US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has said that religious freedom is vital to stable and secure societies.
He spoke on the 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom on Monday in Washington, D.C.
”When each person is respected for their beliefs, they are more empowered to reach their full potential, which in turn lifts entire communities and societies.
”Twenty-five years ago, President Clinton signed the International Religious Freedom Act into law. And that gave us a range of new tools to give voice to the persecuted, to empower advocates, to promote religious freedom around the world.”
According to him, at that time, President Clinton noted that freedom of religion was a bedrock of American belief. And he said that, and I quote, “When we promote religious freedom, we also promote freedom of expression, conscience, and association, and other human rights.” The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms this same interdependence.
”Today the State Department is releasing the 2022 International Religious Freedom Report, which provides a fact-based, comprehensive view of the state of religious freedom in nearly 200 countries and territories around the world.”This report wouldn’t be possible without the contributions of our civil society partners around the globe who help to shine a spotlight on abuses and advocate for victims of religious persecution. We are grateful for their vital work.
”This report assesses the actions of countries that are our partners and those with whom we have disagreements, evaluating all by the same standards.
”Its aim is to highlight areas where freedom of religion or belief is being repressed, to promote accountability, and ultimately drive progress toward a world where freedom of religion or belief is a reality for everyone everywhere.”
Blinken explained that over the past year, the US had seen real progress in some parts of the world on expanding religious freedom as people demanded their rights, adding that civil society groups pushed for change and governments listened.
”Belgium formally recognised its Buddhist minority, which entitles Buddhist religious organisations to teach their faith in state schools and eventually to apply for federal funding to do so.
”Lawmakers in Brazil codified religious freedom guarantees for Afro-Brazilian indigenous communities at the municipal and state levels across the country. They also passed legislation making it a crime carry out discriminatory acts against any religious practices.
”Canada and the European Union both created new offices to combat Islamophobia, while Croatia appointed its first special advisor for combatting anti-Semitism,” he said.
According to him, in the Central African Republic, the country’s special criminal court continue to prosecute cases of religious-based violence and other human rights violations against civilians since the military coup in 2003.
”And more broadly, civil society and other concerned governments around the world have successfully secured the release of many who’ve been detained, even imprisoned, for exercising their freedom of religion or belief.
”Now, that’s the positive news. Unfortunately, the report also documents the continuation and, in some instances, the rise of very troubling trends. Governments in many parts of the world continue to target religious minorities using a host of methods, including torture, beatings, unlawful surveillance, and so-called re-education camps.
”They also continued to engage in other forms of discrimination on the basis of faith or lack of faith, like excluding religious minorities from certain professions or forcing them to work during times of religious observance.
”Governments use anti-conversion, blasphemy, apostasy laws, which ban the act of leaving a faith, to justify harassment against those who don’t follow their particular interpretation of a theology, often weaponizing those laws against humanists, atheists, and LGBTQI+ individuals.
”Around the world, citizens and civil society organizations stepped up to counter these acts, often at great personal risk. NGOs like Campaign for Uyghurs and Uyghur Human Rights Project are documenting the genocide and crimes against humanity against predominately Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China.”
He said that human rights defenders are sounding the alarm on attacks on the Catholic Church by the Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua.
He noted that lawyer Martha Patricia Molina Montenegro’s reporting exposed more than 160 attacks against the church and its members since – in 2022, from desecrations to arbitrary arrests.
Blinken added that one of those unjustly detained was Rolando Alvarez, a bishop who criticized the regime’s crackdown on civil and religious liberties and was promptly labeled a “traitor to the homeland” and sentenced to 26 years in jail.
”People across Iran, led by young women, continue peaceful protests demanding their human rights, including freedom of religion, galvanized by the killing of Masa Amini, who was arrested by the so-called morality police because her hijab did not fully cover her hair.
”Amidst the Burma military regime’s ongoing repression of religious minorities, thousands of teachers from Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, and other religious backgrounds continue to teach the importance of human rights, including religious freedom and respect between religions.
Blinken said the United States will continue to stand with and support these brave advocates for religious freedom.
”We’ll keep advocating for religious freedom in countries where the rights are under attack, both publicly and directly in our engagement with government officials. We’ll keep working to defend and promote religious freedom here at home, including through the interagency group that President Biden created in December to combat religious bias and discrimination.
”We defend the right to believe or to not believe, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because of the extraordinary good that people of faith can do in our societies and around the world to promote peace, to care for the sick, to protect our planet, to expand opportunity for underserved communities, and so much more.
”So this is an enduring commitment of this administration. This report released today reflects the picture that we see – saw emerge in 2022, but we are acting on the findings and observations of the report every single day in our efforts around the world to advance freedom of religion and belief.
”The person who is leading our efforts in that regard is Ambassador Rashad Hussain. It is my pleasure to turn the podium over to him now.”
