December 2015 – Both houses of Congress have approved reauthorization of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and sent it for the president’s signature. Measures to strengthen the commission’s authority failed, but the commission will remain active four more years under the reauthorization.
USCIRF reports on global religious freedom and recommends countries to be considered of particular concern for severe violations of religious freedom. While the status in some countries has improved since the creation of USCIRF in 1998, 77% of the world’s population live in countries with high levels of religious restriction, and persecution has increased in countries such as Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and Egypt.
Former USCIRF staffer Knox Thames was appointed special advisor for religious minorities under the Near East and South Central Asia Religious Freedom Act passed in August 2014. The advisory position was created by the Obama administration instead of the request by Congress for a higher-ranking special envoy on religious liberty in the Middle East.
