US House holds hearing on international religious freedom

June 21, 2016

The House Foreign Affairs Committee’ Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations held a hearing on international religious freedom and US foreign policy on June 16.

Robert George of Princeton University, former chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, urged Congress to call for the appeal of blasphemy laws worldwide and to call greater attention to the plight of prisoners of conscience.

“It is vitally important to shine a light on these prisoners’ situations and the laws and policies that led to their imprisonment, and hold their governments accountable for their plight,” he said. “While quiet diplomacy has a key role to play, public inattention can lead to more persecution, not more freedom.”

 

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Further information:

• Subcommittee Hearing: The Global Religious Freedom Crisis and Its Challenge to U.S. Foreign Policy (Foreign Affairs Committee)