Its continuing domestic crackdowns on minority religious groups and its invasion of Ukraine have solidified Russia’s status as one of the world’s leading violators of religious freedom, U.S. officials announced this month. “Following its designation as a Country of Particular…
The solution to a peaceful world is respecting other people’s religious freedom, U.S. leader says
Nadine Maenza is nearing the end of a two-year term as chair of United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and a four-year term as a commissioner. USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan government agency that monitors religious freedom worldwide and…
In survey of religious oppression across the globe, Russia, Afghanistan and China take center stage
Russia has spent recent years in diplomatic and economic hot water with the United States over its mounting human rights and religious freedom violations, including the persecution of Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Protestant Christians. But the ongoing invasion of Ukraine…
This is how quickly someone can become a refugee
More than 2 million Ukrainians have become refugees in just 12 days. According to the European Union, that number could swell to as many as 7 million as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The world is witnessing the…
Veterans join religious and human rights groups to call for permanent status for Afghan refugees
Religious, human rights and veterans’ groups are stepping up pressure on Congress to provide a pathway to legal, permanent status for tens of thousands of Afghan refugees evacuated to the U.S. last year. Most of those who escaped the fall…
Amid the dire situations forcing asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Latin America, LGBTQ persons face even more extreme danger
While the plight of many people unable to leave the Taliban’s grip in Afghanistan has been well-reported, there’s one group of people facing even more extreme persecution with fewer exit routes: LGBTQ asylum seekers. Recent reports from organizations tracking the…
The few remaining Christians in Afghanistan live in constant fear — even of their own families
Afghan Christians who failed to escape when their nation fell to the Taliban in August live in constant isolation and in fear that the fundamentalist Islamic government, and practically the entire society, is out to persecute them, according to the…
These Afghan immigrants know firsthand what it’s like to arrive in America, and they want to make life better for the new arrivals
One of the unforgettable images of 2021 is Afghan citizens clinging to a moving plane at the Kabul airport in a desperate bid to escape from the country after the fall of Afghanistan’s government to Taliban fighters. Some of the…
This agency already has resettled 600 Afghan refugees in Houston
In the last several months, the United States has welcomed more than 74,000 Afghans who fled their country after the Taliban seized power in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal of troops from the country. One of the organizations that…