Twenty-five years of bipartisan support for international religious freedom

OPINION:

Twenty-five years ago, Congress created the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom as part of the landmark International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. As the years passed, one priority has remained constant — bipartisan support for U.S. efforts to promote freedom of religion or belief abroad. Marking a quarter century of elevating religious freedom in U.S. foreign policy, the commission, known as USCIRF, released its 25th congressionally mandated annual report.

Over the years, the commission has served as an independent U.S. government voice on freedom of religion or belief abroad, reporting unflinchingly on conditions in other countries and making policy recommendations to Congress and successive administrations.

At the core of its success lies the bipartisan nature of our work. As former appointees to the commission by Republican and Democratic Senate leaders, we differ on some issues, as expected. The commission, however, is mandated, and its commissioners are firmly united in their commitment to religious freedom abroad for people of all faiths and for those of none.

USCIRF’s 2024 annual report recommends the State Department designate 17 countries as “Countries of Particular Concern” for systematic, ongoing and egregious religious freedom violations. Laws being passed and applied more intensely to target religious communities include India’s use of the Citizenship Amendment Act to strip some residents, primarily Muslims, of citizenship.

China continues its genocidal campaign against Uyghur Muslims, including the use of transnational repression against religious minorities, even on U.S. soil. Russia targets Muslims and Jehovah’s Witnesses and arrests and sentences religious freedom activists to prison time for “insulting religious feelings.”

Iran and Afghanistan persecute religious minorities and impose tight religious restrictions on women and girls. Hate speech, along with a surge of antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias, have alarmingly spread across multiple countries and regions, and religiously driven violence in Nigeria continues to claim the lives of Christians and Muslims there, in addition to the destruction of houses of worship.

USCIRF also recommends 11 countries for the State Department’s “Special Watch List,” where violations are slightly less flagrant but concerning. Egypt enforces laws against blasphemy and uses counterterrorism laws and the charge of “spreading false news” against religious minorities. Indonesia’s new criminal code will expand blasphemy prohibitions and empower the government to monitor social media to enforce this provision. And Uzbekistan’s religious registration laws seriously restrict how a multitude of faith groups worship.

The magnitude of religious freedom violations globally can be overwhelming, but with a unified approach, the United States can better address these challenges. We have also highlighted growing transnational hate and antisemitism in Europe. Focusing on our divisions makes good political theater. Still, it does not help refugees fleeing religious persecution, women forced to remove their hijabs, including at the upcoming Olympics in France, or prisoners of conscience who disagree with the government’s religious interpretations.

USCIRF has worked hard to urge the U.S. government to impose targeted sanctions on religious freedom violators, withhold foreign military aid to governments violating religious freedom, and appoint senior officials to advocate religious freedom at the highest levels. While at USCIRF, we found common ground, respected our differences, and focused on what is possible rather than what is ideal. USCIRF’s work is a testament to the power and efficacy of 25 years’ worth of bipartisanship.

• Rabbi Abraham Cooper is the former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom appointed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Rev. Frederick A. Davie is the former vice chair of the commission appointed by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer.