US Commission on International Religious Freedom

The story of Kurdish Christians and all other religious minorities in the Middle East is one of great suffering, but it is also a story of survival and great resilience. Fortunately, there is time to save northeast Syria as a refuge for these communities, but only if the international community offers immediate support.

The bold and brave witness of untold numbers of new Christians in Iran is beginning to illuminate the Middle East and beyond. Their light shines brightly in the shadows of today’s increasingly troubled world.

As COVID-19 spreads globally, religious minorities are now more exposed and vulnerable.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 2020 Annual Report and recommended the US government include Turkey on the State Department’s “Special Watch List” for “engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.”

The United States and the international community could make a difference in the future of Iraq by informing the incoming government that there will be no investment or access to capital markets until these militias, and Iranian influence, have been eliminated.

Prime Minister Modi’s apparent disdain for human rights and religious freedom is casting dark and ominous shadows across India’s otherwise promising future.

A respected prosecutor chaired a panel of experts to examine whether China ended its practice of organ harvesting in 2006, as Beijing claims. These human rights advocates, physicians, and diverse leaders uncovered haunting violations.

China’s actions in the last two months—which have included demolishing church structures, burning Bibles, closing house churches, arresting pastors, and forcing millions of Chinese Christians to sign statements renouncing their faith—represent a dramatic escalation in the Communist Party’s clampdown on religion in China.

Despite continued violence in Sudan and the disapproval of senior members of Congress, last January President Obama signed an executive order lifting Sudan sanctions on a probationary basis.