The State of Religious Freedom Around the Globe
Announcement
Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a hearing to examine the state of religious freedom around the world.
Article 18 of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights recognize the fundamental right to “freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” However, the State Department’s Bureau of International Religious Freedom observed in its 2020 International Religious Freedom Report that “Across the globe, in far too many places, individuals continue to be killed, tortured, jailed, harassed, and threatened on account of their religious identity or beliefs. Left unaddressed, such abuses threaten societal cohesion and political stability, undermine economic development, and can foster radicalization and violent extremism.”
Coinciding with the nongovernmental International Religious Freedom Summit to be held July 13-15, 2021, a panel of experts will examine the status of religious freedom around the globe, with emphasis on four countries where religious freedom is threatened either due to state repression or the sustained failure of the government to contain non-state actors intent on religious persecution: China, Iran, Pakistan and Nigeria.
This hearing will be virtual. Pursuant to H. Res. 965, Members of Congress and witnesses will participate remotely via Cisco WebEx. Members of the public and the media may view the hearing by live webcast on the Commission website and will also be available for viewing on the House Digital Channel service. For any questions, please contact Piero Tozzi (for Co-Chair Smith) or Kimberly Stanton (for Co-Chair McGovern).
Hosted by:
Member of Congress
Co-Chair, TLHRC
Member of Congress
Co-Chair, TLHRC
Opening Remarks
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Rep. Christopher H. Smith, Co-Chair, TLHRC
Written remarks -
Rep. James P. McGovern, Co-Chair, TLHRC
Written remarks
Witnesses
Panel I
- Nadine Maenza, Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Written testimony
Panel II
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Amjad Mahmood Khan, National Director of Public Affairs, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Written testimony -
Matthew Hassan Kukah, Bishop of Sokoto, Nigeria
Written testimony -
Dr. Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Professor of Political Science and Religious Studies and the Crown Chair in Middle East Studies, Northwestern University
Written testimony -
Rev. Susan Hayward, Associate Director, Religious Literacy and Professions Initiative, Harvard Divinity School
Written testimony -
Gulzira Auyelkhan, of the Kazakh Muslim minority from Xinjiang
Written testimony (English)
Written testimony (Kazakh)
Submitted for the record
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Father Cedric Prakash, statement submitted for the record
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Rev. JUN, Kwang-hoon, statement submitted for the record
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In Defense of Christians, statement submitted for the record
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Uyghur Human Rights Project, Islam Dispossessed China’s Persecution of Uyghur Imams and Religious Figures
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Ahmed Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, "Interim Report on the Elimination of All Forms of Religious Intolerance," October 12, 2021
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"Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old activist, perishes awaiting trial," The Economist, July 10, 2021
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"Stan Swamy: A life dedicated to upliftment of Adivasis," Press Trust of India, July 6, 2021
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Leif Brottem, "The Growing Complexity of Farmer-Herder Conflict in West and Central Africa," Africa Security Brief, July 2021
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UN Special Rapporteurs Ahmed Shaheed, Irene Kahn, Fernand de Varennes, "International Community must pay attention to the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims worldwide," OHCHR, July 13, 2021
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Ataullah Şahyar, PhD, Associate Professor at the University of Marmara (Turkey), Statement