CV NEWS FEED // Over 100 freedom advocates and organizations are urging the United States Senate to pass a proposed resolution condemning religious freedom violations across the globe, and recognizing religious freedom as a fundamental right.
113 religious freedom advocates and organizations associated with International Religious Freedom Roundtable sent a letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and other senate leaders urging them to adopt the pro-religious freedom Senate Resolution 569.
Non-profit legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom International, one of the organizations that sent the letter, issued a news release on April 5 about the importance of passing the legislation.
The resolution recognizes “religious freedom as a fundamental right, expressing support for international religious freedom as a cornerstone of United States foreign policy, and expressing concern over increased threats to and attacks on religious freedom around the world.”
The bipartisan resolution names Nigeria, Russia, China, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Nicaragua, among other countries, as violators of religious freedom. The letter to the Senate leaders urges them to pass the resolution condemning these violations and affirming religious freedom as a fundamental right.
“We have seen firsthand the increasing threats to religious freedom around the world described in the resolution,” the letter to the Senate leaders reads:
From ongoing genocides and mass atrocities perpetrated against religious minority groups, to individuals imprisoned and exiled for their faith and beliefs, from unjust restrictions on religious gatherings and practices, to the destruction of religious sites, these threats against both people of faith and no faith are not only grave violations of fundamental human rights, but also lead to instability, insecurity, and a lack of economic development.
Alliance Defending Freedom International Legal Counsel for Global Religious Freedom Sean Nelson stated, “There has never been a more critical time to protect religious freedom. Across the globe, we are seeing the rights of people of faith regularly and grievously violated.”
Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), James Lankford (R-OK), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced the resolution in March, calling on the U.S. to “leverage all diplomatic and sanctions tools available to the United States Government to hold religious freedom violators accountable for their actions,” according to ADF International.
Nelson expressed gratitude on behalf of ADF International to the senators who introduced the resolution, and hope “that U.S. influence on this important matter will encourage much needed change throughout the world.”
“No person should be punished or persecuted for their faith, and we pray for the day when all can worship and live out their faith freely,” Nelson stated.
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