U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Jobs in Virginia

Company:
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Current Opportunities (0)
Company Website
Location(s):
800 North Capitol Street NW
Suite 790
Washington,  DC
20002
Map Location
Phone:
(202) 523-3240
Industry:
Government
Size:
20-49

Company Overview

Employment & Internship Opportunities:

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress. The Commission is an equal opportunity employer.

Commission Accomplishments:

* Successfully recommended that Uzbekistan be added to the State Department's list of "countries of particular concern" (CPCs) in 2006 and that Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and Eritrea be added to the list in 2004.

* Launched a major new study in November 2004 led by David Hawk to determine the policies used by the North Korean government to stamp out religious faith and practice, how religious life of any kind survives in North Korea, and whether the cult of personality that surrounds Kim Jong Il and his father operates as a defacto religion.

* Announced in May 2004, together with the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and the House Government Reform Committee, that the General Accounting office (GAO) will undertake a comprehensive review of U.S. oversight of Saudi support for an ideology promoting violence and intolerance globally. In May 2003, the USCIRF issued a report on Saudi Arabia that included a key recommendation that Congress initiate and make public a study on Saudi exportation of intolerance.

* Received the Judge George Alexander Teitz Award from the Touro Synagogue Foundation, a non-denominational, non-sectarian, non-profit institution. The award is given annually to "an individual or program that best exemplifies the ideals of religious, ethnic, and racial tolerance and freedom, as set forth in President George Washington's Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island in 1790." The 2004 award was given in recognition of USCIRF's work to promote religious freedom and to combat religious intolerance throughout the world.

* Pressed for incorporation of specific provisions on human rights, including religious freedom, in the final version of the Afghanistan Support Act, signed into law on December 4, 2002.

* One of the first to call for a Special Envoy for Sudan (named by President Bush in September 2001) and recommended three of the four benchmarks the envoy delivered to the government of Sudan.

* Persuaded Congress in the Sudan Peace Act to require the Administration to take steps to deny access to oil revenues to the Sudanese government in the absence of good faith performance of its commitments in peace negotiations.

* Recommended to President Bush that he condition a state visit to China on an opportunity to make a major speech on religious freedom and human rights televised live and uncensored to the Chinese People. The speech was delivered on February 21, 2002.

* Spoke out against the rise in anti-Semitic violence that took place during 2002 in France and Belgium. Congress introduced and unanimously passed Senate and House resolutions concerning the rise in anti-Semitism in Europe. The Senate version cited the USCIRF's findings and urged the USCIRF to continue documenting the issue.

* Urged the U.S. government to use multilateral diplomacy to advance the protection of human rights in North Korea, including sponsoring a resolution at the United Nations condemning religious freedom and other human rights violations in North Korea. On March 18, 2003, the House passed a resolution (H. Res. 109) citing USCIRF findings and urging the Secretary of State to introduce and promote the passage of a resolution addressing human rights abuses in North Korea at the 59th Session of the UNHCR in Geneva. The European Union and the United States co-sponsored a resolution.

* Played a major role in highlighting to U.S. and Pakistan government officials the undemocratic nature of the Pakistani separate-electorate system for minorities. In 2002, the Pakistan government abolished the separate electorates.

* Urged the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as part of the U.S. delegation, to hold meetings specifically focused on religious freedom concerns, including anti-Semitism.

* Successfully advised the U.S. House of Representatives to ratify the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement only after it passed legislation calling for the Vietnamese government to make substantial improvements in the protection of religious freedom, sending a signal to the Vietnamese government of America's commitment to human rights. The House overwhelmingly passed the Vietnam Human Rights Act prior to the Bilateral Trade Agreement vote.

* Successfully recommended that U.S. assistance to Uzbekistan, with the exception of assistance to improve humanitarian conditions and advance human rights, be made contingent upon that government's efforts to improve conditions of religious freedom there. The U.S. Congress included in the Fiscal Year 2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act provisions conditioning assistance to Uzbekistan on the government's substantial and continued progress toward meeting its commitments to human rights, including religious freedom, as agreed to under the Declaration of Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Framework between the United States and Uzbekistan.

* Successfully recommended that President Bush highlight the universal right to religious freedom in his November 10, 2001 U.N. General Assembly speech, affirm that the war on terror is not an excuse for governments to violate religious freedom, and call for an interim Afghan government that represents all Afghan people.