c. 2000 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ Declaring that freedom of religion “ought to be a centerpiece of American foreign policy,” a federal commission released its first report Monday (May 1) urging the U.S. government denounce religious oppression abroad by, among other things, tightening sanctions against Sudan and restricting access to U.S. capital markets for firms doing business with oppressive governments.

“(Freedom of religion) is the first of the enumerated rights in the First Amendment,” declared Rabbi David Saperstein, chairman of the 10-member U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, created under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor religious freedom abroad. “As we look around the world, however, we find this fundamental liberty under serious threat.”

In its report that focused primarily on religious rights abuses in Russia, Sudan and China, the commission appealed to the U.S. government to help end the 17-year-old civil war in Sudan _ waged between the country’s Islamic government and separatist groups in the south.

The report also urged Washington to help create a “military no-fly zone” over Sudan, increase humanitarian aid to the country’s southern half, and launch a yearlong effort to pressure Sudan to end human rights violations.

The commission also asked Washington to block firms that conduct business with Sudan and China from offering stock in U.S. markets, noting that the Chinese government-owned parent company of a business that went public on the stock exchange last month owns 40 percent of a Sudanese oil project. Critics say that project is used by the Sudanese government to help fund its fighting against rebel forces.

“The Commission discovered a serious loophole in the U.S. sanctions vis-a-vis Sudan: while it’s illegal for companies to do business with firms subject to the sanctions, it’s still possible for firms doing business in Sudan to raise money in U.S. capital markets,” Saperstein said. “We’re urging the government to prohibit any foreign corporation from obtaining capital in the U.S. market as long as it is participating in Sudanese oil-field development.”

Noting China’s “egregious, systematic persecution of religious people of practically every faith,” the report cautioned Washington against extending permanent normal trade relations status to China.

“While many commissioners support free trade, the commission believes that the U.S. Congress should grant China Permanent Normal Trade Relations only after China makes substantial improvement in respect for religious freedom,” said commission Vice Chair Dean Michael Young, dean of the George Washington University Law School.

Russia also came under fire from the commission, which asked that the U.S. government pressure Moscow to extend the length of visas for religious workers and overturn a March edict that would “liquidate” non-registered religious groups at the end of the year.

“We are particularly concerned about President Putin’s recent proclamation that all religious groups not registered by the end of this year would be liquidated,” said Saperstein. “We urge that the U.S. make reversal of this decree an urgent priority in its discussions with the Russian government, and that the president will raise this issue in his upcoming meeting with President Putin.”

The report, which also spoke out against religious oppression in Egypt, Indonesia, Iran and Vietnam, leveled charges against the U.S. Department of State as well, charging the agency with wrongly using executive privilege to justify withholding documents about economic sanctions against Sudan, “despite the fact that Commissioners and Commission senior staff hold the requisite security clearances.”

“The Commission believes that this violates the spirit of Congress’s intent in (the International Religious Freedom Act) when it provided: `The Commission may secure directly from any Federal department or agency such information as the Commission considers necessary … subject to applicable law,” the report concluded.

KRE END DANCY