Briefing on Release of 2017 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom
The International Religious Freedom Report is the annual assessment of the state of religious freedom in our world today. We all have a stake in this fight. One person's bondage is another person's burden to break. We're all people with beautiful and undeniable human dignity. Our lives are sacred. Our right to choose the road our conscience takes is inalienable.
We report on what has occurred and been said around the world. We don't make judgment calls in this report of what's worthy to report or not. We just report it all. There are people killed in the world today for their faith. There are people denied access to work or medicine for their beliefs. There are more subtle forms, as well, of persecution. We report it all, without comment or analysis.
Our goal is to protect the freedom of conscience for all people. That means protecting a Muslim, Buddhist,
We've been doing that by working with other federal agencies, the NGO community, the Hill, and with other governments so that we can effectively advocate for those who need it most. My office hosts a weekly roundtable to meet with stakeholders to discuss concerns from all over the world, and I'd invite you to participate in that.
As the Secretary mentioned, we're now 20 years after the International Religious Freedom Act was originally passed. I was pleased to be an original sponsor of that in the
Secretary
Also was at the Andrew Brunson trial in
And unfortunately, there are plenty of other countries we could mention that are covered in the report.
For instance,
All four are Countries of Particular Concern, or CPC countries, designations that are also vital tools meant to spur action.
We also remain very concerned about religious freedom or the lack thereof in
I'd welcome engagement with these and any governments on urgently needed reforms.
So today, 20 years after
This report is a critical, important report, but strong action must follow. We must move religious freedom forward. We must defend it in every corner of the globe. And that's why the Secretary is hosting the first ever Ministerial on Advancing Religious Freedom.
Two key objectives of the Trump administration are reduction of terrorism and growing the economy. With religious freedom, you get both of them. It is also a fundamental human right under assault in much of the world.
The problems are great, but the opportunity for change is too. The ministerial will be an important event. We look forward to working with other governments and our partners in the religious community and civil society to advance this fundamental right.
I'd be happy to take some questions, and I think Heather is going to be calling on people.
QUESTION: I think you merged our two colleagues.
QUESTION: Thank you, Ambassador.
QUESTION: I wanted to ask about the information in the report about up to 120,000 political prisoners in
QUESTION: Hi. Good morning.
QUESTION: You said you had been to
QUESTION: Sorry, you'd been to
QUESTION: And I understand that you had not been given a visa to go into
I don't think you've seen progress taking place there in the country. If anything, the administration there is doubling now its effort and going after the Kachin in the northern part of the country, and the refugee numbers are increasing in the northern part now of
So you've got the continued situation of the
QUESTION: Thank you very much, Ambassador, Senator.
QUESTION: Good to see you again. A question to follow up on Josh: Do we have any insights from the North Koreans into the conditions for these 80- to 120,000 political and religious prisoners from all of these increased communications with the North? Have they given us any answers at all about the conditions in their prisons?
QUESTION: What do we know?
QUESTION: Well, should this be linked to an overall normalization of relations, which is the end goal, as well as, of course, denuclearization?
QUESTION: I'm way in the back. Thank you. Who is going to be invited to this ministerial meeting? What's your goal out of that? I mean, are you going to invite Countries of Particular Concern, for instance?
The intent is really to drive the issue of religious freedom more aggressively globally, and the outcomes are really twofold that we intend to get out of it: less terrorism, more economic growth. And then just this realization of this fundamental human right that a - over 70 percent of the world doesn't get to experience, which is their right to do with their conscience what they choose.
QUESTION: But are the countries that are on the list of concern, are they going to be invited?
QUESTION: Thank you so much for your time. How do you view the religious freedom situation in the
QUESTION: Thank you.
QUESTION: Thank you very much, Ambassador. As
I've been meeting with people in the administration and on the Hill about what's happening there, about the situation for Tibetan Buddhists that continues to be a very difficult situation for them, for Christians, for
QUESTION: Hi, Mr. Ambassador. Do you believe the
QUESTION:
For years, we've reported on the state of religious freedom in
QUESTION: Yeah. I just wanted to know, coming back on
QUESTION: Now.
Unfortunately, now you're even seeing them step up again in the north, in the Kachin area, and the number of refugees there has increased in recent - in recent weeks as the fighting there has expanded of another ethnic religious minority being pushed out of the country and their normal areas.
This is going to require a lot of, I think, focus on the international community. Fortunately, the international community is focusing, but I think it's going to require action and I think you'll see more action coming.
QUESTION: Thank you. Thank you for doing this, sir. I wanted to ask about religious minorities in
So I'm happy we've got started and it's focused, that
QUESTION: Thank you. There's been - as you said, the world has started to focus on the situation in
QUESTION: And essentially, the world stood by while the greater part of this ethnic cleansing was going on. So twice now you've mentioned that there should be more action. What action should the
QUESTION: Hi. Yeah, thank you. Just to follow up on my colleagues' question: Specifically, will
When you get the foundational one wrong, you really can't build on the structure. And that's why I think this one needs to be promoted and pushed more, and why you also saw in the Frank Wolf Religious Freedom Act a unanimous action by both houses, and both Republican houses, and signed by a Democrat president as one of the last acts of the Obama administration.
So this is something we all agree on, that it's foundational and it's important, and it needs to be pushed forward, and out of it much good will come.
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