Purpose: In the nature of a substitute.
99-754: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom ( USCIRF ) is a U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998 . USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the Senate and the House of Representatives . USCIRF's principal responsibilities are to review the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom internationally and to make policy recommendations to
198-499: A "commensurate action" not listed in IRFA but which would serve the purpose of advancing religious freedom. These include Under Title IV, the president may waive punitive measures against the concerned country if he or she determines that national security is at risk or if the proposed action would harm rather than benefit the individuals and communities the Act is designed to help. Title V of
297-675: A Muslim policy analyst filed a complaint against the group with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that she had been the victim of anti-Muslim discrimination . Leo denied the claims of discrimination against the organization, and no specific claims were made regarding Leo. The EEOC complaint was dismissed. He has been a US delegate to the United Nations Council and the UN Commission on Human Rights , as well as
396-677: A bachelor's degree in 1986, working as an intern in the office of Senator Orrin Hatch . He then attended Cornell Law School , graduating with a J.D. in 1989. He then clerked for Judge A. Raymond Randolph of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit . While studying law at Cornell , Leo founded a student chapter of the Federalist Society in 1989, and subsequently went to work for
495-493: A case of mistaken identity". In a 2018 interview, when asked about a possible vacancy on the Supreme Court during an election year, Leo stated that "If a vacancy occurs in 2020, the vacancy needs to remain open until a president is elected and inaugurated and can pick. That's my position, period." Leo said he would advise Trump not to act on an election year Supreme Court vacancy, adding that he had never asked Trump about
594-779: A charity with ties to conservative activists Rebekah Mercer and Steve Bannon ; Liberty Central , a charity founded by Virginia Thomas , wife of Clarence Thomas; the Catholic Association and an affiliated charity, the Catholic Association Foundation; The National Catholic Prayer Breakfast; the Becket Law Fund ; Students for Life ; the Napa Legal Institute; the Youth Leadership Foundation; and
693-485: A complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission , alleging that she was fired because she was a Muslim and a member of an advocacy group, the Muslim Public Affairs Council . Current commissioners and some other religious freedom advocates deny the claims of bias. The commission has also been accused of in-fighting and ineffectiveness. Jemera Rone of Human Rights Watch said about
792-608: A conservative political consulting firm. Leo remained in his role as co-chairman of the Federalist Society's board of directors. Vogel wrote that Leo had built "one of the best-funded and most sophisticated operations in American politics, giving him extraordinary influence as he pushes a broad array of hot-button conservative causes and seeks to counter what he sees as an increasing leftward tilt in society." In 2023, ProPublica described Leo's activism, namely through
891-539: A country of multifaith , multilingual , and multicultural diversity." Several Indian-American Muslim, Sikh and Christian groups applauded the USCIRF for its 2021 report wherein it has recommended India be designated as a "country of particular concern (CPC)" for the alleged deterioration of religious freedom in the country. Prior to the 2001 visit of the USCIRF to Egypt , some Coptic leaders in Egypt protested, viewing
990-600: A day Leo publicly refused to cooperate with the subpoena, calling it "politically motivated" and arising from " dark money ". In an interview with the Financial Times in September 2024, Leo said that the Marble Freedom Trust would devote $ 1 billion to "crush liberal dominance" in news and entertainment, and to fight "companies and financial institutions that bend to the woke mind virus". The trust
1089-427: A decree ordering the cessation of its practice of forced renunciations of faith, released all known religious prisoners, and allowed hundreds of churches it had shut down to re-open. To date this is the only Binding Agreement secured under IRFA, but it demonstrates the IRFA policy goal of securing systemic change rather than mere punishment. The Act has seven titles, each containing numerous sections. These are: As per
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#17327731147041188-665: A floor amendment to H.R.2431 if he would withdraw his amendment in committee. Rep. Brady withdrew his amendment in committee, and added several provisions from S.1868 to H.R.2431 during the general vote on H.R. 2431, which passed the House on May 14, 1998, by a vote of 375–41, and was subsequently sent to the Senate. However, H.R. 2431 was never considered by the Senate. S.1868 was sponsored by many senators in addition to Majority Whip Don Nickles, including powerful Foreign Relations chairman Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC). Despite initial opposition from
1287-581: A for-profit business which he chairs. In August 2023, the Attorney General for the District of Columbia , Brian Schwalb , began investigating Leo and his network of nonprofit groups after receiving a letter from a progressive watchdog group claiming that Leo-aligned groups had violated nonprofit tax law. Leo's attorney, David Rivkin , said in October 2023 that Leo would not cooperate with the investigation because Schwalb had "no legal authority" as
1386-476: A front for American missionaries. The report recommended that there be more attention to religious freedom in U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy in general and that the USCIRF devote more attention to monitoring the integration of religious freedom issues into foreign policy. In 2018, the appointment of Tony Perkins as a commissioner received criticism. The organizations such as GLAAD , Hindu American Foundation , atheist and humanist groups, and others questioned
1485-458: A ground-breaking provision that the goal of these negotiations was to secure a "Binding Agreement" to cease the violations. In such a case, sanctions would be withheld. In a landmark first for human rights, after designating Vietnam a CPC, Ambassador John Hanford (appointed by George W. Bush as IRF Ambassador from 2002 to 2009) secured a Binding Agreement under IRFA with Vietnam. Reversing the violations that had led to CPC designation, Vietnam issued
1584-548: A handful of countries and religious groups, with mandatory sanctions if a persecution monitoring "tzar" in the White House found that persecution was "widespread and ongoing" "when such persecution includes abduction, enslavement, killing, imprisonment, forced mass resettlement, rape, or crucifixion, or other forms of torture". This definition was so extreme as to exclude most countries in which gross violations of international religious freedom take place. IRFA, in contrast, used
1683-412: A handful of countries, with a narrow range of measures; IRFA based its measures on international human rights law and created a structure to address religious freedom issues in depth all over the world. On October 8, 1998, the Senate passed IRFA by a vote of 98–0. IRFA was renumbered as Amendment S. 3789 to H.R.2431, so that the Senate version could be adopted in its entirety as an amendment in the nature of
1782-724: A new and emerging threat in places where there are no Jewish communities left to protect burial grounds." On May 9, 2014, Rep. Steve Stockman introduced the European Union Religious Freedom Act in the United States House of Representatives . The bill would amend the findings of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 by including prohibitions against homeschooling, religious methods of meat production, circumcision, and wearing religious garb, among
1881-629: A number of possible actions available to the president, in consultation of the secretary of state, the ambassador at large, the National Security Council special advisor, and the commission, design a response to those countries. In practice this authority of the President is delegated to the Secretary of State and the Ambassador. Countries that are severe violators of religious freedom are categorized as CPC's under Sec 402 of
1980-515: A number of years. Leo took leaves of absence from the Federalist Society to assist the Bush administration's judicial nomination and confirmation efforts. This included the unsuccessful nomination of Miguel Estrada to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit , as well as the successful confirmations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court . In 2017, legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin wrote that Leo
2079-486: A political advocacy group in U.S. history". An October 2022 article by Kenneth P. Vogel in The New York Times detailed how Leo, who had been best known for his role in conservative judicial appointments, developed a larger coalition on the right. In January 2020, Leo announced that he would be leaving his position as vice president at the Federalist Society to start a new for-profit group, CRC Advisors ,
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#17327731147042178-491: A seven-year term (until 2018), on the morning of the 16th. This happened after a new reauthorization bill passed both Houses containing two amendments were made to it that Senator Dick Durbin , D-IL (the Senate Majority Whip ) had wanted as a condition of releasing a hold he had placed on the former version of the bill; he released it on December 13, after the revisions were made. They stipulate that there will be
2277-527: A strict separation of church and state , refusing to make Islam the state religion , and having a secular legal system. Tajikistan Foreign Ministry criticized the USCIRF report on March 13, 2020. Tajikistan called on the U.S. Department of State to refrain from publishing unverified and groundless information unrelated to the actual situation with the rule of law and respect of human rights in Tajikistan. A former policy analyst, Safiya Ghori-Ahmad, filed
2376-445: A substitute to H.R.2431, including its title, the "International Religious Freedom Act." IRFA was passed in full by the House on the consent calendar on October 10, 1998. This Act was a response to the growing concern about religious persecution throughout the world. There had been instances of toleration on the part of the governments when the religious rights of their citizens and others had been violated. There are governments around
2475-1022: A travel budget and a 15–20 member staff. Appointments last for two years, and Commissioners are eligible for reappointment. As of September 16, 2024, the current Commissioners are: The State Department's Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, currently Rashad Hussain , serves as an ex officio , non-voting member of the Commission. Past Commissioners include: Nury Turkel , Frank Wolf , Sharon Kleinbaum , Tom Reese, S.J. , Khizr Khan , Tony Perkins , David Saperstein , Preeta D. Bansal , Gayle Conelly Manchin (Chair) , Gary Bauer , John Hanford , Khaled Abou El Fadl , Charles J. Chaput , Michael K. Young , Firuz Kazemzadeh , Shirin R. Tahir-Kheli , John R. Bolton , Elliot Abrams , Felice D. Gaer , Azizah Y. al-Hibri , Leonard Leo , Richard Land , Tenzin Dorjee (Chair), and Kristina Arriaga de Bucholz. The International Religious Freedom Act requires
2574-569: A two-year limit on terms for commissioners and that they will be under the same travel restrictions as employees of the Department of State. In 2016, the U.S. Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act , which amended IRFA in various ways, including adding a category of designation for non-state actors. USCIRF researches and monitors international religious freedom issues. The Commission
2673-662: Is a board member of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast . In 2012, Leo served on the boards of the Catholic Association and its affiliate Catholic Association Foundation, which ran campaigns opposing the legalization of same-sex marriage . In 2016, Leo received $ 120,000 for his work for the Catholic Association. While Leo was the chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom ,
2772-558: Is also supporting Republican efforts to retake the majority in the Senate. Leo was national co-chairman of Catholic outreach for the Republican National Committee , and as the 2004 Bush presidential campaign's Catholic strategist. He was appointed by President George W. Bush and the United States Senate to three terms on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom . He
2871-399: Is authorized to travel on fact-finding missions to other countries and hold public hearings. The Commission on International Religious Freedom issues an annual report that includes policy recommendations to the U.S. government based on the report's evaluation of the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations worldwide. The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 provides for
2970-489: Is committed to the promotion of freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and a source of stability for all countries. It further seeks to assist newly formed democracies in implementing freedom of religion and conscience. Religious and human rights non-governmental organizations are sought to promote religious freedom. Furthermore, the U.S. seeks to identify and denounce regimes that are severe persecutors of their citizens or others on
3069-408: Is designated to serve as a resource for executive branch officials, compiling and analyzing information on the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom and formulating possible US reactions to religious persecution in the light of US national security interests. The position of the director shall be comparable to that of director within the executive office of the President . IRFA
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3168-481: Is that the United States has the duty to uphold this fundamental right. During a speech about the Act, on October 9, 1998, IRFA co-sponsor Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), gave the reason as to why the founding fathers were drawn to America, ... because of a belief that no government has the right to tell the people how to worship and certainly not the right to discriminate against them or persecute them for
3267-806: The BH Group as his employer. In 2018, the Judicial Crisis Network reported paying BH Group $ 1.2 million in fees. In its first two years of existence, the BH Group received more than $ 4 million from the Judicial Crisis Network, its sister entity the Judicial Education Project and a third nonprofit, the Wellspring Committee. Leo is also the president of the Freedom and Opportunity Fund. In 2016, after
3366-748: The Central African Republic , Egypt , Indonesia , Iraq , Kazakhstan , Malaysia , Sri Lanka , Turkey , and Uzbekistan be included on the State Department's Special Watch List. USCIRF has repeatedly designated India as a country of particular concern or on the Special Watch List. These reports have drawn criticism from the Indian press . The Pioneer , in an editorial, termed it as "fiction", "biased", and " Surpassing Goebbels ". It criticized USCIRF for projecting
3465-678: The Concord Fund . The Teneo Network is a member of the advisory board of Project 2025 , a collection of conservative and right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation to reshape the United States federal government and consolidate executive power should the Republican nominee win the 2024 presidential election . In 2011 and 2012, Leo arranged for Liberty Consulting, owned by Ginni Thomas ,
3564-784: The Congress on October 2, 1998, stated: ...this is an important aspect of the bill. If the definition of religious persecution were limited to only torture, imprisonment, or death, ... the Act would only cover about a few countries, and would not include about 80 to 85% of the religious persecution that takes place in the world ... This Act was first introduced as S.1868 by Senator Don Nickles on March 26, 1998. It provided an alternative to H.R. 2431, "the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act of 1997", originally H.R.1685/S.772 introduced by Representative Frank Wolf and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) on May 27, 1997 and then reintroduced as H.R. 2431 on September 9, 1997. During consideration of H.R. 2431 in
3663-984: The Judicial Crisis Network reported that it spent more than $ 7 million to prevent Garland's confirmation. After Donald Trump's election, The New York Times described Leo as playing a "critical role" in reshaping the judiciary through Trump's Supreme Court nominees, first contacting then-appellate-judge Neil Gorsuch about potentially nominating him to the vacancy created by Scalia's death. Leo's CRC Advisors coordinated "a months-long media campaign" in support of Gorsuch's nomination, including "opinion essays, contributing 5,000 quotes to news stories, scheduling pundit appearances on television," as well as television and radio advertisements. Between 2014 and 2017, entities affiliated with Leo raised over $ 250 million from donors including Charles Koch and Rebekah Mercer . In 2018, Politico reported that Leo had personally lobbied for Brett Kavanaugh's nomination for
3762-820: The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and World Health Assembly . Leo has been an observer at the World Intellectual Property Organization and as a member of the US National Commission to UNESCO . Leo has been published in The New York Times , The Wall Street Journal , and The Huffington Post . He received the 2009 Bradley Prize . Leo has been on the board of directors of various organizations such as Reclaim New York ,
3861-584: The President , the Secretary of State , and the Congress . USCIRF was authorized by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 , which established: The legislation authorizing the USCIRF stated that the Commission would terminate on September 30, 2011, unless it was reauthorized or given a temporary extension. It was given several extensions by Congress, but would have expired at 5:00 pm on Friday, December 16, 2011, had it not been reauthorized for
3960-586: The massacre of 58 Hindu passengers as an accident. It also accused USCIRF of indirectly justifying murder of Swami Lakshamananda , a Hindu cleric and social activist. Christian leaders in Odisha defended India: Archbishop Raphael Cheenath stated that India remained of a secular character, the president of the Odisha Minority Forum that, despite a small hate campaign against minorities, the majority of society had been "cordial and supportive", and
4059-478: The population of the world lives under regimes that have strict policies against basic religious freedoms. Title VII of the Act has noted that some regimes engage in persecution that includes subjection of those people who engage in practice of religious faiths that are not state sponsored, to detention , torture , beatings, forced marriage , rape , imprisonment , enslavement , mass resettlement and death. IRFA Sponsor Senator Don Nickles (R-OK), in his speech to
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4158-755: The "behind-the-scenes leader of a network of interlocking nonprofits that has raised and spent hundreds of millions of dollars to support conservative judges and causes". Groups affiliated with Leo include The 85 Fund ; the Concord Fund (formerly the Judicial Crisis Network); the Marble Freedom Trust ; and the Rule of Law Trust, among others. The Marble Freedom Trust received a $ 1.6 billion donation from Illinois businessman Barre Seid , described as "the largest known donation to
4257-495: The Act and this subjects them to punitive sanctions which are listed in Sec. 405. Under this section, the president must either enter into a binding agreement with the concerned country to end the religious persecution, or to choose from remedies outlined in Sec. 405 of the Act. This section offers the president fifteen options to exercise against countries engaging in religious persecution, ranging from private negotiations to sanctions, or
4356-543: The Act, the Congress and the President are obligated to take into account the various issues of religious freedom while developing the country's foreign policy. Under Title I of the Act, a permanent infrastructure within the State Department is created for dealing with religious issues. This is known as the Office of International Religious Freedom, headed by the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, who wields
4455-510: The Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, which requires US embassies all over the world to interact with their counterparts and NGO's in the process of reporting, as well as requiring the US to state what efforts it has undertaken to promote religious freedom. In addition to the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, and the Annual Report, the cornerstone of IRFA is
4554-673: The Board of Visitors at The Busch School of Business at Catholic University . Leo is a member of the Council for National Policy , whose other members include Virginia Thomas, the wife of Clarence Thomas; Brent Bozell , founder of the Media Research Center ; and Ralph Reed , chairman of the nonprofit Faith and Freedom Coalition . In filings with the Federal Election Commission , Leo listed
4653-438: The Commission to be composed of ten members: IRFA provides that "Members of the Commission shall be selected among distinguished individuals noted for their knowledge and experience in fields relevant to the issue of international religious freedom, including foreign affairs , direct experience abroad, human rights , and international law ." Commissioners are not paid for their work on the Commission, however they are provided
4752-607: The House International Relations Committee (HIRC) on April 1, 1998, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) proposed the text of S.1868, just introduced in the Senate, as an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute. This forced several important changes to H.R. 2431, including moving the persecution "tzar" contained in H.R.2431 from the White House to the State Department, and an agreement to allow Rep. Brady to offer
4851-490: The IRF office and is the highest-ranking US advocate for international religious freedom, serving as primary adviser advisor on this issue to the President and the Secretary of State. In negotiations abroad dealing with religious freedom, the Ambassador outranks the country ambassador. The United States seeks to conform with international covenants that guarantee the inalienable right of religious freedom to every human being. The Act
4950-522: The Institute of Global Engagement stated that the United States' international religious freedom policy was problematic in that it "has focused more on rhetorical denunciations of persecutors and releasing religious prisoners than on facilitating the political and cultural institutions necessary to religious freedom," and had therefore been ineffective. It further stated that USIRF policy was often perceived as an attack on religion, cultural imperialism , or
5049-710: The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was ratified with reservations in April 1992, also includes a freedom of religion clause similar to that of the UDHR's. The principles in the above-mentioned international law documents, according to the Act, create a sense of responsibility in its governments to protect the freedom of religion, which the Act does by exercising the United States' ability to choose its limit in dealing with countries that violate religious freedom. The justification for this Act lies on
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#17327731147045148-749: The Lao government and the Lao People's Army . In 2007, Central Asia and foreign affairs experts S. Frederick Starr , Brenda Shaffer , and Svante Cornell accused USCIRF of championing the rights of groups that aspire to impose religious coercion on others in the name of religious freedom in the Central Asian states of Azerbaijan , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , and Uzbekistan . USCIRF has castigated these countries for excessive and restrictions on religious freedom and repression of non-traditional religious groups, despite them having
5247-454: The Leo nonprofits are not registered in Washington, D.C. Leo's network subsequently engaged in a pressure campaign targeting Schwalb. Twelve Republican attorneys general have challenged the legal basis of Schwalb's probe and Republican members of the U.S. House have announced a probe of Schwalb's investigation. The Senate Judiciary Committee in April 2024 issued a subpoena to Leo regarding undisclosed gifts to Supreme Court justices; within
5346-408: The National Security Council. The crux of the Act lies in Title IV. Title IV details the requirement that the President annually review and determine whether any country has met the CPC threshold, based in international human rights law, of "engaging in or tolerating particularly severe violations of religious freedom". Any designation then leads to a series of negotiations and consultations resulting in
5445-508: The Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 2431, and then passed on to the House, where it was voted in on the consent calendar on October 10, 1998. The differences between H.R. 2431, the "Freedom from Religious Persecution Act" and S. 1868, the "International Religious Freedom Act", were comprehensive, but can be summarized as a narrow focus in FRPA on punishing worst violators, compared with IRFA's worldwide focus on promoting religious freedom, using both positive and negative incentives. H.R.2431 affected
5544-569: The Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, were elevated to report directly to the under secretary for civilian security, democracy, and human rights and the Ambassador at Large would report directly to the Secretary of State . The IRF office has the mission of promoting religious freedom as a core objective of US foreign policy. The Office Director and the staff monitor religious persecution and discrimination worldwide, and assist in recommending and implementing policies in respective regions or countries. The Ambassador oversees
5643-443: The Orissa Secular Front that, despite the 2002 and 2008 riots, India had a strong secular foundation . In the 2019 USCIRF report, the chairman Tenzin Dorjee disagreed with the commission's designation of India as a CPC citing having lived in India for 30 years as a religious refugee stating that "India is an open society with a robust democratic and judiciary system. India is a great civilization, and since ancient times she has been
5742-453: The President, who has delegated this function to the Secretary of State, to designate as “countries of particular concern,” or CPCs, countries that commit systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. Pursuant to IRFA, USCIRF recommends the countries that, in its view, meet the CPC threshold and should be so designated. In addition to recommending countries for CPC designation, USCIRF also recommends countries to be added to
5841-455: The Society in 1991 in Washington, D.C. He met Clarence Thomas while clerking in the Appeals Court, and the two became close friends. Leo delayed his start at the Federalist Society to assist Thomas in his Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Leo served at the Federalist Society in various capacities for more than 25 years. In 2019, The Washington Post reported that the Federalist Society had paid Leo an annual salary of more than $ 400,000 for
5940-676: The State Department's Special Watch List (SWL). The SWL is for countries whose governments engage or tolerate in severe religious freedom violations, but do not rise to the CPC standard of “systematic, ongoing, and egregious.” Violations in SWL countries must meet two of those three criteria. In its 2023 report, USCRIF recommended the following countries be designated as countries of particular concern: Afghanistan , China , Cuba , Eritrea , India , Iran , Myanmar , Nicaragua , Nigeria , North Korea , Pakistan , Russia , Saudi Arabia , Syria , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , and Vietnam . Additionally, USCIRF recommended that Algeria , Azerbaijan ,
6039-404: The State Department, the White House and advocates of H.R. 2431, S.1868 eventually passed the Senate 98–0. Because this vote was one of the last substantive votes of the 105th Congress, the House agreed to take the Senate version in its entirety, as there was no time for a conference. Accordingly, the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 was renumbered in the Senate as S. 3789, an Amendment in
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#17327731147046138-414: The Supreme Court seat vacated by Anthony Kennedy, raising upward of $ 15 million in support of his confirmation. The Judicial Crisis Network ran television and radio advertisements supporting Kavanaugh's nomination, and CRC advisors "hype[d] a theory that Christine Blasey Ford’s accusation —that when they were both in high school, Kavanaugh pushed her on a bed and tried to remove her clothing—was actually
6237-649: The Teneo Network, as focusing on "'woke-ism' in corporations and education, 'one-sided journalism' and 'entertainment that's really corrupting our youth." Teneo (from Latin , meaning "I hold" or "I grasp") says it has a plan to "crush liberal dominance" in journalism and education, as well as in business and politics; it consists of various loosely affiliated non-profit and for-profit entities, which collectively spent nearly $ 504 million between mid-2015 and 2021. These include two for-profit firms Leo at least partly controls, BH Group and CRC Advisors , which are also compensated by funding hubs in Leo's network, The 85 Fund and
6336-538: The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's research work, and various reports on the Pathet Lao government's increased and serious religious persecution in Laos, from Seiple's controversial criticism. They have pointed out potential conflicts of interest involving reported grant monies Seiple, or a non-profit organization connected to Seiple, reportedly received from officials at the U.S. Department of State to apparently seek to minimize grossly increased religious persecution and widespread human rights violations by
6435-430: The US can prioritize those rights it holds most dear in its interaction with other states, and that IRFA is a means to help other nations secure freedoms to which they have already committed themselves, but may not in fact uphold. On February 10, 2014, Rep. Grace Meng introduced the bill To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to include the desecration of cemeteries among the many forms of violations of
6534-446: The USCIRF was "only cursing the darkness". As an example, he highlighted the Commission's decision to designate Laos a Country of Particular Concern in 2002 despite the release of religious prisoners. He further stated, "that which was conceived in error and delivered in chaos has now been consigned to irrelevancy. Unless the Commission finds some candles soon, Congress ought to turn out the lights." The Commission responded that despite
6633-414: The ability to designate non-state actors under IRFA (this authority exists already in IRFA under Section 404 (2) and others, but is further clarified by the Frank Wolf Act.) Leonard Leo Leonard Anthony Leo (born November 1965) is an American lawyer and conservative legal activist . He was the longtime vice president of the Federalist Society and is currently, along with Steven Calabresi ,
6732-444: The act seeks to promote religious freedom abroad through the way of international media, exchanges and foreign service awards for working to promote human rights. Title VI requires appropriate training for asylum officers (domestic), refugee officers (abroad) and judges. The final provision of the Act, Title VII contains miscellaneous provisions, including 701, which urges transnational corporations to adopt codes of conduct sensitive to
6831-422: The authority to negotiate on behalf of the President with other governments, and oversees the Annual Report and the designation of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC). Title I also details the composition of the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. Title II creates the Commission on International Religious Freedom and Title III a special advisor to the president on international religious freedom within
6930-418: The basis of religious beliefs. The Office is responsible for the monitoring of religious persecution and discrimination worldwide, and for advocating for greater religious freedom. Its specific activities include: This commission is an independent nine-member, bipartisan U.S. government agency that was created to provide independent recommendations to the State Department and the President, and to monitor
7029-509: The co-chairman of the organization's board of directors. Leo has created a network of influential conservative legal groups funded mostly by anonymous donors, including The 85 Fund and Concord Fund , which serve as funding hubs for affiliated political nonprofits. He assisted Clarence Thomas in his Supreme Court confirmation hearings and led campaigns to support the nominations of John Roberts , Samuel Alito , Neil Gorsuch , Brett Kavanaugh , and Amy Coney Barrett . Leonard Anthony Leo
7128-399: The commission's report covers few countries, but makes policy recommendations to the executive and legislative branches of the government. The Commission report also reviews and analyzes the work of Department of State. The President is assigned a special advisor on international religious freedom within the National Security Council by Title III of the Act. Under the Act, the special advisor
7227-861: The credibility of Perkins, citing his stance against non-Christians and LGBTQ people. The Southern Poverty Law Center also chastised Perkins for far-right Christian views, his anti-LGBT views, his associations with the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups, terming his evangelical organization, the Family Research Council , a "hate group". [REDACTED] Media related to United States Commission on International Religious Freedom at Wikimedia Commons International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 ( Public Law 105–292, as amended by Public Law 106–55, Public Law 106–113, Public Law 107–228, Public Law 108–332, and Public Law 108–458)
7326-535: The death of US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia , Leo helped finance the renaming of George Mason University 's Law School to the Antonin Scalia Law School . Leo is a Roman Catholic . He has seven children with his wife, Sally. Their daughter Margaret died in 2007 at the age of 14 from spina bifida . Leo has spoken about the profound impact her life had on him. Leo is a knight of
7425-501: The delegation. Hisham Kassem, chairman of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights , felt that insisting on the rights of Christians in Egypt might antagonize Muslims and thus be counterproductive. The first-ever U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom , Robert Seiple , criticized the USCIRF's emphasis on the punishment of religious persecution over the promotion of religious freedom. In his view,
7524-449: The effect of other countries' policies on religious groups, and may hold hearings to educate Congress and the public about religious persecution around the world. The Commission may not implement sanctions on countries that violate religious freedom as it only has advisory and monitoring authority, including the authority to hold hearings. While the Department of State report contains a detailed country-by-country analysis of religious freedom,
7623-544: The freedom to change religious faith 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. All the members of the United Nations have adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the virtue of their UN membership and are pledged to uphold its provisions. The Article 18(1) of
7722-511: The guarantee of freedom of religion found in the US Constitution and in principles of international law. Critics of this Act would probably contend that while the US Constitution does prohibit Federal and State governments from infringing on the religious liberties of people living within the US, it does not obligate or permit the US to use embargo or military intervention as means to uphold these rights abroad. The rejoinder would be that
7821-444: The internationally recognized definitions of "gross violations of human rights" in the requirement to take action in persecuting countries, on behalf of any religious believers. Further, IRFA put in place a comprehensive structure headed by a high-ranking diplomat who could negotiate with other governments on behalf of the President, rather than a mid-level White House official tasked with making findings, under FRPA. IRFA also established
7920-566: The possible scenario. After the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that Leo was involved in the selection process for Ginsburg's replacement. Ultimately, that process resulted in the October 2020 appointment of Amy Coney Barrett . Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other Media outlets have described Leo as
8019-402: The privacy of Justice Thomas and Ginni." In June 2023, ProPublica reported that Leo helped organize and attended a fishing trip with Justice Samuel Alito and businessman Paul Singer , whose firms later were parties to litigation before the Supreme Court. In March 2023, Politico reported that in 2021 and 2022, Leo had moved at least $ 43 million from his nonprofits into CRC Advisors,
8118-578: The releases, the Marxist , Pathet Lao government in Laos still had systemic impediments to religious freedom, such as laws allowing religious activities only with the consent of Pathet Lao government officials, and laws allowing the government to determine whether a religious community is in accord with its own teaching. Other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), religious freedom and human rights advocates, policy experts, and Members of Congress have defended
8217-466: The report: "I think the legislative history of this Act will probably reflect that there was a great deal of interest in protecting the rights of Christians ... So I think that the burden is probably on the US government to show that in this Act they're not engaging in crusading or proselytization on behalf of the Christian religion." In a 2009 study of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 ,
8316-492: The requirement that each year the President review and determine whether any country has met the threshold, based on international human rights law, of "Country of Particular Concern" or CPC, engaging in or tolerating "particularly severe violations of religious freedom." The CPC determinations lead to a consultation and negotiations process resulting in a range of actions and sanctions if the offenses are not addressed. Based on similar successful provisions in trade law, IRFA included
8415-410: The right to freedom of religion. The establishment of a high-ranking Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom is a foundational provision of IRFA, investing all the authority of the United States government in the Ambassador's negotiations with governments around the world, in the promotion of religious freedom. The Office of International Religious Freedom, supporting the Ambassador,
8514-558: The right to religious freedom (H.R. 4028; 113th Congress) in the United States House of Representatives . The bill would amend the findings of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 by including the desecration of cemeteries among the various violations of the right to religious freedom . Meng said that "this legislation would be a new and important tool in our fight against the desecration of cemeteries" because it would "combat religiously-motivated vandalism of cemeteries and also prevent developers from building over cemeteries,
8613-824: The ruling party's intolerance of opposing religions. The Chinese Catholics and Chinese Protestant groups battle government repression, and the Chinese government tightly regulates religious practices in the regions of Tibet and Xinjiang . Members of the Rohingya Muslim minority are forced to take refuge in neighboring Bangladesh . There are suspect cases of minority oppression in Europe as well. Russia's new religion law seeks to make restraints and inhibit new religious communities' ability to own property, publish literature or operate schools. This Act tries to recognize such kind of blatant forms of religious discrimination and oppression . It finds that over one-half of
8712-588: The status of freedom of thought , conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the United States Congress . This commission is funded entirely by the federal government on an annual basis and staffed by government employees. The Commission monitors
8811-445: The various violations of the right to religious freedom. On December 16, 2016, Barack Obama signed into law the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act which amends the 1998 Act by specifically extending protection to non-theists as well as those who do not claim any particular religion. The Frank Wolf Act does not materially change IRFA, but it does spell out certain authorities and provisions in greater clarity, such as
8910-635: The visit as a form of American imperialism . For example, Mounir Azmi, a member of the Coptic Community Council, said that despite problems for Copts , the visit was a "vile campaign against Egypt" and would be unhelpful. Another critic called the visit "foreign intervention in our internal affairs". In the event, the USCIRF was able to meet the Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III and Mohammed Sayed Tantawi of Al-Azhar University , but others refused to meet
9009-546: The way they chose to express their faith in God. The principles of international law were made inherent in the act so as to clarify its commitment to promote international religious freedom. As per the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), religious freedom is one of the most fundamental human rights outlined. This right explicitly includes
9108-571: The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas , to be paid $ 80,000 by The Polling Company, owned by Kellyanne Conway and billed through the Judicial Education Project . Leo directed Conway not to mention Ginni Thomas in paperwork, telling The Washington Post , "The Polling Company, along with Ginni Thomas's help, has been an invaluable resource for gauging public attitudes," and that "Knowing how disrespectful, malicious and gossipy people can be, I have always tried to protect
9207-466: The world which openly sponsor and tolerate restrictions on their citizens' right to practice, observe, study, or associate with other members of their religious faith . The former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor , John Shattuck , cited specific countries that fail to recognize the fundamental right of religious freedom. There is a civil war ensuing in Sudan because of
9306-399: Was "responsible, to a considerable extent, for one third of the justices on the Supreme Court". The Washington Post would later write that "few people outside government have more influence over judicial appointments now than Leo." In 2016, Leo worked with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to block President Barack Obama 's replacement appointee, Merrick Garland . Leo's nonprofit,
9405-611: Was born on Long Island , New York , in November 1965, and raised in suburban New Jersey. His grandfather, an Italian immigrant, was a vice president of fashion company Brooks Brothers . He grew up in a family of practicing Catholics. His father died when Leo was in preschool. When Leo was five years old, his mother married an engineer, and the family moved to Monroe Township, New Jersey , where he spent most of his childhood. He graduated in 1983 from Monroe Township High School . Leo attended Cornell University , graduating with
9504-694: Was enacted by the US Congress on the basis of constitutional and international law principles. Several of the sponsors of the bill spoke of the United States as being born out of the need for religious freedom, and that this principle was codified in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution . The First Amendment explicitly guarantees the fundamental right of religious freedom and liberty to practice any faith as according to one's choice. Their contention made, to this
9603-423: Was formed under Title I of the International Religious Freedom Act, until June 2019 the office was housed in but not under the authority of the U.S. Department of State 's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor . On June 21, 2019, along with the release of the 2018 International Religious Freedom Report , Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the Office of International Religious Freedom, along with
9702-439: Was introduced on March 26, 1998, by Senator Don Nickles (R-OK), Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and others, as a far-reaching policy response to the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act of 1997, introduced by Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Senator Arlen Specter on May 27, 1997, as H.R.1685/S.772, and subsequently reintroduced on September 8, 1997, as H.R. 2431, the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act. H.R. 2431 affected only
9801-499: Was passed to promote religious freedom as a foreign policy of the United States , to promote greater religious freedom in countries which engage in or tolerate violations of religious freedom, and to advocate on the behalf of individuals persecuted for their religious beliefs and activities in foreign countries. The Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on October 27, 1998. Three cooperative entities have been maintained by this act to monitor religious persecution. IRFA
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