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Obama fails to take action against persecution of Christians
The Barnabas Fund
http://www.barnabasfund.org/barnabas-weekly-newsletter-17-may-2011.html
May 13, 2011
US President Barack Obama has failed to designate a single "country of particular concern" for religious freedom violations since he took office, despite the brutal persecution of Christians around the world.
The term is grounded in the US International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, which was intended to commit US foreign policy to the promotion of religious freedom. It requires that each year the president designate as a "country of particular concern" any in which the government has "engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom." Specific actions, including sanctions and diplomatic protests, must be taken against CPCs.
Obama has not designated any CPCs or taken action against those that have already been identified by previous presidents. This may put him in breach of federal law.
In 1999, soon after the legislation came into effect, President Bill Clinton designated Burma, China, Iran, Iraq and Sudan as CPCs. The most recent list of CPCs, confirmed by outgoing President George W. Bush in January 2009, comprised Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan. All of these still stand, although two of them, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan, have indefinite waivers that prevent the imposition of sanctions.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan federal body that monitors abuses of religious liberty abroad, makes recommendations to the president regarding the designation of "countries of particular concern" (CPC).
The USCIRF wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in January 2010 and again this year urging her to take action on CPC designations, but nothing has happened. USCIRF chairman, Leonard Leo, said:
The Obama administration continues to rely on the prior administration's designations but hopefully will make new designations and apply meaningful actions very soon in order to underscore America's resolve in bolstering the freedom of religion or belief around the world.
Egypt is one of the latest countries to be recommended for CPC designation; other recent suggestions include Nigeria, Vietnam and Pakistan, where Christians have repeatedly come under attack. The USCIRF renewed the call for action against Egypt following attacks on churches and Christian property by Islamists that resulted in the deaths of 12 people and injuries to more than 200 last weekend.
Mr Leo said:
The Egyptian government has failed to protect religious minorities from violent attacks, particularly Coptic Orthodox Christians, including during the post-Mubarak transitional period when minority communities have proven to be increasingly vulnerable. This fact, when combined with the ongoing climate of impunity in Egypt, explains why USCIRF recommended last month, for the first time, that Egypt should be designated a country of particular concern, or CPC, for engaging in and tolerating religious freedom violations.
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