Tillerson: US Urges Saudi Arabia to Embrace Greater Degree of Religious Freedom

Sheikh Raed Salah center smiles as he arrives at the Israeli Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court
Sheikh Raed Salah center smiles as he arrives at the Israeli Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court
Author

16 August, 2017

Members of religious minority communities said that there continued to be inconsistent application of laws safeguarding minority rights and enforcement of protections of religious minorities at both the federal and provincial levels by the federal Ministry of Law, Justice, and Human Rights and its provincial counterparts, said the report released by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. In a speech on August 15 to release the State Department's annual International Religious Freedom Report for 2016, Tillerson said that the militants are "clearly responsible for genocide" against Yezidis, Christians, and Shi'a Muslims in areas they have controlled.

Tillerson also accused IS of committing crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing of Sunni Muslims and Kurds.

But Tillerson - who gave a brief address to launch the report - insisted the administration will continue to promote religious freedom around the world as a "moral imperative" and a universal human right.

"ISIS is being defeated", Kozak said. The report notes that "fewer than 250,000 Christians remaining in the country" down from a pre-2002 number of "of between 800,000 and 1.4 million persons". "Almost 80 percent of the global population lives with restrictions on or hostilities to limit their freedom of religion".

Protecting groups persecuted by ISIS and other violent extremists "is a human rights priority for the Trump administration", Tillerson said today.

The United States has a "pretty good record" of combating genocide perpetrated by ISIS, "defeating the perpetrators of the genocide pretty soundly in Iraq and elsewhere", Kozak said.

Following the recommendation of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to appoint an international religious freedom ambassador, President Trump has nominated Kansas Governor Sam Brownback for the position. "Sadly, many around the globe do not enjoy this freedom".

"The State Dept.is also getting a new envoy for worldwide religious freedom: "Sam Brownback, the controversial former governor of Kansas who "[left] a financial train wreck in his wake" as governor according to the editorial board of the Kansas City Star. Separate from the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom, the commission offers similar recommendations to the administration and to Congress on the state of religious freedom worldwide.


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