America.gov-Democracy Around the World: Introduction

Judicial Corruption Continues To Plague the World, Report Says

iipcms@state.gov (iipcms) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 10:43:05 -0500

By Jaroslaw Anders
Staff Writer

Washington -- Systemic corruption of judicial systems not only denies citizens their basic human rights, but hinders economic development and sometimes pushes aggrieved populations to violence, according to a recent report.

Global Corruption Report 2007: Corruption in Judicial Systems says that despite international efforts, different forms of judicial corruption continue to afflict many parts of the world. The report was issued in late May by Transparency International, an international anti-corruption nongovernmental organization.

“We are talking not just about outright bribery, but political bias or interference, the influence of money, which can have a profound impact on all of us, undermining our trust in public institutions and their capacity to deliver fair and impartial outcomes,” said Nancy Boswell, the president of Transparency International-USA. She spoke June 6 at an event at the Brookings Institution, a private research organization in Washington.

According to the report, there is a clear connection between high levels of judicial corruption and low levels of economic growth. This comes as no surprise, the report says, since “the expectation that contracts will be honored and disputes resolved fairly is vital to investors, and underpins sound business development and growth.”

Speaking at the same event, Aryeh Neier said widespread mistrust of the institutions of justice also is one of the factors that push citizens to resolve their grievances through the use of force, leading to social disorder and violence. Neier is the president of the Open Society Institute, a private group that promotes democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform.

According to Transparency International, a majority of people in seven of the eight African countries it polled said their legal systems are corrupt and one among five of those who had dealt with courts admit to paying bribes. Another aspect of judicial corruption -- political influence over the judiciary -- is especially serious in Niger, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the organization says. In addition, it cites Kenya and Lesotho as countries with high level of social tolerance for corrupt practices.

In Latin America, 80 percent or more of respondents in Bolivia, Mexico, Paraguay and Peru perceive their judiciary systems as corrupt.

Governments in many low-income countries in Asia -- including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam -- are not providing adequate support for their courts and court officials, “inviting corruption and undermining the rule of law,” the report says.

In Europe and Central Asia, the report cites what it considers undue influence of the executive branch on judicial appointments in countries such as Azerbaijan, Croatia and Turkey. The report also concludes that Russia and Georgia have been backsliding on international standards of judicial independence.

The report also looks critically at the United States, citing a 2004 poll that showed that more than 70 percent of U.S. respondents believe contributions to U.S. judicial campaigns influence judicial decisions in the states in which judges are chosen through elections.

The report points out that judicial and political corruption tend to reinforce each other. A corrupt judicial system is unlikely to sanction people who bribe and threaten politicians. As a result, “honest and unfettered candidates” often are prevented from entering politics or succeeding in public life.

But Susan Rose-Ackerman, a law professor at Yale University and one of the authors of the report, cautioned that judiciary independence is not enough to guarantee impartial justice. “You can certainly have independent judges who are acting with impunity, who are lazy, corrupt, but are completely independent: they can do what they want because nobody can control them,” she said.

The report calls for a delicate balance between judicial independence and accountability. On the one hand, constitutional and legal mechanisms must protect judges from political pressure; on the other, judicial officials should not be permitted to “shelter behind outdated immunity provisions, draconian contempt laws, or notions of collegiality,” the document states.

The full text of the report is available on the Transparency International Web site.

For more information, see Bribery and Corruption.

First Freedom Project Boosts Effort To Protect Religious Liberty

iipcms@state.gov (iipcms) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 12:16:01 -0500

U.S. Attorney General Gonzales speaks to groups around the country on the importance of preserving religous freedom. (© AP Images)

By David Anthony Denny
USINFO Staff Writer

Washington -- The Department of Justice has launched a program to educate the public about laws protecting religious freedom and to build relationships with religious, civil rights and community leaders to ensure religious liberty concerns are brought to the department's attention.

A key person in this effort, called the First Freedom Project, is Eric Treene, the special counsel for religious discrimination in the department's Civil Rights Division. He was hired in 2002 to coordinate all of Justice's efforts in combating religious discrimination and assure adequate attention was paid to this area.

In an interview with USINFO March 9, Treene said that even though the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is charged with protecting the right of individuals to be free from discrimination and hate crimes on the basis of race, sex, religion or national origin, "there had not been any concerted, focused effort to look for and bring religious discrimination cases" to light.

According to statistics from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Treene said, religious discrimination complaints increased by 69 percent from the early 1990s to 2005, but race and sex discrimination cases stayed level or even went down during the same time period.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, only exacerbated the problem, according to Treene. "After 9/11 we saw an increase in hate crimes against Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim, as well as a doubling of complaints of discrimination against Muslims in employment," he said.

Treene said U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' meetings with groups and leaders of the Muslim-American community provided the impetus for the First Freedom Project. The groups told Gonzales in January that they were pleased with the agency's record in this area, "but they wanted us to publicize it more generally" -- for the education of the person on the street and for non-Muslim audiences -- to emphasize the importance and universal nature of religious liberty and the importance of protecting the rights of all persons, including Muslim Americans.

"And that's what this initiative is all about," Treene said. "It's not about protecting any individual's faith; it's not just about protecting Muslims. It's about protecting religious liberty as a fundamental human right."

Gonzales announced the First Freedom Project in a speech to the Southern Baptist Convention on February 20. Baptists make up the largest U.S. Protestant denomination of Christianity.

In that speech Gonzales prefaced the project's announcement by saying that "One of our most cherished freedoms -- one we’ve sacrificed greatly to defend -- is our religious liberty.

"Nothing defines us more as a nation -- and differentiates us more from the extremists who are our enemies -- than our respect for religious freedom," Gonzales continued. "Our great country was founded on these principles, and many of us today believe it continues to thrive because of, not despite, them," he added.

In addition to the public outreach effort, the attorney general said the First Freedom Project will strengthen protection of religious rights by creating an agencywide Religious Freedom Task Force to review policies and cases. A public-education program will include regional training seminars, a dedicated Web site and literature on how to file a religious discrimination complaint.

Gonzales told the story of Nashala Hearn, a Muslim sixth-grader in Muskogee, Oklahoma, whose school told her that she could not wear a headscarf required by her faith. Though other students were permitted to wear head coverings for nonreligious purposes, Gonzales said, Nashala was suspended twice for wearing her headscarf.

"That's a difficult position for a young student to be in, facing down her school principal and administration," said Gonzales. "I don't know how I would have reacted when I was in sixth grade. But Nashala stood up for herself, and she had the Department of Justice to back her up."

In closing his speech, the attorney general returned to the story of Nashala, "who knew that she shouldn't have to choose between her education and her faith."

"If you know of any Nashalas out there," he said, "who find themselves facing down religious intolerance, and who think they're all alone in their fight ... you tell them to come talk to me."

For further information, see The First Freedom Project.

The full text of Attorney General Gonzales' prepared remarks is available on the Justice Department Web site.

For more information on U.S. policies, see International Religious Freedom.

U.S. Intensifies Efforts for Worldwide Internet Freedom

iipcms@state.gov (iipcms) — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 13:38:30 -0500

Paula Dobriansky, under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs (Janine Sides/State Dept.)

By Jane Morse
Staff Writer

Washington – The State Department will address Internet freedom when it evaluates countries around the world in the next release of its annual Human Rights Report, Paula Dobriansky, under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs, said December 20.

Dobriansky made the announcement of the next phase for the department’s Global Internet Freedom Task Force (GIFT) at a State Department ceremony. She told the assembled policymakers and representatives from the technology industry, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and academia that the Human Rights Report to be released in 2007, which will cover activities in 2006, will include Internet freedom activities. Governments that restrict Internet freedom or in any way punish those who lawfully use the Internet will be cited, she said. (See related article.)

The United States will strive to expand access to the Internet for people the world over, Dobriansky said, because the United States considers unrestricted, lawful use of the Internet part of the fundamental human right of freedom of expression. (See related article.)

She said the United States also plans to increase its dialogue with international partners to press other governments to live up to their existing international commitments regarding freedom of expression.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice established GIFT on February 14 as an internal State Department coordination group that works with other U.S. government agencies and the National Security and National Economic councils to maximize the free flow of information and ideas, to minimize the success of repressive regimes in censoring and silencing legitimate debate and to promote access to information and ideas over the Internet. (See related article.)

Through multiple U.S. government programs (including U.S. Agency for International Development projects and the Telecommunications Leadership Program) and public-private partnerships (the Digital Freedom Initiative), the United States promotes expanded Internet access and the availability of information and communication technologies in developing countries.

Since 2004, the United States has spent more than $250 million on projects that include providing telecommunications infrastructure, Internet access, computer hardware and support for regulatory reform to ensure sustainable infrastructure development. These projects also include designing Web sites and databases, and training in information and communication technologies (ICTs).

The State Department also has established a $500,000 grant program for innovative proposals and cutting-edge approaches to combat Internet censorship in countries seeking to restrict basic human rights, including freedom of expression.

At the December 20 ceremony, Ambassador David A. Gross of the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs announced the department will host a conference aimed at bringing together responsible interested parties to discuss ways to promote Internet freedom. Internet freedom is important to economic, social and political development, Gross said.

Congressman Christopher Smith, who also spoke at the ceremony, said China has more than 30,000 “cyber police” to censor and control information. He condemned companies that help provide the technology to track down people who seek freedom and democracy.

Smith acknowledged another important guest at the State Department GIFT event: Harry Wu, the Chinese human rights activist who spent 19 years in Chinese labor camps for criticizing the Chinese Communist Party.

For additional information, see a December 20 State Department fact sheet.

Muslim-American Rappers Promote Tolerance in Middle East

iipcms@state.gov (iipcms) — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 13:42:38 -0500

Muslim-American rappers Abdul Malik, Joshua Salaam and Naeem Muhammad of Native Deen perform in Jerusalem. (photo: Native Deen)

By Carolee Walker
USINFO Staff Writer

Washington – When Native Deen took hip-hop music to Jerusalem in fall 2006, the group of Muslim-American rappers was moved deeply by the holiness of the place and the energy of the hundreds of teens who attended their concerts. Yet nothing came close to the connection the performers felt to their faith during their Middle East trip.

“I could feel it in the stone and the rocks,” said Naeem Muhammad of Native Deen, a Muslim-American hip-hop group based near Washington that has a strong following in the United Kingdom and the United States.

“Our music inspires Muslims to be better Muslims, but it also gives other people a better view of our faith,” Joshua Salaam told USINFO in an interview.

The rhythm is there, and the beat is contemporary. But the heart of inspirational hip-hop music is in the powerful rap lyrics coaxing listeners to live better lives and be better people.

Native Deen traveled to Turkey, Dubai, the Palestinian Territories and Israel on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, incorporating the teachings of Islam into songs about respect and humanity. At all the concerts, the performers were greeted like “American superstars,” they said. In Dubai, Native Deen won the 2006 Mahabba Award at an event showcasing musicians, artists and filmmakers inspired to spread Islam through art.

The group, founded in 2000, is known for its positive energy, use of traditional percussion and lyrics focused on tolerance and the teachings of Islam.

“We use the Quran as a source of guidance for us when we write our songs,” said Abdul Malik. “We use the morals and guidelines that we find in the Quran to teach people and to guide people.” This means that the beat, or rhythm, comes second, according to Salaam. The lyrics are the most important aspect of the song, so in Native Deen’s sound, the rap is always in front of the percussion.

“Deen” is the Arabic word for “religion,” or way of life.

The group’s members met when they were in their early teens in Muslim Youth of North America (MYNA) camps, most often in Ohio, where only percussion instruments were allowed because some Muslims believe that wind and string instruments should be avoided in Islam. Influenced by African-American culture, Salaam, Muhammad and Malik used “beatboxing,” or vocal percussion, and tapping on lunchroom tables to develop with their friends the first Muslim hip-hop sounds that came to be known as MYNA rap. All three Native Deen members can be heard on the MYNA Raps recordings of the early 1990s, but by 2000, Native Deen had set out on its own to record and perform inspirational and spiritual hip-hop.

In the Palestinian Territories and Jerusalem, Native Deen received positive feedback from young people attending the concerts who were impressed that the group uses live drums and percussion instead of electronic tracks. American hip-hop artists often collaborate with international musicians, incorporating traditional instruments and ethnic music. (See related article.)

“We take homegrown instruments and make them work,” Salaam said. The largest challenge for the group is that it performs raps in English. Although in Turkey the group translated some of the raps, Salaam said it was able to see in its audiences that music bridges the language gap.

“[Audiences] might have anti-American sentiment,” Muhammad said. “But they believe in democracy, and they saw us as Muslims who are able to live in America and practice our faith. We got very positive feedback.”

Salaam, who served in the U.S. military in the Air Force, hopes the group will continue to travel internationally because he sees hip-hop as a way to open doors and to encourage religious tolerance and respect.

The rappers performed three concerts in the West Bank, including Al-Quds University in Abu Deis, a village near Jerusalem, in Hebron and Jericho. Prior to arriving in the Middle East, Native Deen gave sold-out concerts at the Royal Armouries in Leeds and at the U.S. Chancery in London during the U.K.-wide Festival of Muslim Cultures, which began in January and continues through autumn 2007.

Hip-hop began in the United States 30 years ago in the South Bronx, a borough of New York City. Using turntables to spin old, worn records, teens began to talk over music, mostly on the streets and in basements in what were called block parties, creating an entirely new music genre and dance form. This "talking over," or MCing (rapping) or DJing (audio mixing or scratching), became the essence of rap. (See related article.)

Native Deen audio clips, song lyrics and other information are available on the group’s Web site.

More information about the Festival of Muslim Cultures is available on the program’s Web site.

For additional information about life in America, see The Arts and Population and Diversity.

Press Group Cites 13 Countries for Restricting Online Free Expression

iipcms@state.gov (iipcms) — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 14:01:04 -0500

Cubans surf the web at an Internet cafe in Havana, Cuba, Oct. 25, 2006. The Cuban government monitors Internet use. (© AP Images)

By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- A Paris-based global press freedom advocacy group has released a new list of countries that it calls "enemies" of the Internet for "systematically" violating online free expression.

China, Cuba, Iran and North Korea are among the 13 countries that have been listed on the press group's 2006 "roll of shame."

In detailing its denunciations, Reporters Without Borders said China made the list for being "unquestionably" the world's "most advanced country in Internet filtering." Chinese authorities, said the group, "carefully monitor technological progress to ensure that no new window of free expression opens up."

After initially targeting Web sites and "chat forums," the Chinese authorities are said to now concentrate on blogs and video exchange sites. China has nearly 17 million bloggers, "but very few of them dare to tackle sensitive issues, still less criticize" Chinese government policy, said Reporters Without Borders.

The group said 52 people in China are currently in prison for expressing themselves too freely online, and "self-censorship is obviously in full force." Originally, it was thought the Internet would revolutionize Chinese society and politics, but now, with China "enjoying increasing geopolitical influence,” Reporters Without Borders expressed concern that China's Internet model, based on censorship and surveillance, "may one day be imposed on the rest of the world."

Another press advocacy group, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, also has condemned China's repressive policy against Internet freedom. The latest example of this human rights abuse, said the group, is the two-year prison sentence given October 25 to Internet writer Li Jianping of China, more than six months after the Chinese government tried him on charges of "inciting subversion of state authority." (See related article).

Reporters Without Borders said Cuba made its enemies list because the Cuban government uses several "levers" to ensure that the Internet is not used in a "counter-revolutionary way." To surf the Internet or check their e-mail, Cubans have to go to public access points such as Internet cafes, universities and "youth computer clubs" where their activity can be monitored, because private Internet connections in Cuba are "more or less banned."

Reporters Without Borders also said the Cuban regime prevents Internet access for dissidents and independent journalists, "for whom communicating with people abroad is an ordeal."

Regarding Iran, the press group said Internet filtering in that country has stepped up and the Iranian authorities boast of filtering 10 million "immoral" Web sites. Reporters Without Borders said the Iranian authorities also decided recently to ban broadband connections (telecommunication in which a wide band of frequencies is available to transmit information).

Meanwhile, North Korea ranks as the world's worst Internet "black hole," said Reporters Without Borders, with only a few government officials able to access the Internet, using connections from China.

The list of Internet enemies comes in the wake of a November 6 statement by U.S. State Department official David Gross that the Bush administration has contributed in the past three years over $250 million directly to projects in developing countries aimed at expanding access to information and communications technology networks (ICTs) and promoting the free flow of information.

As an example of these projects, Gross said the administration's Digital Freedom Initiative has brought together the U.S. government, the private sector, nonprofits and universities to build technical capacity, empower people, and spur economic growth through greater use of ICTs. In 2007, the administration has pledged to work to increase broadband connectivity, connecting rural areas and universities to allow voice and data transmission across nations, said Gross, who is the department's coordinator for international communications and information policy in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. (See related article.)

Speaking at the International Telecommunication Union Conference in Antalya, Turkey, Gross said the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that "everyone has the right to information, to freedom of opinion and expression," with "the right to freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers."

"It is our responsibility to see that these words -- and this promise -- are brought into reality," Gross said.

The full text of Gross’ statement is available on the State Department Web site.

The full text of Reporters Without Borders list of Internet enemies is available on the organization’s Web site.

For more information, see Internet Freedom.

United States Commemorates U.N. Religious Freedom Resolution

iipcms@state.gov (iipcms) — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 14:04:27 -0500

Paula Dobriansky at the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the U.N. Religious Freedom Resolution. (Ken White/State Dept. photo)

By Lea Terhune
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- In recognition of the international importance of religious freedom, the U.S. Department of State commemorated the 25th anniversary of the principal modern document supporting religious freedom -- the U.N. Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.

The 36th U.N. General Assembly passed the declaration on November 25, 1981.

The State Department marked its anniversary in a commemorative event October 30. Speakers included Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky and U.N. Special Rapporteur Asma Jehangir.

In his introductory remarks, Ambassador for International Religious Freedom John V. Hanford III, said “Our continued vigilance on religious freedom is desperately needed,” noting that the 2006 annual State Department report on religious freedom revealed that the fight for religious tolerance “is far from over.” The commitment of the United States to religious freedom is embodied in the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the First Amendment to the Constitution, he said, adding, “It is that same spirit that animates Americans today.” He called the U.N. declaration a “huge achievement.”

U.N. Rapporteur Asma Jehangir said in the 25 years since the U.N. declaration was adopted, “the advances have been slow and reluctant.” She said, “there is no single recipe for all regions of the world to overcome the difficulties” to preserving religious freedom and there are no quick fixes. Education is part of the solution, but the right kind of education and orientation, she said. “We have seen highly educated societies behave in highly intolerant forms against religious freedom.” She said it is the responsibility of governments and groups to foster tolerance and prevent advocacy of religion-based hatred.

Dobriansky said, “The freedom to worship according to one’s conscience, without discrimination or harassment, is an inherent, inalienable human right and also a key component of democracy,” adding it is also essential to international security.

Nations that respect individual religious freedom “serve as bulwarks against extremism and conflict,” she said.

Scalia, citing early settlers of the United States and later immigrants who came to America to escape religious persecution at home, discussed how U.S. law safeguards religious freedom.

The United Nations first highlighted the importance of religious freedom after World War II in Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”

Later, in the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the United Nations tackled discrimination. The 1981 declaration is a specific articulation of what is necessary “to promote and encourage universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.”

The document recognizes the right to worship freely, establish humanitarian institutions, perform rites, observe holidays, publish and teach religion without discrimination by other groups or governments.

The U.N. declaration on belief-based discrimination states that infringement of freedoms of religion, conscience and belief “have brought, directly or indirectly, wars and great suffering to mankind.” Understanding, tolerance and respect for differences is critical for achieving world peace, social justice and friendship among nations, according to the declaration.

“We need to do something much more creative to bring people back as human beings rather than Muslims or Christians or Jews … because we are at the end of it all human beings,” said Jahangir

For additional information, see International Religious Freedom.

Religious Freedom Establishes Other Freedoms, Experts Say

iipcms@state.gov (iipcms) — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 13:56:51 -0500

By Carolee Walker
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Religious freedom is a quintessential feature of U.S. foreign policy because it is a prerequisite for establishing other freedoms, Doug Johnston, a political scientist and former officer in the U.S. Navy, said in a Democracy Dialogues webchat October 17.

"Not only is it important for people at the grassroots to understand how religious and cultural factors affect the aspirations and worldviews of others, it is every bit as important in today's context that religion and culture be incorporated by policymakers as defining elements of international security," asserted Johnston, president and founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy in Washington, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that uses faith-based diplomacy to achieve peace worldwide.

Johnston joined Matt Cherry, president of the United Nations NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief and executive director of the Institute for Humanist Studies in Albany, New York, in the online discussion.

"Too many people think that 'freedom of religion' does not protect the nonreligious," said Cherry. But, in fact, freedom of religion or belief protects atheists and agnostics as well as believers, and thus is controversial among many governments. Because of this, the United States and other democracies have made freedom of religion or belief a centerpiece of their human rights efforts, Cherry said.

In working to promote religious freedom, international NGOs encourage educational programs based on democratic principles, Johnston said. Even in places where it is a criminal offense to criticize a particular religion, if the country is a democracy, the situation is far from hopeless, he said.

Educating missionaries about freedom of religion or belief is also important, Cherry said. "Missionaries do a lot of good work, but they must not require people to change their beliefs in order to be recipients of this good work," he added.

NGOs should operate from a posture of religious neutrality, Johnston said, while taking steps to seek input from religious leaders of different faiths. "At the core of each of these religions are laudable principles relating to neighborly concern and the betterment of humanity," he said.

The challenge for U.S. foreign policy is to be able "to develop an effective capability for dealing with religious differences in hostile settings and for countering demagogues like bin Laden who manipulate religion for their own purposes," Johnston said.

"Until religion is incorporated as a defining element of international security, the West will continue to fall victim to uninformed foreign policy choices," he asserted.

Cherry is an official NGO delegate to the United Nations, representing the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). Cherry and Johnston were co-hosts of the State Department's Democracy Dialogues online discussion of the role of NGOs in promoting religious freedom.

The transcript of Cherry and Johnston's discussion and information on upcoming webchats are available on USINFO's Webchat Station.

Democracy Dialogues is a global conversation addressing democratic governance through interactive public forums, readings, videos, photos and historical documents, with a new topic introduced every two months.

For more information, see International Religious Freedom.

Religious Freedom a Foreign Policy Issue, U.S. Diplomat Says

iipcms@state.gov (iipcms) — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 12:26:42 -0500

By Carolee Walker
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington – Religious freedom unites people around the world in a way that few other issues do, said Stephen Liston, ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom at the U.S. Department of State, in a Democracy Dialogues Webchat October 12.

Religious freedom has been a U.S. policy issue since the founding of the country, Liston said, and remains one of the most sensitive foreign policy matters the United States addresses.

“Wherever we work on this issue, we prefer to do so in a way that respects the importance and centrality of faith to people’s identity,” Liston said. “This often means working quietly with governments behind the scenes to achieve concrete objectives -- getting religious prisoners released, encouraging changes to laws that will allow for greater freedom to worship or encouraging governments to better enforce laws that protect religious minorities from societal abuses.”

In compliance with Section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998, each year the U.S. Department of State submits to Congress the International Religious Freedom report, which examines religious freedom in 197 countries worldwide. The State Department annually designates countries of particular concern (CPCs) for egregious violations of religious freedom by the government. (See related article.)

Under the IRFA, foreign assistance can be cut off to nations where violations of religious freedom occur, Liston said. For example, the United States has some economic sanctions in place against China, designated a CPC every year since 1999. Liston said President Bush regularly raises religious freedom in his meetings with Chinese leaders.

“The freedom to practice one’s faith remains very important to most Americans,” Liston said, “and this is reflected in U.S. foreign policy.”

According to Liston, a recent survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows that most Americans see religion as an integral part of “who we are and how our country operates.”

“It is not our goal to make every state look like ours,” Liston said. “What is essential, from our point of view, is freedom of religion for all.” (See related article.)

Liston joined the U.S. foreign service in 1990 and is director of the Office of International Religious Freedom at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

The transcript of Liston’s discussion and information on upcoming webchats are available on USINFO’s Webchat Station.

The 2006 International Religious Freedom Report is available on the State Department Web site.

A Pew Forum report on Americans and religion can be viewed on the organization’s Web site.

For more information, see International Religious Freedom.

NGO Leaders Discuss Roles in Promoting Religious Freedom

iipcms@state.gov (iipcms) — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 12:50:58 -0500

By Jaroslaw Anders
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington – The role of international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in promoting freedom of religion and belief is the subject of a USINFO webchat. On October 17, 10:00 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) join two prominent leaders of international organizations devoted to religious freedom for a discussion on how NGOs propagate and defend religious rights and tolerance.

Matt Cherry is the president of the New York-based United Nations NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief, a group that works within the United Nations to promote and defend international agreements that protect freedom of religion. He is also an official NGO delegate to the United Nations.

Doug Johnston is the president and founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, a Washington-based NGO that incorporates religion into diplomatic efforts to foster trust and mutual understanding. He is the former executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan policy organization in Washington.

If you would like to participate in this webchat, please sign up on the USINFO Webchat registration page. Please tell us your preferred screen name; use of full names is not required.

If you have participated in one of our previous webchats, use the same user name and password. You may submit questions in advance to usinfowebchat@state.gov or directly during the webchat.

We accept questions and comments in advance of and at any time during the program. You may also e-mail questions without registering.

The transcript of this webchat will be available on USINFO’s Webchat Station, where information about upcoming webchats also is available.

Pluralistic Democracy Protects Religious Freedom

iipcms@state.gov (iipcms) — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 13:24:22 -0500

By Carolee Walker
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Men and women are moral agents with the freedom to make their own moral and religious choices, said Stephen V. Monsma, a political scientist and former Michigan state lawmaker, in a Democracy Dialogues webchat September 12.

Pluralism of religious belief is universal, Monsma asserted.

Even within the world’s great religions, such as Islam, Judaism and Christianity, Monsma said, there are different traditions or groups, and other minority religions always are present.

“If government is to be respectful of all believers and not favor one over the other,” Monsma said, “there should not be one state religion that is favored over all others.”

In the United States, where the First Amendment of the Constitution protects the separation of church and state, some Americans think the Supreme Court goes too far in enforcing the separation, but most agree that even the slightest violation of strict separation will lead to more serious violations in the future.

“Not everyone thinks or believes the same way, and this is especially true in regard to religion,” Monsma said. “Democracy is pluralism.” The task of a pluralist democracy, then, is to protect the freedom of all persons to practice their religious beliefs and to be neutral toward all religions, neither favoring nor disfavoring any particular religion or religious belief, he said.

Yet people often disagree on exactly what “government neutrality toward religion” means in concrete situations.

For example, most European governments stress cooperative efforts between church and state rather than separating them, often directly funding religious-based schools, according to Monsma.

Church-state separation, or government neutrality toward religion, is not necessarily based on a secular worldview, Monsma said. Under governmental religious neutrality, according to Monsma, religion is honored because no one is coerced to believe, or even pressured to believe, in anything.

The arrival of new immigrant groups does not change how the United States protects separation of church and state, Monsma said.

Problems can arise, however, if there are religious groups that have values that run counter to basic human rights. “Questions such as the rights of women could arise, in the case of a religious group that severely restricts the role of women in society,” Monsma suggested. “Or if a religious group should advocate violence, that too would raise problems.”

There is no legal requirement that a U.S. president must believe in God, Monsma said, and although the U.S. Constitution explicitly states that there can be no religious test for holding public office, there are also no laws prohibiting a political party that is founded on a religion or named after a religion, such as Christian Democratic parties in many European countries.

Yet no U.S. president ever has publicly stated he did not believe in God, added Monsma, who said public opinion polls regularly show most Americans stating that they would be unlikely to vote for an atheist president. “This no doubt grows out of the fact that the American people are a very religious people -- some 40 percent attend religious services every week and in a recent poll 84 percent reported they had prayed to God in the previous seven days.”

Governmental neutrality on matters of religion should be the goal of a government, Monsma said, and church-state separation is only one means to that goal rather than a goal or valued principle in its own right.

The global trend toward greater religious freedom, or neutrality on matters of religion, is a good thing, asserted Monsma, but there is still enough religious persecution around the world, with governments enforcing one religion over another, to cause concern.

“All persons, whether deeply religious themselves or not, should work for greater religious freedom. I am convinced doing so will, in the long run, lead to stronger, more robust religious faith and also stronger, more creative societies,” Monsma said.

Monsma is a research fellow at the Henry Institute for the Study of Religion and Politics at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and a nonresident fellow at the Center for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Monsma served in the Michigan House of Representatives and state Senate.

The transcript of Monsma’s discussion and information on upcoming webchats are available on USINFO’s Webchat Station.

Democracy Dialogues is a global conversation addressing democratic governance through interactive public forums, readings, videos, photos and historical documents, with a new topic introduced every two months.

More information about the separation of church and state and freedom of religion is available on the USINFO Web site.

Congressional Hearing Examines Religious Freedom in Russia

iipcms@state.gov (iipcms) — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 13:15:40 -0500

By Jeffrey Thomas
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- President Bush and other U.S. officials should “be prepared to counter persistent claims by Russian leaders” that U.S. and U.N. efforts to advance human rights constitute foreign “meddling” or are intended to harm the Russian Federation, the head of a U.S. commission charged with making policy recommendations advised July 27.

At a congressional hearing on human rights and U.S.-Russian relations, Felice D. Gaer, chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), presented a number of recommendations based on a recent trip to Russia by a USCIRF delegation.

The delegation visited the Russian cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan June 17-28, meeting with Russian government officials, legislators, academics and representatives from a range of Russia’s religious communities and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

As a result of that trip, the USCIRF recommended that President Bush and other U.S. officials raise human rights concerns both publicly and privately at the July 15-17 Group of Eight (G8) Summit in St. Petersburg.

Gaer said the delegation found several “major areas of concern,” including the Russian government’s failure to address the rise in xenophobia and ethnic and religious intolerance in the country; official actions related to countering terrorism that have resulted in harassment of individual Muslims and Muslim communities; and continuing restrictions on religious freedom, particularly at the regional and local levels.

The USCIRF also said it was concerned that recently adopted Russian legislation on NGOs, including religious organizations, “may be used to restrict severely their ability to function.” The legislation increases the Russian government’s oversight of the registration, financing and activities of NGOs in Russia. (See related article.)

“One key purpose of the new legislation was to prevent NGOs – especially those receiving foreign funding – from engaging in so-called political activities, a purpose not spelled out or defined in the legislation,” Gaer said.

She linked the NGO legislation to the Russian government’s challenging of international human rights institutions and its claim that foreign funding of Russian human rights organizations constitutes illegitimate interference in Russia’s internal affairs.

Noting the NGO legislation’s special strictures on foreign funding, Gaer said, “It is the commission’s view that these provisions of the NGO law on foreign funding are a part of the broader effort by Russian officials … to link human rights groups to ‘foreign interference,’ and thus to discredit -- and perhaps ultimately halt -- their activities.”

Gaer also linked rising ethnic and religious intolerance to the efforts of Russian government officials to label foreign funding of NGOs as “meddling” in Russia’s internal affairs. “Moreover, the official branding of human rights organizations as ‘foreign’ has increased the vulnerability of Russia’s human rights advocates and those they defend,” she added.

Gaer said the commission recommends the U.S. government encourage the Russian government to:

• Affirm publicly that all religious communities in Russia are equal under the law and entitled to equal treatment, publicly express its reported opposition to any legislation that would grant preferences to so-called “traditional” religions over other groups, and direct national government agencies to address and resolve continuing violations of religious freedom at the regional and local levels;

• Speak out frequently and specifically to the citizens of Russia to condemn specific acts of xenophobia, anti-Semitism and hate crimes, and to affirm a commitment to uphold the multiethnic nature of Russian society.

• Develop regulations in accordance with international standards that clarify and sharply limit the state’s discretion to interfere with the activities of NGOs, including religious groups.

• Implement the many specific recommendations made by Russia’s Presidential Council on Human Rights, the official Human Rights Ombudsman’s office and the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance to address xenophobia and prevent and punish hate crimes.

USCIRF intends to issue a further report and recommendations in the fall of 2006, she said.

Other panelists at the hearing included Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy; Tom Melia, deputy executive director of Freedom House; Fritz Ermarth, a former chairman of the National Intelligence Council and former CIA officer; and Nikolas Gvosdev, editor of The National Interest.

Congress created the USCIRF through the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to give religious freedom and other freedoms a more prominent place in U.S. foreign policy. The full text of Gaer’s prepared testimony is available on the USCIRF Web site.

Meet Benjamin Franklin, America's First International Celebrity

iipcms@state.gov (iipcms) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 09:57:09 -0500

By Stephen Kaufman
Staff Writer

Without inherited wealth or social position, the 10th son of a Boston candle and soap maker rose to become one of the most intriguing men of the 18th century, influencing scientific research and invention, education, political thought, journalism, all the while playing a pivotal role in the struggle for U.S. independence from Great Britain.

Benjamin Franklin, whose 300th birthday will be celebrated January 17, can be considered the first American international celebrity, whose fame from his endeavors in science and journalism preceded him to the capitals of Britain and France, where he argued and advocated for the rights of his newly formed nation.

In 1776, at age 70, Franklin arrived in Paris, dressed in a fur hat and a plain brown suit, epitomizing the ideal of the simple but dignified man of the New World, standing in stark contrast to the ornate royal court and aristocracy. A compilation of his sayings in Poor Richard’s Almanac, urging common sense, thrift and honest habits, had been translated into French, and he seemed to personify both Voltaire’s enlightened simple man, and Rousseau’s “noble savage.”

Franklin’s mission was to secure French financial and military support against Britain; in doing so, he found himself the object of a personality cult. His portrait soon appeared on French medallions, rings, watches and snuffboxes, and fashionable ladies adopted the “coiffure a la Franklin” to imitate his fur cap. America's first diplomat was also its first superstar.

The alliance he brokered between France and the American Colonies ultimately secured their independence, but it required skillful diplomacy and clever intrigue, including the use of spies, and Franklin accomplished his task nearly single-handedly. As the representative of a loose handful of colonies, Franklin was dealing with one of the 18th century’s great world powers. He had to convince France that military aid and an alliance, tantamount to a war against Britain, was desirable because of the promise of victory and future trade benefits.

In reviewing a recent television documentary of Franklin, the Web site Underground Online said the figure of this stocky, balding man who lived long ago is “not just the man in your wallet on a lucky day,” referring to his portrait on the U.S. $100 bill.

“[H]e's the guy behind America's first public lending library, first nonreligious college, and first national newspaper,” it said. “He invented everything from musical instruments to bifocals to the Franklin stove, documented the Gulf Stream, and made arguably the most important scientific breakthrough of the 18th century with his study of electricity.”

Franklin’s witticisms and quotations from Poor Richard’s Almanac and other sources have survived into modern day English. Any athlete knows the phrase, “no pain, no gain.” In the business world, there is the proverb “haste makes waste,” and in long-winded meetings, most people might find themselves agreeing with him that “the worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise.” In moments of humor and despair, we also may borrow Franklin’s saying that “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

Paying tribute to his wide sphere of influence, biographer Carl Van Doren wrote, “In any age, in any place, Franklin would have been great. … Even his genius could not specialize him.”

CIVIC SCIENTIST

In its October 2003 issue, the magazine Physics Today declared Franklin to be the “model of a civic scientist,” meaning “one who uses his or her special scientific knowledge and skills to influence policy and inform the public.”

The popular image of a man flying a kite that was struck by lightening references what might be Franklin’s most important contribution to science. In his 1752 experiment and the subsequent book Experiments and Observations on Electricity, he confirmed that lightning is an electrical phenomenon. In so doing, he opened to the scientific world the idea that electricity might be a valuable field of study, leading ultimately to many of the everyday applications of electricity used by people all over the world.

For this, and other scientific achievements, Franklin gained fame and recognition from the European scientific community. He was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of London, and in 1753, he received the society's Copley Medal, which was perhaps the 18th century equivalent to a Nobel Prize. In 1772, Franklin was elected to France's Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris, which was an exceptional honor because the academy was restricted to having only eight non-French members at a given time.

FOUNDING FATHER AND PHILANTRHOPIST

Benjamin Franklin was also the only American who was involved intimately with the four most important documents pertaining to the establishment of the United States – the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the 1778 Treaty of Alliance with France, the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended hostilities with Britain, and the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1789. (See related article.)

As a humanitarian, Franklin was an outspoken advocate of the abolition of the slavery of African Americans and their integration and education into the new country. When he died in Philadelphia on April 17, 1790, his will established a 200-year trust fund for the cities of Boston and Philadelphia that was used for a variety of residential loan programs during its lifetime. In 1990, its accumulated sum in Philadelphia of more than $2 million was used for scholarships for local secondary school students, and the accumulated $5 million Boston trust fund established the Franklin Institute of Boston.

An exhibit, “Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World,” was timed to coincide with the tercentenary, and explores six facets of his life in detail. Currently in Philadelphia, the exhibit will tour several U.S. cities before ending in Paris December 4, 2007 through March 30, 2008. More information on the exhibit and the tercentenary celebration is available on the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Web site.

In London, the only surviving home in which Franklin lived currently is being restored and is scheduled to open to visitors on January 17 as part of the tercentenary. For additional information, see Benjamin Franklin House.

More information also can be found on the Web site of The Friends of Franklin, Inc., an international society “dedicated to promoting fellowship, learning, and the spirit of Franklin.”

For more information about American people, places and customs, see U.S Life and Culture.