religious freedom – dwkcommentaries

Cuban Christians Face Persecution

The World Watch List compiled by the NGO Open Doors has concluded that Cuba is the most dangerous country in the Western Hemisphere to profess the Christian faith. Cuba was ranked 26^th [with a score of 73] among the 50 countries of the world where Christians faced the most harassment. Only countries in Asia and Africa had worse rankings.[1]

This List was based on extensive surveys of Christian leaders and experts in more than 100 countries to assess “the level of oppression experienced by believers in the private, family, social (community), national and ecclesial spheres.”

The Open Doors Report on Cuba[2]

“Since 1959, Cuba has been ruled by the Communist Party, which attempts to control the church. The government reacts harshly to anyone who opposes it. Church leaders and Christian activists who criticize the regime can be questioned, arrested and imprisoned. They also suffer smear campaigns, travel restrictions and harassment, which can include physical violence and damage to church buildings.”

“Relatives of these leaders also face threats, including losing custody of their children. The government often refuses to register new churches, forcing many to operate illegally. These churches are vulnerable to fines, property confiscation, and even demolition.”

“In Cuba, Christian women and girls face pressure, in part due to loopholes in domestic violence laws. Domestic violence worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although a new family code offers more protection, the rising rate of femicides (murders of women) remains a serious threat to Christian women and girls.”

“Christian men in Cuba often face arrest and harassment because they are more likely to be leaders who criticize the government. They can be fined, have their Christian books taken away, and even receive death threats. House church leaders (often men) report frequent visits from state security agents who threaten their jobs and their children’s education.”

“Men are required to serve in the military, and Christian recruits often face discrimination. Some are forced to take part in military operations that go against their beliefs.”

“The term “type of persecution” is used to describe different situations that provoke hostility towards Christians. The types of persecution of Christians in Cuba are: dictatorial paranoia, communist and post-communist oppression, and secular intolerance.”

” Sources of persecution” are the drivers/executors of hostilities, violent or non-violent, against Christians. They tend to be smaller (radical) groups within the larger group of followers of a particular worldview. Sources of persecution of Christians in Cuba include: government officials, political parties, ideological pressure groups, non-Christian religious leaders, citizens, and gangs.”

Other Comments on Cuban Religious Persecution[3]

“In mid-February, Father Castor José Álvarez Devesa, one of the Catholic priests who suffer repression in Cuba for his open opposition to the regime, said that the authorities have long tried to turn the people against the bishops of the island. “We have Fidel (Castro), who wanted to ignore the bishops of Cuba. Totalitarian rulers try to dominate the heads in order to dominate the body. It is convenient for them to have all the heads within their territory dominated, and when there is an external dependency that is a problem, then they try to directly influence the Vatican,” said the parish priest, who was one of the religious leaders who joined the people during the anti-government protests on July 11 and 12, 2021, for which he was beaten with a bat.” In addition, “Several Cuban religious leaders were tried and sentenced to prison terms following the protests.”

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[1] Open Doors, World Watch List 2025.

[2] Open Doors, Cuba Report 2025.

[3] Cuba is the most dangerous country for Christians in America a report reveals, Diario de Cuba (Feb. 25, 2025).

U.S. Criticizes Cuban Religious Freedom

On June 27, 2024, the U.S. State Department released its lengthy 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom. Surprisingly it did not contain an overall summary of this freedom in the world for 2023. [1]

Instead it opened with a short Overview and Acknowledgements followed by the texts of the following sources of the law on international religious freedom:

Appendix A: Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Appendix B: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Appendix C: Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief
Appendix D: Religious Freedom Provisions, Commitments, and Obligations From Regional Bodies and Instruments
Appendix E: Department of State Training Related to the International Religious Freedom Act-2003
Appendix F: Department of Homeland Security and the International Religious Freedom Act
Appendix G: Overview of U.S. Refugee Policy-2023

The State Department report then contained separate summaries of religious freedom in all the world’s countries, starting with Afghanistan and ending with Zimbabwe.

Report on Cuba

The report on Cuban religious freedom had the following sections: Executive Summary, Religious Demography, Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom, Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom and U.S. Government Policy and Engagement.

Here is that Executive Summary:

“The constitution contains written provisions for religious freedom and prohibitions against discrimination based on religious grounds; however, provisions in the penal and administrative codes contravene these protections. The constitution declares the country a secular state and provides for the separation of religious institutions and the state, but the Cuban Communist Party (CCP), through its Office of Religious Affairs (ORA) and the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), regulates religious practice. The law requires all religious groups to apply to the MOJ for official registration. By law, membership in or association with an unregistered group is a crime. The penal code stipulates a minimum sentence of six months’ incarceration, a fine, or both for individuals who attempt to conscientiously object to military service or prevent minors from attending public school, including those whose objections are based on their religious beliefs. It also imposes sentences of up to 10 years’ imprisonment on persons receiving funding from foreign organizations or for financing activities considered to be directed against the state or its constitutional order. The family code states parents have the responsibility to instill in children love for the homeland, respect for its symbols, and respect for government authorities.”

“In its annual Watch List, the Christian nongovernmental organization (NGO) Open Doors reported an increase in government persecution of Christians from 2019 to 2023, including use of repressive tactics against religious leaders and activists opposing CCP ideology through arrests, exile, arbitrary fines, surveillance, denials of licenses, religious visas, freedom of movement, and physical and mental abuse. According to CSW’s (formerly known as Christian Solidarity Worldwide) annual report released in February and covering 2022, there were 657 violations of freedom of religion or belief compared with 272 reported violations in 2021. Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo, sentenced in 2022 to seven years in prison on charges of disrespect, assault, criminal incitement, and public disorder, remained in prison at year’s end. Free Yorubas of Cuba (Free Yorubas) leaders and married couple Donaida Perez Paseiro and Loreto Hernandez Garcia also remained in prison through year’s end. Independent media sources reported authorities routinely denied Hernandez Garcia’s family’s request for medical attention for him. Three “Ladies in White” – Sayli Navarro Alvarez, Tania Echevarria Mendez, and Sissi Abascal Zamora – remained in prison for their participation in the 2021 public protests against the government. In March, Abascal’s mother told Radio Television Marti that prison authorities had reduced the three women’s food rations by 50 percent. The government continued to pressure regime critics – including religious leaders – to self-exile. In November, a multidenominational group of church leaders, the Alliance of Christians of Cuba (ACC), issued a public declaration calling for political and religious reform, including for the protection of freedom of religion or belief. Religious groups said the ORA and the MOJ continued to deny official registration to certain religious groups and failed to respond to long-pending applications, such as those for Jehovah’s Witnesses and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Church of Jesus Christ).”

“During the year, there were reports of incidents of theft and vandalism of churches, which one cleric described as part of the “growing wave of social indiscipline and societal violence against religious institutions.” In October, representatives of Afro-Cuban, Muslim, Jewish religious communities and Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and evangelical Protestant Christian groups participated in two religious freedom roundtables. State security detained a few participants when traveling to the event, including Pastor Alejandro Hernandez Cepero. Some religious groups and organizations, such as the Catholic charity Caritas, continued to gather and distribute relief items, providing humanitarian assistance to individuals regardless of religious belief.”

“In public statements and on social media, U.S. government officials, including the Secretary of State, continued to call upon the government to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of its citizens, including the freedom of religion or belief. In January and July, Department of State and embassy officials raised Pastor Rosales Fajardo’s case with officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On October 27, in commemoration of International Religious Freedom Day, the Assistant Secretary for Western Hemispheric Affairs tweeted a call for the Cuban government to release Pastor Rosales Fajardo, who was involved in the 2021 protests and is the pastor of the unregistered nondenominational Monte de Scion Church. Embassy officials met regularly with a range of religious groups concerning the state of religious freedom and political activities related to the religious groups’ beliefs.”

“On December 29, 2023, in accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as amended, the Secretary of State designated Cuba a “Country of Particular Concern” for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom. For Cuba, existing ongoing restrictions are referenced in 31 CFR 515.201 and the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (Helms-Burton Act), pursuant to section 402(c)(5) of the Act.”[2]

Cuban Reactions

As reported by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights, “during 2023 at least 936 actions against the exercise of religious freedom took place on the island according to facts documented by that NGO based in Madrid . . . just when the regime had prohibited the holding of Holy Week processions in some locations in the country, such as El Vedado (Havana City) or Bayamo, where one of the most notorious protests occurred on March 17.”

“According to data collected by the OCDH, the violations have targeted ‘publicly identified religious persons’ as well as others who ‘regularly or sporadically attend religious services as an expression of faith or civic commitment.’”

“For example, the NGO documented four summons and interrogations in official offices against members of the Centro de Estudios Convivencia , such as Yoandy Izquierdo Toledo and Dagoberto Valdés Hernández, director of the Christian-inspired institution ‘that promotes thought and proposals for the future of Cuba in different sectors and topics,’ the report indicated.”

“In 2023, numerous relatives of political prisoners denounced the denial of religious assistance in prisons, as in the cases of Roberto Pérez Fonseca and the brothers Nadir and Jorge Martín Perdomo, imprisoned for demonstrating on 11J.”

“The report also included “the cruelty against the Yoruba priest Loreto Hernández García , political prisoner of 11J, who [did] not receive adequate medical care or food in prison in accordance with his sufferings. On June 12, 2023, the religious man was admitted to the Hospital Provincial Clinical Surgical University Arnaldo Milián Castro, of Santa Clara, due to his delicate state of health.”

“The OCDH stated that, as is standard practice of the Cuban regime’s police apparatus, ‘the most frequent repressive actions in this area were arbitrary arrests and the sieging of family homes to prevent attendance at Sunday masses; especially against members of the Ladies in White, who were victims of several hundred anti-religious actions, usually against freedom of worship.’”

“Likewise, in January 2023, the State Security of San José de Las Lajas , in Mayabeque, ‘forbade mothers of imprisoned 9/11 protesters from attending church to pray for the freedom of their loved ones. Layda Jacinto Abad, mother of Aníbal Palau Jacinto; Marta Perdomo, mother of the brothers Jorge and Nadir Martín Perdomo, and Liset Fonseca, mother of Roberto Pérez Fonseca, had announced that they intended to take a weekly Sunday walk to the local Catholic church to demand freedom. of their children.’”

“The OCDH recalled that in its Second Study on Religious Freedom on the Island it determined that 68% of the Cubans consulted knew someone who professes a religion and has been harassed, repressed, threatened or hindered in their daily life for reasons related to that faith.”

“The predominant opinion is that among the main reasons why a believer may suffer harassment, threats or discrimination are ‘having a political position based on their faith’ (59%) and ‘speaking publicly about their faith’ (45%),” the report recalled.”

“The investigation also determined that 68% of believers believe that the Office of Religious Affairs of the Communist Party of Cuba, the department that controls and directs the repression against religious organizations on the island, violates or represses their rights.”

“’From the study it emerged that the Cuban regime continues to use its surveillance and control systems to limit or persecute any public expression , especially political, of those who assume a civic commitment in accordance with the values of their faith. Likewise, it limits social action and influence. of religious entities or congregations, above all those that demand a greater presence in public spaces and in communities,’ he concluded.”

This Blogger’s Reactions

This blogger is not Cuban, but he is a member of Minneapolis’ Westminster Presbyterian Church, which has had a partnership with a Presbyterian church in Matanzas, Cuba for over 20 years, and he visited that church three times in the early 2000s and has heard reports from other Westminster members who have been there more recently. In addition, Cuban pastors from that Cuban church have visited and preached at our Minneapolis church.[3]

Based on that personal experience, I can testify that there are Cubans who have a strong Christian faith, who participate in the lives of their church and their fellow members and neighbors and who have developed strong connections with Westminster members. I have not heard of any efforts by the Cuban government to restrict their religious faith and practices.

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[1] U.S. State Dep’t, 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom (June 27, 2024).; The lack of religious freedom persists in Cuba: the US presents its 2023 world report, Diario de Cuba IJune 27, 2024); There were more than 900 violations against the religious freedom of Cubans in 2023, Diario de Cuba (June 27, 2024).

[2] See U.S. Designates Cuba as a “Country of Particular Concern” Regarding Religious Freedom, dwkcommentaries.com (Jan. 8, 2024).

[3] See, e.g., the following ports to dwkcommentaries.com: The Cuban Revolution and Religion, (12/30/11); Praise God for Leading U.S. and Cuba to Reconciliation (12/26/14): Minneapolis’ Westminster Presbyterian Church Celebrates U.S.-Cuba Reconciliation (1/04/15); Presbyterian Church’s Connections with Cuba (01/13/15); Religious Leaders Support U.S.-Cuba Reconciliation (05/04/15); A Protestant Christian’s Reactions to Pope Francis’ Mission to the Cuban and American People (10/26/15).

U.S. Critical of Cuban Religious Freedom

On May 1 the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom published its annual report for 2023.[1]

This report included its List of Countries of Special Concern. In addition to Cuba the other countries on this list were Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Report’s Key Findings on Cuba[2]

“In 2023, religious freedom conditions in Cuba remained extremely poor. The government maintained an oppressive legal framework that severely restricted peaceful religious activity, regularly harassed religious leaders and worshipers, and continued to wrongfully imprison individuals for their peaceful religious activity.”

“In May 2023, the Cuban government approved the Social Communication Law, which codifies broad prohibitions on peaceful expression, including religious expression that is critical of the government. The legislation expands the government’s already extensive authority to target individuals freely expressing their religious convictions. For example, the amended Cuban Penal Code criminalizes “contempt,” “public disorder,” and “resistance,” each of which may be used to punish the activities of religious leaders and worshipers perceived to be critical of the government. In addition, Decree Law 370 threatens independent journalists reporting on religious freedom with criminal charges and fines.”

“Throughout 2023, the Office of Religious Affairs (ORA) continued to regulate and control religious institutions. The Law of Associations requires religious organizations to apply to the Ministry of Justice, where the ORA is housed, for registration. Membership or association with an unregistered religious group is a crime and, despite existing criteria, registration decisions are often arbitrary and discriminatory. The ORA also exercises arbitrary control over the affairs of registered religious organizations and requires permission for virtually any activity other than regular worship services. Religious leaders and groups that are unregistered or conduct unsanctioned religious activity are subject to interrogation, detention, threats of prison sentences on false charges, and confiscation of property.”

“The government draws on its vast domestic security and surveillance apparatus to harass and intimidate religious leaders and worshipers, including through the Department of State Security, the National Revolutionary Police, and the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution. For example, Cuban authorities regularly and arbitrarily prevented individuals from peacefully gathering at religious sites and events. In January 2023, the government prohibited mothers of political prisoners from attending church to pray for their release. In March, police beat and detained a couple on their way to church after alleging that the couple was going to “take communion against communism.” In June, police prevented a journalist from attending the funeral mass of a priest whose remains had been transferred to the cathedral of Santiago de Cuba. In October, Cuban authorities detained two pastors who were scheduled to attend an event on the right to freedom of religion or belief. Additionally, authorities pressured individuals whose religious expressions ran afoul of government orthodoxy. In May, a professor threatened a university student with expulsion after the student refused to sign a document committing himself to Cuba’s governing ideology for reasons of religious conscience. And in September, police interrogated a young man who disseminated religiously inspired videos online and pressured him to refrain from speaking critically about the government.”

“Religious prisoners of conscience remain arbitrarily imprisoned for peacefully following their religious convictions. For example, Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo, the pastor and leader of the Monte de Sion Independent Church, has been in prison since 2021 for his peaceful participation in the protests on July 11, 2021. Twins Lisdani Rodríguez Isaac and Lisdiani Rodríguez Isaac, members of the Free Yorubas, an independent religious group, also remain imprisoned for their peaceful participation in the July 11 protests. The authorities denied the twins’ application for transfer to a lower-security prison.”

Report’s Recommendations to U.S. Government[3]

“Redesignate Cuba as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA);”

“Urge Cuban authorities to extend an official invitation for unrestricted visits to USCIRF, the U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, and the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; and”

“Impose targeted sanctions on Cuban government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom— including the ORA, the Department of State Security, the National Revolutionary Police, and the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution—by freezing those individuals’ assets and/or barring their entry to the United States under human rights-related financial and visa authorities.”

Report’s Recommendations to U.S. Congress[4]

“The U.S. Congress should: ”Highlight religious freedom concerns in Cuba through hearings and letters and by advocating for the release of religious prisoners of conscience such as Lisdiani Rodríguez Isaac, Lisdani Rodríguez Isaac, Donaida Pérez Paseiro, Loreto Hernández García, and Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo.”

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[1] U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, 2024 Annual Report (May 2024).The US maintains the Cuban regime on its blacklist of countries that violate religious freedom, Diario de Cuba (May 2, 2024)

[2] Report at 26.

[3] Ibid. The State Department on December 29, 2023, redesignated Cuba as a Country of Particular Concern. (U.S. Designates Cuba as a “Country of Particular Concern” Regarding Religious Freedom, dwkcommentaries.com (Jan. 6. 2024).

[4] Report at 26.

Cuba Fails To Respond to U.N. Requests for Information on Alleged Violations of Religious Freedom

On January 15, 2024, the Cuban NGO Prisoners Defenders announced that the Cuban Government had failed to respond to requests for information from five U.N. rapporteurs on the following subjects: (1) freedom of religion or belief, Nazila Ghanea; (2) promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan; (3) rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Clement Nyaletsossi Voule; (4) minority issues, Nicolas Levrat, and (5) arbitrary detention. [1]

The requests focused on the regime’s alleged repression and harassment against 13 Cuban religious associations and leaders. Here is information on some of these subjects:

Ifá priest Loreto Hernandez Garcia, who has been “systematically detained and interrogated from 2011 to the present” and who in 2022 was sentenced to seven years in prison for the crimes of public disorder and contempt, due to his participation in the anti-government protests known as 11J. In prison he has suffered several health problems.
Imam Abu Duyanah (Niovel Alexander Tamayo Formén) has been “subjected to house arrest, as well as monitoring, harassment, summonses, threats and arbitrary arrests due to his activity as a religious leader… detained… when he participated in a role of spiritual accompaniment in a peaceful demonstration,”
Other religious people persecuted, threatened and prevented from propagating their beliefs are the Catholic priest José Castor Álvarez Devesa and evangelical pastors Elier Muir Ávila and Minerva Burgos López.

The subjects of the requested information were (a) the specific cases mentioned in the report; (b) “the measures adopted to guarantee freedom of religion or belief in Cuba, as well as its exercise in conditions of full freedom and security for all religious communities and confessions, without facing harassment, threats or reprisals for exercising such right;” (c) “the measures adopted to guarantee the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association in Cuba, especially with regard to the existence and registration of groups of a religious nature, the establishment of their centers of worship and the celebration of their rites and ceremonies;” (d) an explanation “how the action procedures of the Office of Attention to Religious Affairs guarantee the creation and registration of religious associations under objective parameters provided for in the legislation; and (e) measures to create favorable conditions for people belonging to religious minorities in the country.”

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[1] The regime ignores a UN request for information on violations of religious freedom in Cuba, Diario de Cuba (Jan. 15, 2023); Prisoners Defenders, The UN accuses the Cuban regime of the government’s pattern of institutional religious control and repression against Islam and the Catholic, Protestant and Yoruba religions (Jan. 15, 2024).

U.S. Designates Cuba as a “Country of Particular Concern” Regarding Religious Freedom

On January 4, 2024, the U.S. Department of State issued a press statement by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, entitled “Religious Freedom Designations.” According to that statement, he had designated Cuba and 11 other countries as “Countries of Particular Concern” which by statute are those “countries that commit systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”[1]

This press statement, however, did not have any citations of legal authorities or reports by federal agencies that went into greater depth on this issue. Apparently, without explanation, the Secretary’s designation of the 12 countries was based on the April 2023 Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom which was issued in January 2024 and which designated 17 (not 12) countries, including Cuba, as having the status of “Countries of Particular Concern.” However, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom only is authorized to make “recommendations to the U.S. Government.” [2]

With respect to Cuba that Commission Annual Report stated the following:

The Commission designated Cuba as one of 17 countries as being “Of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”
“In 2022, religious freedom conditions in Cuba worsened. Throughout the year, the Cuban government tightly controlled religious activity through surveillance, harassment of religious leaders and laypeople, forced exile, fines, and ill treatment of religious prisoners of conscience. Religious leaders and groups that are unregistered or conducted unsanctioned religious activity—as well as journalistic reporting on religious freedom conditions—faced relentless oppression from the Office of Religious Affairs (ORA) and state security forces.”
“ The Cuban government regularly targeted members of religious communities who refused to abide by strict regulations set out by the ORA. Authorities subjected pastors to detention, interrogation, threats of prison sentences on false charges, and confiscation of property.”
“In February, authorities detained Reverend Yordanys Díaz Arteaga, the president of the Christian Reformed Church of Cuba, after an extensive search of his home and the confiscation of technology belonging to his church. He was later interrogated and threatened with criminal charges at an unknown location and held incommunicado under effective house arrest. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported that Reverend Díaz became a target of the government after his denomination withdrew from the regime-aligned Cuban Council of Churches. He reportedly arrived in the United States in August.”
“In April, evangelical couple Pastors Mario Jorge Travieso and Velmis Adriana Medina Mariño planned an April 29–30 prayer event called ‘Breaking the Chains’ to focus on the wives and mothers of political prisoners. The regime made repeated threats to Pastors Travieso and Medina and several members of their church who planned to participate. Authorities arbitrarily detained the pastors, interrogated them for six hours, and threatened them with imprisonment. The organizers canceled the event due to the regime’s various threats.”
“USCIRF received reports indicating that Cuban authorities detained and interrogated citizens who traveled or planned to travel to the United States in 2022, including Catholic layman Dagoberto Valdés and his son Javier Valdés Delgado as well as Mildrey Betancourt Rodríguez, a member of the Alliance of Non-Registered Churches. Similarly, in October the Office of the Directorate of Identification, Immigration, and Foreigners of Cuba arbitrarily barred Imam Abu Duyanah, imam of the Cuban Association for the Dissemination of Islam, from traveling to Mecca for “reasons of public interest” without any specifications.”
“Additionally, threats and persecution by the government caused several religious leaders to leave Cuba in 2022. In March, Pastor Enrique de Jesús Fundora Pérez of the Apostolic Movement fled the country to seek asylum in Switzerland after state security officials threatened him with up to 30 years in prison for “sedition” and “incitement to commit a crime.” He drew the ire of authorities when he gave monetary and spiritual aid to families of political prisoners from the July 11, 2021 (J11) protests. Pastor Alain Toledano, a prominent Cuban religious leader of the unregistered Emmanuel Church of the Apostolic Ministry, has experienced severe harassment from the Cuban government for over 20 years. In June, Cuban state security presented Toledano with an ultimatum: leave the country within 30 days or face imprisonment. The United States granted him and his family emergency parole in July. In September, Father David Pantaleon, head of Cuba’s Jesuit Order and president of the Conference of Religious Men and Women in Cuba, had to leave the country after the government refused to renew his residence permit. During an interview in his native Dominican Republic, Father Pantaleon reported that the ORA cited his support for political prisoners and the Jesuits’ critical position toward the regime as the main reasons for his expulsion. The Cuban government continued to target independent journalists who report on religious freedom by threatening criminal charges and fines, often under Decree Law 370, and imposing travel restrictions. Cuban authorities twice interrogated and fined young Catholic layman and journalist Adrián Martínez Cádiz this year.”
“RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE U.S. GOVERNMENT ■ Redesignate Cuba as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA); ■ Encourage Cuban authorities to extend an official invitation for unrestricted visits by USCIRF, the U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, and the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; and ■ Impose targeted sanctions on Cuban government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom—including Caridad Diego, head of the ORA—by freezing those individuals’ assets and/or barring their entry into the United States under human rights related financial and visa authorities, citing specific religious freedom violations. The U.S. Congress should: ■ Raise human rights and democracy concerns in Cuba and highlight the situation facing religious leaders and organizations persecuted by the Cuban government, among others.
“Key U.S. Policy The U.S. government continued to place robust sanctions on Cuban officials. In January, the U.S. Department of State imposed visa restrictions on eight officials “implicated in attempts to silence the voices of the Cuban people through repression, unjust detentions, and harsh prison sentences” of J11 protesters. Further rounds of visa restrictions came in June and July when the State Department imposed restrictions on an additional 33 individuals for “unfair trials and unjust sentencing and imprisonment” of J11 protesters, plus media and communications officials who “formulate and implement policies that restrict Cubans’ ability to freely access and share information and who engage in the spread of disinformation.”
“In September, the U.S. Embassy in Havana announced the resumption of immigrant visa processing and consular services for the first time since 2017.”
“On November 30, the State Department for the first time designated Cuba as a CPC under IRFA and imposed as the relevant president action the existing ongoing restrictions referenced in 31 CFR 515.201 and the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (Helms-Burton Act), pursuant to section 402(c) (5) of the Act. Cuba previously had been on the State Department’s Special Watch List since 2019.”[3]

The Commission ambiguously and erroneously stated that the State Department on November 30 [2002 or 2003?] for the first time had elevated Cuba to CPC status.

Cuba’s Rejection of Its Designation as a CPC[4]

The Cuban Foreign Minister on January 5, 2024, in a text on [the Internet’s “X”] stated that the “repeated inclusion of Cuba in unilateral reports on terrorism, human rights and religious freedom of the US Government is not linked to the exemplary performance of our country.”

A more official Cuban rejection of this designation was published as an international editorial in Granma, the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party. It noted that the U.S. had “unilaterally” included Cuba on a list, “of countries that, in the opinion of the US Government, have ‘participated in or tolerated particularly serious violations of religious freedom.’” However, “The repeated inclusion of Cuba in the United States Government’s unilateral reports on terrorism, human rights and religious freedom is not linked to the exemplary performance of our country.”

Conclusion

Anyone with knowledge of what prompted the content and timing of the Secretary of State’s announcement is invited to share that knowledge in a comment to this post.

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[1] U. S. State Dep’t, Secretary of State Press Statement, Religious Freedom (Jan. 4, 2024);The US keeps the Cuban regime on the blacklist on religious freedom, Diario de Cuba (Jan. 5, 2024)

[2] Annual Report, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (April 2023, issued in January 2024). Before the January 2024 Secretary of State’s press statement the last State Department report on international religious freedom (the 2022 report) was issued on May 15, 2023 and said nothing about Cuba being a “Country of Particular Concern.”

[3] This blogger has not found the source for the Commission’s statements that the State Department on November 30, 2023, had designated Cuba as a CPC and that the Department should “redesignate” Cuba as a CPC.

[4] Havana has an ‘exemplary performance’ in respect for religious freedom, defends Bruno Rodriguez, Diario de Cuba (Jan. 5, 2024); Cuba’s exemplary performance does not fit on any list, Granma (Jan. 5, 2024).

Comments on International Religious Freedom

Article 1(A) of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 189 U.N.T.S. 150, defines “refugee” to include someone who has “a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of . . . religion” and who after satisfying other stated requirements is entitled to certain protections.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, G.A. Res. 217 (III), U.N. Doc. A/810 at 71 (1948), has the following provisions:

“ Everyone is entitled to all of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration without distinction of any kind, such as . . . religion. . . .” (Art. 2)
“Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to . . . religion, have the right to marry and to found a family.” (Art. 16(1).)
“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.: (Art. 18.)

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI)(1966), provides the following:

“(1) Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect to ensure to all Individuals in its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as . . . religion . . . “ (Art. 2(1))
“Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.” (Art. 18(1))
“No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief of his choice.” (Art. 18(2))
“freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.” (Art. 18(3))
“The State Parties to present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.” (Art. 14(4))

These comments are in response to a reader of this blog who wanted guidance on international religious freedom and set forth just a few of the international treaties on that subject. There are many books where others can be found.

Secretary Pompeo Foments Conflict with the Holy See

On September 30, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo was at the Holy See for its Symposium on Advancing and Defending Religious Freedom through Diplomacy. There he delivered a speech entitled “Moral Witness and Religious Freedom” that provided great details about China’s abuses of religious freedom and called upon the Vatican (Pope Francis) to take action against the Chinese abuses. He thereby fomented conflict with the Holy See.

Pompeo’s Recent Speech [1]

Most of the first part of this speech appropriately concentrated on the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe and the courageous resistance to the Nazi’s persecution of its Jewish citizens by Roman Catholic Father Bernhard Lichtenberg in Berlin by his helping Jews with finances, advice and emigration assistance and by publicly criticizing the Nazi regime after Kristallnacht.

“That life or death struggle [against the Nazis] was a crucible, a proving ground of moral witness. Individual stories of valor were legion. But I remember especially Father Bernhard Lichtenberg. . . .[He] was a priest in Berlin in the 1930s, who fervently resisted the Nazi regime, and helped Jews with finances, advice, emigration assistance as the Nazi fist tightened. In 1938, in the aftermath of Kristallnacht, he began to speak up more loudly on their behalf, proclaiming at St. Hedwig’s Cathedral in Berlin, ‘Outside ‘the synagogue is burning, and that too, is a house of God.’ From then on, he fearlessly prayed each day publicly for the Jews and other victims of Nazi brutality.”

“Eventually, the Nazis arrested him in 1941. Rejecting a deal to go free in exchange [for] stopping his subversive peaching, he was given a two-year prison sentence. When asked if he had anything to add when the sentence was read, he said, ‘I submit that no harm results to the state by citizens who pray for the Jews.’ Towards the end of his sentence, the Nazis realized they could never break his spirit. They ordered him sent to Dachau concentration camp, but he died on the way before he reached that grim destination. Father Lichtenberg bore an incredible moral witness, and in 2004 he was honored by the State of Israel as one of the Righteous Among the Nations, a non-Jew who risked his life to save Jews from Nazis.”

“Today, as we think about that man, I urge all faith leaders to exhibit a similarly moral, bold witness for the sake of religious freedom, for human dignity, and for peace.” (Emphasis added.)

Secretary Pompeo then shifted his remarks to say “the mission of defending human dignity – and religious freedom in particular – remains at the core of American foreign policy. That’s because it’s at the heart of the American experiment. Our founders regarded religious freedom as an absolutely essential right of mankind and central to our founding.”

“Indeed, I would say it’s an integral part to what Pope John Paul II described as the ‘universal longing for freedom’ at the United Nations when he spoke in 1995. Billions of people today . . . have always seeked to worship according to their conscience.”

But sadly, authoritarian regimes, terrorists, and even secularists, free societies are – in their different ways – trampling religious freedom all around the world. Vast swathes of humanity live in countries where religious freedom is restricted, from places like . . . Cuba, and beyond.” (Emphasis added.) Later in the speech he reiterated this contention: “Christian leaders have an obligation to speak up for their brothers and sisters in Iraq, in North Korea, and in Cuba.” (Emphasis added.)[2]

Then he went into his excoriation of China.

“Nowhere, however – nowhere is religious freedom under assault more than it is inside of China today. That’s because, as with all communist regimes, the Chinese Communist Party deems itself the ultimate moral authority. An increasingly repressive CCP, frightened by its own lack of democratic legitimacy, works day and night to snuff out the lamp of freedom, especially religious freedom, on a horrifying scale.”

The Uyghur Muslims of Xinjiang are “not the only victims. The Chinese Communist Party has battered every religious community in China: Protestant house churches, Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong devotees, and more.”

“Nor, of course, have Catholics been spared this wave of repression: Catholic churches and shrines have been desecrated and destroyed. Catholic bishops like Augustine Cui Tai have been imprisoned, as have priests in Italy. And Catholic lay leaders in the human rights movement, not least in Hong Kong, have been arrested. Authorities order residents to replace pictures of Jesus with those of Chairman Mao and those of General Secretary Xi Jinping.”

“All of these believers are the heirs of those Pope John Paul celebrated in his speech to the UN, those who had ‘taken the risk of freedom, asking to be given a place in social, political, and economic life which is commensurate with their dignity as free human beings.’”

“We must support those demanding freedoms in our time, like Father Lichtenberg did.”

For the Church, “Earthly considerations shouldn’t discourage principled stances based on eternal truths. And as history shows, Catholics have often deployed their principles in glorious, glorious service of human dignity.” These include Jacques Maritain, the bishops of Poland and West Germany in the 1960s, the bishops of Poland and West Germany, Pope John Paul II, who was unafraid, and Pope Emeritus Benedict. “And just like Pope Benedict, Pope Francis has spoken eloquently about the ‘human ecology’ essential to decent societies.” (Emphasis added.)

“Pope Francis has exhorted the Church to be ‘permanently in a state of mission.’ It’s a hope that resonates with this evangelical Protestant who believes, as the Holy Father does, that those of us given the gift of Christian faith have an obligation to do our best to bless others.” (Emphasis added.)

“To be a Church ‘permanently in a state of mission’ has many meanings. Surely, one of them is to be a Church permanently in defense of basic human rights. A Church permanently in opposition to tyrannical regimes. A Church permanently engaged in support of those who wish to take ‘the risk of freedom’ of which Pope John Paul II spoke, especially, most especially where religious freedom is denied, or limited, or even crushed.” (Emphasis added.)

“As Christians, we all know we live in a fallen world. That means that those who have responsibility for the common good must sometimes deal with wicked men and indeed with wicked regimes. But in doing so – in doing so, statesmen representing democracies must never lose sight of the moral truths and human dignity that make democracy itself possible.” (Emphasis added.)

“So also should religious leaders. Religious leaders should understand that being salt and light must often mean exercising a bold moral witness. And this call to witness extends to all faiths, not just to Christians and Catholics. It’s for leaders of all faiths at – indeed, at every level.” (Emphasis added.)

“I call on every faith leader to find the courage to confront religious persecution against their own communities, as well as Father Lichtenberg did against members of other faiths as well.” (Emphasis added.)

“Every man and woman of faith is called to exercise a moral witness against the persecution of believers. Indeed – we’re here today to talk about religious freedom – the very future of religious freedom depends upon these acts of moral witness.”

“Pope John Paul II bore witness to his flock’s suffering, and he challenged tyranny. By doing so, he demonstrated how the Holy See can move our world in a more humane direction, like almost no other institution.” (Emphasis added.)

“May the Church, and all those who know that we are ultimately accountable to God, be so bold in our time. May we all be so bold in our time.” (Emphasis added.)

Pompeo’s Preceding Comments [3]

Just twelve days before his recent trip to the Holy See, Pompeo published an article in First Things, “a conservative Christian magazine that has called [Pope} Francis a failure as Pope.” https://www.firstthings.com/about

Entitled “China’s Catholics and the Church’s Moral Leadership,” Pompeo’s article vigorously attacked the 2018 agreement between the Holy See and China that recognized the validity of Chinese appointment of some of the Catholic bishops in the country and the current Holy See-China negotiations about renewal of that agreement. (Emphasis added.)

The next day, Pompeo issued the following tweet: “Two years ago, the Holy See reached an agreement with the Chinese Communist Party, hoping to help China’s Catholics. Yet the CCP’s abuse of the faithful has only gotten worse. The Vatican endangers its moral authority, should it renew the deal.” (Emphasis added.)

Reactions to Pompeo’s Comments and Speech [4]

These Pompeo words were seen by an “indignant Vatican . . . as a calculated affront.” As a result, the Vatican denied Pompeo a requested meeting with Pope Francis. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who, as secretary of state, is the Vatican’s second-ranking official, told reporters that the Pope had not granted the meeting because Francis had “clearly said that he does not receive political figures ahead of the elections.”

Moreover, Pompeo’s subsequent speech at the Holy See can be seen as an indirect challenge to Pope Francis by Pompeo’s talking about the Chinese abuses at great length and the courage of previous popes and Father Lichtenberg, by calling on “every faith leader to find the courage to confront religious persecution against their own communities,” by his using Pope Francis’ own challenge to the Church to be “permanently in a state of mission” as a way to say Francis is not doing that and by Pompeo’s saying, “May the Church, and all those who know that we are ultimately accountable to God, be so bold in our time.”

In addition, Pompeo met with “prelates and others who are hostile to Pope Francis.” As a result of these developments, many observers believe “Pompeo’s [recent] visit is as much about the coming [U.S.] presidential election as about China policy. Mr. Pompeo dismissed that suggestion as absurd, but intended or not, his trip signals that President Trump is on the side of those conservative American Catholics who worry about the church’s direction under Francis and think he is soft on China.”

The New York Times also reports that the event at the Vatican where Pompeo gave his speech on September 30 was organized by Callista Gingrich, the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, and who received warm words from Pompeo at the start of his speech while she sat in the front row with her husband Newt Gingrich, the Republican former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

“Mr. Gingrich said that Mr. Pompeo’s piece in First Things has stirred support and ‘probably’ motivated Catholic voters who read it to vote for President Trump. ‘The reaction to his op-ed the other day was very strong.’ Mr. Gingrich, who converted to Catholicism after his third marriage [to Calista] is a co-chair of Catholics for Trump [that] has attacked Mr. Biden over his ties to China and . . . supports Carlo Maria Viganò, the former Vatican ambassador to Washington, who has accused the pope of shielding child abusers and demanded that he step down.”

As he went to the podium for his Vatican speech, Pompeo “gave a pat on the shoulder to Cardinal Raymond Burke, a U.S. leader of the conservative opposition to Francis within the church hierarchy. Burke, who ruled out giving communion to John Kerry during the 2004 presidential campaign, said he believed American voters ‘more and more so’ cared about the issues Mr. Pompeo raised. And when it came to China, he said ‘I know I do.’” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Leo_Burke)

“Thomas Williams, the Breitbart bureau chief in Rome and a consistent critic of Francis who attended the event, argued that there was a clear electoral angle to the nominally diplomatic trip. He said that while he believed Mr. Pompeo genuinely hoped to change the Vatican’s stance on China, any political benefit back home was ‘a welcome and I’m sure sought after side effect.’”

Massimo Faggioli, a professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University [and a supporter] of Francis, said these Pompeo actions are “an appeal to an electorate that is bigger than the Catholic vote, it’s also the evangelical vote. Being anti-pope helps with these Catholics but also evangelicals.”

“Alberto Melloni, the director of the Foundation for Religious Sciences John XXIII in Bologna, Italy, called Mr. Pompeo’s moves ‘a divisive operation targeted to the American electorate, not to the Holy See.’” Afterwards Pompeo, rejecting the suggestion that his speech was an attack on Pope Francis, said at a press conference, “I wrote that piece to honor the moral authority of the Catholic Church and its capacity to influence and make things better for people all across the world. They have historically stood with oppressed peoples all around the world. The piece was written and our policy has been all along to bring every actor who can benefit the people of China from — to take away the horrors of the authoritarian regime the Chinese Communist Party is inflicting on these people. That was our mission set, and it will remain our mission set. It’s been so long before the election; it will remain so after the election.”

This response was endorsed in a Wall Street Journal editorial with these words: “It is a welcome message from a U.S. Secretary of State, and the Vatican would do well to at least hear him out as it enters its latest negotiations with Beijing.”

All of this leaves this non-Catholic blogger from Minnesota bewildered. However, there should be more diplomatic ways to discuss and negotiate differences with the Holy See.

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[1] State Dep’t, Michael Pompeo Speech, Moral Witness and Religious Freedom (Sept. 30, 2020).

[2] In his 2019 speech at the Holy See, Pompeo said, “Because when the state rules absolutely, God becomes an absolute threat to authority. That’s why Cuba cancelled National Catholic Youth Day back in August [of 2019].” This statement was erroneous and misleading as discussed in a prior post. (Secretary of State Pompeo Delivers Speech at the Holy See, dwkcommentaries.com (Oct. 4, 2019).) https://dwkcommentaries.com/2019/10/04/secretary-of-state-pompeo-delivers-speech-at-the-holy-see

[3] Pompeo, China’s Catholics and the Church’s Moral Witness, First Things (Sept. 18, 2020), https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/09/chinas-catholics-and-the-churchs-moral-witness; Pompeo, Tweet (Sept. 19, 2020), https://twitter.com/secpompeo/status/1307366983890018311?s=21.

[4] Horowitz & Jakes, Rebuffed by Vatican, Pompeo Assails China and Aligns With Pope’s Critics, N.Y. Times (Sept. 30, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/world/europe/pompeo-pope-francis-china.html; Winfield, Pompeo urges Vatican to condemn human rights abuses in China, Wash. Post (Sept. 30, 2020), https://www.wsj.com/articles/pompeo-and-the-pope-11601507813?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=2; Morelio, Harlan & Shih, Pompeo and Vatican officials face off over negotiations with China, Wash. Post (Sept. 30, 2020), https://www.wsj.com/articles/pompeo-and-the-pope-11601507813?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=2; Winfield, Pompeo, Vatican talk China after tensions spill out publicly, Wash. Post (Oct. 1, 2020), https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pompeo-meets-with-vatican-after-us-china-tensions-spill-over/2020/10/01/1d9b1c16-03d4-11eb-b92e-029676f9ebec_story.html.

State Department Memorializes Secretary Pompeo’s Visit to the Holy See

As discussed in a prior post, on October 2, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo visited the Holy See in Rome for various activities. Thereafter the State Department memorialized the main points of that visit. [1] Here is a summary of that document.

The State Department Document

Celebration of 35 Years of U.S.-Holy See Diplomatic Relations

“This year marks 35 years of formal diplomatic relations between the United States and the Holy See. When President Reagan established the U.S. Embassy in 1984, he said it “would exist to the benefit of peace-loving people, everywhere.” Today we share a global partnership based on common values, mutual respect, and moral leadership.”

“Our relationship is as strong as ever. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Holy See to promote human rights, advance religious freedom, combat human trafficking, and seek peaceful solutions to crises around the world.”

U.S.-Holy See Symposium on Faith-Based Organizations

The statement claimed that Symposium was “co-hosted by the Holy See’s Secretariat of State and the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See” and was “a direct result of the Secretary’s July 2019 Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.”

U.S.-Holy See Prioritize Promoting Religious Freedom Globally

“The protection of religious freedom is central to the Trump administration’s foreign policy and the protection of this unalienable human right is an essential part of who we are as Americans. The Holy See has long been a global champion of this universal right. Securing and defending religious freedom is a priority we both share.”

U.S.-Holy See Partner To Combat Human Trafficking

“The Holy See and the United States share a common commitment to the fight against human trafficking, and the Holy See is a valued partner through its will and capacity to prevent and address this heinous crime.”

U.S. and Holy See Are Two of World’s Greatest Humanitarian Forces

“The Holy See. . . is one of the greatest humanitarian forces in the world. It maintains a vast network, second only to the International Committee of the Red Cross/Crescent.”

“The United States is the world’s most generous provider of humanitarian aid, but delivering that aid successfully and efficiently requires partnerships with governments like the Holy See. By maintaining and strengthening diplomatic relations with the Holy See, the United States benefits from its unparalleled global presence.”

Reactions

This document promotes the view that the Trump Administration is a strong advocate of religious freedom and is embraced by the Holy See. It also states that this Administration is fervently against human trafficking without mentioning its unfounded argument that Cuba’s foreign medical mission program is engaged in that activity. This document may also be seen as fodder for President Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign if he survives impeachment.

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[1] State Dep’t, The United States and the Holy See: Partners in Advancing Religious Freedom, Combating Human Trafficking, and Promoting Human Rights (Oct. 3, 2019).

U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights Is Denounced by Large Group of Human Rights Organizations and Activists

On July 23, the U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights was denounced in a letter from 179 organizations representing a broad range of American and international civil society along with 251 former senior government officials, faith-based leaders, scholars, educators and advocates.[1]

The Letter

The letter began by expressing their “deep concern” with the Commission and by objecting to its “stated purpose, which we find harmful to the global effort to protect the rights of all people and a waste of resources; the Commission’s make-up, which lacks ideological diversity and appears to reflect a clear interest in limiting human rights, including the rights of women and LGBTQI; and the process by which the Commission came into being and is being administered, which has sidelined human rights experts in the State Department’s own Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.”

These concerns, the letter said, were inconsistent with the Secretary’s own affirmance “of the importance of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights . . . . [and by his saying] the language of human rights has become the common vernacular for discussions of human freedom and dignity all around the world, and these are truly great achievements.” Indeed, the letter commented, “the story of the international human rights movement is one of the deepened recognition and protective reach of rights based on the painstaking work of social movements, scholars, and diplomats, through international agreements and law.”

“Given this history, we view with great misgiving . . .[the Commission] aimed expressly at circumscribing rights through an artificial sorting of those that are ‘unalienable’ and those to be now deemed ‘ad hoc.’ These terms simply have no place in human rights discourse. It is a fundamental tenet of human rights that all rights are universal and equal. Governments cannot take or discard them as they choose. Like other governments, the U.S. government is bound to certain obligations codified in widely ratified international treaties. . . . [The Commission] is a waste of time and energy better spent on actual human rights issues. More ominously, the reference to ‘ad hoc’ rights resembles language used by autocratic and dictatorial governments, which frequently speak in terms of a hierarchy of rights.”

The letter’s signatories also are “dismayed by the well-documented views of a significant majority of the Commission’s 10 members. . . . Almost all of . . . [its] members have focused their professional lives and scholarship on questions of religious freedom, and some have sought to elevate it above other fundamental rights. . . . No Commissioner focuses nearly as exclusively on any other issue of pressing concern. . . .”

“Moreover, the commission’s chair and members are overwhelmingly clergy or scholars known for extreme positions opposing LGBTQI and reproductive rights, and some have taken public stances in support of indefensible human rights violations. . . .”

Therefore, this letter urged the Secretary “to immediately disband this body, and to focus your personal attention on the significant challenges facing the protection of human rights globally.”

Comments by Letter’s Organizer

Upon the release of this letter, its organizer, Rob Berschinski, the Senior Vice President, Policy of Human Rights First, stated:

“There’s a reason that Secretary Pompeo purposefully avoided engaging the State Department’s human rights experts in establishing the Commission on Unalienable Rights and selecting its members. There is no world in which the Commission benefits the cause of human rights, though in all likelihood it will provide ample fodder for bigotry. Given the views of the majority of the commissioners, the Commission should be seen for what it is: an attempt to rationalize a caste system of rights to exclude LGBTQ people and those in need of family planning.”
“For decades, dictators have spoken about ‘clarifying’ and ‘prioritizing’ certain rights in order to justify their actions. In order to defend this highly misguided effort, the Secretary of State is adopting similar rhetoric. His aims may be different, but the effect will be the same on marginalized people. If Secretary Pompeo really wanted to support human rights, he’d have a hard talk with President Trump and stop defending autocrats from Saudi Arabia to Hungary. Instead, he’s wasting staff time and taxpayer dollars in an attempt to generate intellectual cover for his ideologically regressive agenda.”

Conclusion

This blog shares many of the concerns in this letter as set forth in many previous posts about this Commission.

However, this letter’s allegations about the opinions and positions of some of the Commission’s members are not documented and, therefore, cannot be accepted at face value. In addition, the letter’s call for an immediate disbanding of this body is totally unrealistic.

Nevertheless, given the large number of prominent human rights organizations and individuals who are signatories to this letter, it is an important development on a serious, important issue involving the U.S. Therefore, it is shocking that research has not disclosed any discussions of this letter by prominent U.S. news media.

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[1] Letter, human rights first to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo (July 23, 2019); Human Rights First Press Release, Diverse Coalition Calls for Disbanding State Department Commission on Unalienable Human Rights (July 23, 2019); Lederman & Lee, human rights groups lead chorus of alarm over new Trump administration commission, NBC News (July 23, 2019); Budryk, Democrats, advocacy groups urge Pompeo to abolish new ‘unalienable rights’ commission, The Hill (July 24, 2019).

Realpolitik Analysis of U.S. Ministerial To Advance Religious Liberty and U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights

Walter Russell Mead, the Wall Street Journal’s Global View columnist, sees a realpolitik rationale for the Trump Administration’s embrace of its concept of human rights in the U.S. Second Ministerial To Advance Religious Freedom, the U.S. International Religious Freedom Alliance and the U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights.[1]

According to Mead, the Administration believes, these human rights initiatives, help “to unify its populist and conservative supporters in the U.S. even as it builds a coalition against Chinese overreach in Asia and beyond.”

“The fight for religious freedom integrates foreign and domestic concerns for many of Mr. Trump’s Christian supporters, who face aggressive secularism in the U.S. and follow closely the persecution of Christians abroad. Even American Christians concerned about [alleged] “creeping Shariah” and other alleged consequences of Muslim immigration to Western countries rally to the cause of religious liberty as a global value.”

By “highlighting China’s increasingly totalitarian policies, . . . the U.S. [shows that it] is doing more than Iran, Turkey or Pakistan to support oppressed Muslims in China [and that] does not go unnoticed in the Muslim world.”

In addition to his role as the Journal’s Global Views columnist, Mead is the James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and the Humanities at Bard College and a Distinguished Fellow in American Strategy and Statesmanship at the Hudson Institute.

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[1] Mead, Trump’s Hesitant Embrace of Human Rights, W.S.J. (July 22, 2109). This blog recently has published many posts about the Ministerial To Advance Religious Freedom and the Commission on Unalienable Rights.