July 22, 2008 – Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) gave the following remarks at a conference hosted by the Congressional Human Rights Caucus Task Force on International Religious Freedom, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the passage of the International Religious Freedom Act in which the United States Congress recognized the global importance of preserving and promoting religious freedom throughout the world.*

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I would like to welcome everyone to this conference commemorating the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.  As this is the 10th anniversary since the passage of this monumental legislation, the Task Force on International Religious Freedom wanted to mark this special occasion and bring in a panel of experts to discuss how the United States and international community can best promote the right to freedom of religion in a post 9/11 world.

I’d like to thank Congressman Cleaver's office for co-chairing today’s event, and Congressman Wolf for championing the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, or IRFA, ten years ago and ever since; as well as Congressman Smith and Congressman Pitts, who have been tireless champions for the cause of religious liberty; and Congressman Aderholt and Congressman McIntyre who are also joining us today and care deeply about this issue from their hearts. 

It’s also an honor to have all of our panelists joining us today— Ambassador Seiple in fact served as the first Ambassador for International Religious Freedom— and all of the others who have worked to promote this basic freedom for years and even decades; all of the people who join us from various organizations, government agencies, the public, and members of the media, who are all doing their part to keep this freedom at the forefront of American foreign policy.

It is also for this reason that I helped to establish the Task Force on International Religious Freedom, which is a bi-partisan group of over 40 Members of Congress working together to understand and highlight issues affecting international religious freedom, and bring about positive change in countries of particular concern.  We've held briefings to address concerns in Sudan, Egypt, Vietnam, South Asia, China, Pakistan and a number of other countries. 

Last year, the Task Force worked with Congressman Wolf to secure $4 million in funding for programs that promote legal protections for religious freedom throughout the world.  The State Department recently issued a grant announcement for organizations to seek funding, which was a critical part of IRFA that had never been acted upon until now.

The promotion of religious freedom has increasingly become a critical national security factor in United States foreign policy, because respect for this right often serves as a litmus test for assessing and identifying ways to prevent and respond to the threat of religiously motivated terrorism from extremists throughout the world.  I am convinced that addressing this issue—both in light of human rights as well as national security—is and will continue to be one of the greatest and most significant challenges facing this generation and those that follow.

The timeless struggle for religious freedom strikes to the very heart of the struggle for human freedom and represents the most basic component of human existence: the freedom to believe. 
 
It is said that more Christians were killed for their faith in the 20th century than in all the centuries preceding it.  And that is only one faith; persecution is not confined to one region or one religious affiliation— people of many other faiths also continue to be persecuted simply on the basis of their beliefs.  In fact, fully one third of the world’s population of 6.8 billion people lives in countries of severe religious persecution, and more than one half of the world’s population lives in countries where their religious freedoms are restricted.

As we sit here this morning, many of us of different faiths and backgrounds, we are free to believe and to act upon those beliefs as we wish, while even now literally thousands of men, women, and children are being imprisoned, tortured, and sold into slavery for the very same privilege.

And while the 20th century was perhaps the bloodiest century our world has ever seen, perhaps that is what makes the passage of the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998 so significant.  In a way it marked the closing of a gruesome chapter in human history; one that saw millions upon millions of Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Bahais, Ahmadiyas, Copts, Buddhists, and many others tortured, killed, maimed, imprisoned, ostracized, or denied the basic liberties of life and human dignity simply on the basis of their faith.  It also marked the determination of freedom loving people to never allow the atrocities that occurred in the last century to be repeated in this one.

If religious freedom were not so intertwined with the human spirit and human dignity, dictators would not be so threatened by it and work so hard to destroy it.  And that is why the work of people here today— Members of Congress, our panelists, and ordinary citizens— is so important if we are to turn the tide of religious persecution throughout the world.

Through the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, Congress acknowledged the intrinsic role of religious freedom played in the foundation of the United States, and we affirmed this freedom as the fundamental right of every individual which should never be arbitrarily abridged by any government. 

IRFA established the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom in order to monitor and report on the status of religious liberty worldwide; established the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to recommend policy options for the U.S. Government; and established parameters for dealing with oppressive regimes through a process of designating Countries of Particular Concern.

Since the IRFA was adopted in 1998, greater support for this basic human right in the United States influenced many foreign policy decisions, including the following which were noted in a resolution I sponsored commemorating the 10th Anniversary of IRFA –

(1) the United States Government played a key role in bringing about the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in December 2004, ending the North-South civil war and providing greater religious freedom in the South of Sudan;

(2) the Department of State denied the Chief Minister of Gujarat State in India a visa to enter the United States as a result of his direct involvement in the persecution of Muslims, finding that any foreign government official who “was responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom” is ineligible for a visa to the United States; 

(3) the United States Government worked with foreign governments that affirm and protect religious freedom to develop multilateral initiatives to combat violations of religious freedom and promote the right to religious freedom abroad, and initiatives were undertaken on North Korea and Burma at the United Nations and on combating anti-Semitism and religious intolerance in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe;

(4) the United States Government worked to secure the release of a number of individuals imprisoned as a result of their religious beliefs;

(5) the Department of Homeland Security appointed the first Senior Refugee and Asylum Policy Advisor to resolve problems in United States immigration law relating to expedited removal, to ensure that legitimate asylum seekers are not put at risk of being returned to countries where they may face persecution, particularly religious persecution; and

(6) in response to protections in the IRFA for those individuals seeking asylum for fear of persecution, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order to vacate its August 2005 ruling in Li v. Gonzales, clarifying that China’s control over registered churches, and its prosecution of individuals for engaging in “unauthorized” religious activity, are clearly in violation of international law with regard to freedom of religion or belief, and that Li, a Chinese man who had been arrested, beaten, fired, and charged with the “crime” of organizing an unregistered house church in China, should not be removed from the United States.

These are only a few of the ways that United States foreign policy has been influenced by our commitment to protect and advance the cause of human and religious freedom, as stated in IRFA.

And, while some governments have made significant improvements in respect for the right to religious freedom, new situations of grave concern have arisen, including:

—governments increasingly limiting the space for open discussion and peaceful practice of religious beliefs that differ from the beliefs of the majority by promoting religious defamation resolutions at the United Nations Human Rights Council and enforcing national laws against blasphemy and apostasy; 

—the association of nationalism with specific religions, such as Hindu extremism in India, leading to a significant increase in attacks on minority and unrecognized religious communities throughout the world;

—extremist literature being funded and propagated by governments such as Saudi Arabia, found in mosques and schools throughout the world, including in the United States, that propagates incitement to religious hatred and intolerance;

—and governments around the world that have justified restrictions on religious freedom—especially since September 11, 2001-- by accusing peaceful practitioners of some religious communities of terrorist activities.

Religious persecution is not new to the world.

But one of the greatest steps toward religious freedom in history came when, inspired by their own Christian faith, America's Founding Fathers penned those timeless words enshrined in our Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…”

This is something that has set America apart from all other nations since that fundamental truth was written over 230 years ago.  We hold that humanity has a choice, to believe or not to believe, to worship or not to worship, and that freedom of religion is the cornerstone of all other human freedoms. 

In Thomas Jefferson’s words, “The constitutional freedom of religion [is] the most inalienable and sacred of all human rights.”

[*Remarks as prepared]