Source:                   www.21wilberforce.org

Date:                         June 2, 2021

 

June 2, 2021

State Department releases
2020 International Religious Freedom Report

 
The U.S. State Department has produced the International Religious Freedom Report every year for 23 years. The report offers a comprehensive review of the state of religious freedom in nearly 200 countries and territories. Content covers government policies violating religious belief and practices of groups, religious denominations and individuals, and U.S. policies to promote religious freedom around the world. The report reflects the collective effort of hundreds of American diplomats around the world and the Office of International Religious Freedom in Washington, D.C. led by Dan Nadel. Read remarks made to the press by Secretary of State Blinken here.
 

Sudan has demonstrated a significant shift in governance and human rights

Last week the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) held a virtual event assessing recent progress on religious freedom conditions in Sudan. Speakers highlighted the significant efforts by Sudan’s transitional government to advance freedom of religion or belief since assuming office in August of 2019. Watch the event here.
 

Iranian Christian priest: converts living a half-life in Iran

Reverend Behnam Irani describes himself as a member of the “Church of Iran”. As a Christian convert and ex-Muslim, he was arrested and threatened countless times and faced six years in prison for his peaceful work spreading the gospel inside Iran. Having since left for good in 2016, he told IranWire about the strife his fellow Christians suffer in the country for expressing their faith. Read more here.
 

USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel makes Fortune's list of world's 50 greatest leaders

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (https://www.google.com/url?q=https://21wilberforce.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3D80d8b0036d5136ff48cfcb0f4%26id%3D1a9b5c9bca%26e%3D2d508228f7&source=gmail&ust=1622770545294000&usg=AFQjCNHQAtQvFZx6XGIjm7kSSBfwg6lgrQ">USCIRF) congratulated Commissioner https://www.google.com/url?q=https://21wilberforce.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3D80d8b0036d5136ff48cfcb0f4%26id%3D600eb763d2%26e%3D2d508228f7&source=gmail&ust=1622770545294000&usg=AFQjCNEMwsKr70vyDJoc7NELc_YLQ_ZrGg">Nury Turkel who was named one of Fortune’s 2021 List of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders’s 2021 List of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. Commissioner Turkel was recognized for his work addressing China’s genocidal policies against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims. Read more here.
 

21Wilberforce welcomes summer associates

Drayton Cullen is a Master of Global Policy Studies student at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Policy in Austin, Texas. Natalie Chevrel is majoring in International Affairs and Political Science with a minor in Religion, in the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. Courtney Green just graduated from Wheaton College with a B.A. Political Science and will be attending law school in the fall. Read more here.
 

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