The House overwhelmingly voted to reauthorize the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) today, following the U.S. State Department’s release Tuesday of the Religious Freedom Report and designation of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC), as mandated by the Act.

    Congressman Chris Smith, an established human rights leader in Congress who helped shepherd the original Act into law in 1998, called on the Obama Administration to apply long-overdue sanctions to countries that routinely violate the basic internationally recognized right of religious freedom of their own citizens.

    “The Administration must fulfill its obligations and apply real, hard-hitting, and religious freedom-specific sanctions merited by CPC designation and required by the International Religious Freedom Act,” Smith said.  “The worst violators of religious freedom in the world must be held to account.”

    The State Department recognized Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan as particularly egregious violators of religious freedom, labeling these countries as Countries of Particular Concern, but the Administration must take a second step to apply sanctions as called for in the Act.

    China, a perennial violator of religious freedom, was once again recognized by the State Department as a CPC. However, the designation has been diluted by failures to apply sanctions to China and the other CPC countries (other than Eritrea) specifically for religious freedom violations. “Double-hatting already existing sanctions, or just citing sanctions already in place, fails to make the point—China and the other countries need to know that there are tangible consequences for religious persecution.  Sanctions should encourage a change in behavior and will not have the desired effect if they are pre-existing and not in response to religious freedom violations,” Smith said.

    Smith also expressed profound disappointment that the State Department chose once again not to designate Vietnam as a CPC for its violent persecution of religious believers. “A CPC designation would have been a useful tool in promoting reform in Vietnam.  This is a lost opportunity,” Smith said.  According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, when Vietnam was designated a CPC in 2004 and 2005, “Hanoi released prisoners, expanded some legal protections for nationally recognized religious groups, prohibited the policy of forced renunciations of faith, and expanded a zone of toleration for worship activities, particularly urban areas.”  These gains seemed to evaporate in the years after Vietnam was removed from the CPC list.

    Smith was also very concerned that Egypt be held accountable for violations of the religious freedom of their minority religious communities, including the Coptic Christian community, whose suffering has increased in the recent turmoil.  Smith, who has held multiple hearings on religious freedom in Egypt, noted that, “Coptic women and girls, some as young as adolescents, are being systematically lured from their families or kidnapped off of street corners, and forced to change their religion and forced to marry outside of their community.  They frequently suffer physical and psychological abuse including rape, beatings, forced isolation and lack of personal freedom, both before and after their ‘marriage/conversion.’ Their families go to the police and seek help, but receive none.”  In July, Smith cosponsored H.R. 440, which passed the House, and called for the creation of a Special Envoy to better address the ongoing religious freedom abuses in Egypt.

    “Countries left off the list, such as Egypt and Pakistan, should not assume they are meeting their international obligations to protect the religious freedom of their citizens,” Smith warned. Pakistan, in particular, continues to maintain vague laws that punish—with imprisonment and even death sentences—statements critical of the Prophet Mohammed, in complete contravention of international human rights standards.  Pakistan has thus far failed to seriously and effectively investigate the assassinations of Salman Taseer, Governor of Punjab, and the Minister for Minorities, Shabaz Bhatti. Pakistan also severely restricts the religious practice of the Ahmadi religious minority. “We are monitoring the human rights situation closely to see whether justice will be done, or whether such extreme violations of religious liberty will be tolerated with impunity,” Smith said.

    Under the International Religious Freedom Act, the Administration has 90 days to notify Congress of the sanctions it has imposed against the countries designated as Countries of Particular Concern. As the Administration allowed previous sanctions to lapse more than nine months ago, it is particularly important that President Obama impose new, concrete IRFA sanctions without additional delay.

    The International Religious Freedom Act enacted in 1998 was authored by Rep. Frank Wolf (VA-10) and cosponsored by Smith. The reauthorization passed 391-21 this week was also authored by Wolf and co-sponsored by Smith to amend the act.