution watchdog China Aid raised an alarm about the event, titled “Christianity’s Enormous Harm on China’s Security,” held on April 22 in the…
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has released its annual report in the aftermath of attacks on mosques in New Zealand, churches in Sri Lanka and synagogues in the United States. “It’s coming at a time when religious freedom concerns, for lots of reasons, are getting more attention across the board,” USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie…
WILLS POINT, TX – The ongoing case of the Asia Bibi trial in Pakistan has drawn attention to the imminent danger of blasphemy laws, particularly for Christians. Missions Box News decided to investigate blasphemy laws around the world. Although this article may not contain everything you want to know about it, we think you will…
IZMIR, Turkey (RNS) — A Turkish court has freed the Rev. Andrew Brunson, an American missionary who had been the subject of a diplomatic standoff between the United States and Turkey. Brunson had been under house arrest after being accused of terrorism and conspiring against the Turkish government. The Pastor, who denies all charges against…
Saudi Arabia has made unprecedented strides toward religious tolerance just a year after its young new ruler pledged to bring more moderate Islam to the Sunni kingdom. After a visit to the capital city of Riyadh last week, US officials reported the country has reformed its religious police—once tasked with enforcing shari’ah law on the…
IZMIR – Despite heightened optimism that a Turkish court might release U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson from prison today, expectations were dealt a blow when the court ordered him to remain in custody. The next hearing, his fourth, is scheduled for 12 October 2018. Brunson, 50, a native of North Carolina, has lived in Turkey for…
