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John Shattuck, Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor On-the-record briefing on report on "U.S. Policies in Support of Religious Freedom: Focus on Christians" Washington, D.C., July 22, 1997 U.S. Department of State

MR. BURNS: Ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome to the State Department. We have a two-pronged briefing today. The first will start with our Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck, who will present to you our report on United States Policies In Support of Religious Freedoms Overseas, with a particular focus on Christians.

Then following his briefing, which I think should go around 20 minutes, we'll take a couple minutes' break - maybe two or three minutes only - and then I will come out and will do our regular briefing on general foreign policy issues. I just want to say, since this is my last day here, it's really been a particular pleasure to work with John Shattuck. He's a man of great integrity. He brings, I think, a lot of credibility -- given his background, given his commitment to the issue of human rights - a lot of credibility to all of us who work with him in the Department of State.

I just wanted to thank John for all the help he's been to me over the last two and a half years. Without further ado, John Shattuck.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: I want to thank Nick for those kind remarks and, much more importantly, present him on his last day with a special gift -- the universal declaration of human rights, which I think will be a useful thing; which he knows by heart, but I want to make sure that he has it in his pocket at all times.

MR. BURNS: Thank you. Thanks, John.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Of course, Nick Burns is legendary and it's been a great privilege to work with him in my field. I know all my colleagues around the building feel the same way. So let me start my briefing by paying special tribute to Nick.

I'm pleased to be here to talk to you today about the issue of religious freedom, which is an issue of concern to the Administration and to the American people. Today we are issuing a report which sets out what the Administration is doing to promote religious freedom. This is a subject of special importance in this very volatile post-Cold War world in which we all live, in which our foreign policy interests as well as our values and the values of billions of people around the globe, I think, all depend on finding ways of promoting greater freedom of religion as well as reconciliation among religious groups so that instability in various settings will not be as severe as sometimes it is.

The report that we've issued today was prepared in fulfillment of a congressional mandate. It includes information on religious persecution in all parts of the world. At the congressional request, the report has a focus on Christians. But I want to stress, in releasing it, that Administration policy and our actions around the world support religious freedom globally and apply to all religions and beliefs. Freedom of religion is not an American value only. It is a universally recognized human right. The universal declaration of human rights and many human rights treaties grant all citizens of the world the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

With the release of this report, I'd like to highlight ten points about what we have been doing in recent months and years to promote religious freedom around the world. This is not an exhaustive list, but I think it demonstrates that promoting religious freedom is an integral part of foreign policy under the leadership of Secretary Albright, who has, of course, written the introduction to this report and has made this a topic of great personal interest and concern to her as well as to our foreign policy.

First, President Clinton and Secretary Albright have publicly identified religious freedom as a foreign policy priority.

Second, we now include religious freedom in our annual human rights reports and have publicly condemned specific acts and policies of persecution in various parts of the world through our reports and our public statements.

Third, Secretary Albright has issued formal instructions to all U.S. diplomatic posts to give more attention to religious freedom both in their reporting and in their advocacy.

Fourth, the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State and other State Department officials at all levels have raised problems of persecution of individuals and groups in meetings with foreign leaders and their representatives.

Fifth, the United States has taken the lead in raising the issue of religious freedom in the UN General Assembly, the UN Human Rights Commission and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. U.S. leadership led to the appointment of a UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion.

Sixth, U.S. policies and programs aimed at assisting the development of free and democratic societies now expressly include fostering the climate of tolerance and openness where religious freedom can thrive.

Seventh, we are providing funding, for example, through U.S.I.A. exchanges, for programs that promote inter-faith dialogue, understanding and tolerance.

Eighth, we maintain ongoing dialogue with religious leaders and advocates of religious freedom in all parts of the world. The President, the Vice President and the Secretary have met with prominent religious leaders visiting the United States. We have asked our embassies around the world to stay in contact with leading religious figures.

Ninth, we have increased U.S. efforts to protect persons who fear persecution for activities motivated by their religious conviction. In this context, we are working closely with the Immigration and Naturalization Service to ensure that the issue of religious persecution figures prominently in the asylum process.

Tenth -- and certainly among our most important efforts to advance religious freedom - is our work to promote peace and resolve ethnic and religious conflict. From Bosnia to Northern Ireland to the Middle East, the United States and many other countries have been in the forefront of efforts to foster peace and reconciliation in efforts of conflict marked by religious overtones. We will continue and intensify these efforts, which we regard as essential for creating conditions for the unimpeded practice of religious freedom.

In addition to these ten steps which provide a nutshell summary of our activities, I want to mention a particularly important new initiative of both Secretary Christopher and now Secretary Albright. That is the creation of the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad, which I chair. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the committee, which held its first meeting in February and has had several meetings since. It consists of a group of distinguished American leaders of religion, religious, academic and advocacy communities across the political spectrum, representing all major religions in the United States. It's been hard at work conducting hearings and formulating recommendations in this area.

The advisory committee is an important new step towards dialogue, information gathering and partnership between government and religious institutions in addressing persecution and promoting conflict resolution and respect for human rights. We look forward to its preliminary recommendations later this year. Later this week, when I am in the Balkans - in Bosnia and Croatia - I will be meeting with religious leaders in the region as part of the effort that the United States is engaged in to promote reconciliation.

The issue of persecution is a serious one, affecting many religions. The issue has not previously received much attention with respect to Christians. The focal report of this report, at the request of Congress, is that subject. But let me underscore again that the U.S. commitment to religious freedom encompasses all religions. We vigorously take up the cause of Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Baha'is, Hindus and others, and certainly Christians. The United States is a country of many faiths. Freedom of religion and belief is deeply ingrained as one of our core values and the United States will stand firmly with many other countries on the side of religious freedom wherever it is threatened.

Thank you, and I'd be happy to answer questions.

QUESTION: Thank you, Secretary Shattuck. Speaking to the issue of Russia and the new restrictive laws of the Duma, in the report it says that you had an opportunity to speak with your Russian counterpart back in May, I believe. Can you bring us up to date now - I believe this legislation is ready to be signed. Have you heard from the Russians recently on this matter?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Well, as you know, U.S. Government officials, including the President and most recently Secretary Albright in her meeting with Mr. Primakov last week, and I in my discussions with my counterpart, have conveyed our serious concern - grave concern - about the draft Russian religion law that would discriminate against a variety of religious groups. It's now pending before President Yeltsin.

We have joined with the OSCE countries in raising concerns about the draft law. We've worked with many other countries. We're working with those elements of Russian society that are supportive of religious pluralism and tolerance. I want to reiterate that, as I know Nick Burns has done from this podium several times, we hope that President Yeltsin will do everything possible to prevent this bill from becoming law. We don't have any new information about developments in that area.

QUESTION: John, there are a number of groups around this town that are pushing the proposition that Christians are the most persecuted of any of the religious groups in the world. The focus of this report and the congressional mandate that brought it about seems to support that view. Do you agree with that?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: The issue of persecution of Christians, I think, has received very little treatment in terms of fact-gathering in the past. It has been a subject in our human rights reports, but very few other places. For that reason, it is valuable to bring out that aspect of religious persecution.

But as I said earlier, this is a subject that's very broad and involves issues of freedom of religion for all religions. The United States is deeply committed to the process of promoting freedom of religion for all religions. This is not a topic that relates only or even primarily to one religion. The fact that this specific report focuses on facts that have not heretofore been brought forward, I think, is a useful exercise; and one that we find to be a contribution to this. But Secretary Albright's leadership in this area and the appointment of an advisory committee representing all major religions - 20 major figures -- we can make available to you the names of all the members, of course - I think is an example of how we do not focus on any one issue at the exclusion of others.

QUESTION: Is that a no, then?

QUESTION: Can we follow on that?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Yeah, we do not see this topic as more important than other topics involving religious freedom.

QUESTION: John?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Yeah.

QUESTION: Is it your experience, from the human rights reports - although this is a slightly different exercise - that these have a real impact in places where there is a great deal of criticism; for example, in this report, China or Russia?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: These reports - and of course they come from many different sources -- the United States Government is one of the sources - can be very valuable. The shining of a spotlight on issues of human rights abuse is one of the major instruments for promoting human rights in our world. And particularly when there is so much information moving around the globe through various media, it's very important to shine the spotlight and it can prove to be quite valuable, and certainly valuable in very specific ways of promoting freedom of religion in any particular country.

QUESTION: Just to follow up -- do you mind highlighting what countries have been causing the most problem? There are reports of persecution in the Sudan of Christians, Russia, of course. If you would give us a synopsis, I'd appreciate it.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Yes. Frankly, I'm going to let the report speak for itself, just because I don't want to start balancing one country against another. I don't think that's valuable. This report covers 78 countries. One of the reasons it has taken a while to produce is that it's very difficult to gather information in that way. And we've covered all the countries where there was any indication of a problem or a registration requirement that appeared in our human rights reports in 1996. I think the text of the report speaks for itself. There are 78 countries that are included.

QUESTION: What about the Sudan where they have been burning Christian churches?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: The Sudan is certainly a serious issue involving freedom of religion. There's no question about it. In fact, just today I've sent my Deputy Assistant Secretary Gare Smith, to travel to the Sudan on a mission involving freedom of religion and others. Yes, Tom.

QUESTION: There's a school of thought, as you well know, that says that an exercise like this has nothing to do with the vital strategic or economic interests of the United States, and essentially it put us in the purpose of being a kind of global busybody. What do you say to that?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: I fundamentally disagree, and I know so does Secretary Albright and the President. This effort to spotlight issues of human rights not only in broad thematic terms, but in specific terms involving facts and circumstances where human rights have been abused, has everything to do with the broad strategic interests of the United States; particularly in the post-Cold War world where we have a great national interest in looking at all the sources of potential instability in the world. And certainly, religious persecution is one of those sources. So we also have an interest in looking at ways of promoting cross-religious dialogue, and that's something we're doing very intensively in Bosnia and the Middle East and in Northern Ireland, among other places. So this exercise is at the heart of our foreign policy interests.

QUESTION: Can I follow that with another question about a criticism, which is that - first of all, I realize this was done in response to a mandate from Congress. But some people are beginning to wonder if this interest in religion is beginning to break down the firewall between church and state in the United States, particularly with the emphasis in the mandate on Christianity and its persecution.

One, do you think there is any danger of breaking down that firewall? And two, what steps are you, as head of this committee and in your other job, doing to make sure it doesn't weaken that wall?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: The principle of the separation of church and state is one of the bedrock principles of our country, and it is a principle that we will follow very studiously throughout this process. We are consulting with religious organizations, just as we are consulting with nongovernmental organizations, in many aspects of our foreign policy. And that's why the Secretary has set up her Advisory Committee on Freedom of Religion.

There will be no sponsorship or endorsement of any religion or of, indeed, religion, as such. The United States, in establishing this advisory committee and in putting out this report, is looking at an issue of basic human rights, very similar to other human rights areas that we have looked at. But frankly, this has not received as much attention in the past as I think it deserves today because it is such a significant issue of human rights. But the separation of church and state will govern all aspects of our relationship here.

QUESTION: We were on China for a minute, and then we went to the Sudan. But when you met with officials in China, were you encouraged by the language you were hearing from them? Because I notice that, also referring back to the report, that China got quite a lengthy sort of spotlight, if you will? Were you encouraged by your dialogue? And is China going to go down a different path, or how is this report going to help China?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Well, China is a very big country, and China is certainly, like all other countries in this report, receiving attention, in terms of what activities have occurred in China vis-à-vis religious persecution. I think this is not a report that focuses on China any more than it focuses on any other one country. But those who are seeking to exercise basic rights of freedom of religion in China, as elsewhere, should take heart from the fact that such a report has been produced.

QUESTION: In Latin America, supposedly, in the last ten, 15 years, religious persecution has decreased. Do you agree with this? And if there are any cases left, are they being persecuted by the state or by individuals?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Well, I think you will find a number of Latin American countries covered in this report. I think, by and large the situation for human rights and democracy in Latin America over the last five or six years has been one of steady improvement. We welcome that; we applaud that. In fact, I think, to a large extent, that is reflected in this report. But there continue to be issues of religious persecution. I'm going to let the report speak for itself on that.

QUESTION: Are there any cases left, for example, of persecution between Catholics and Evangelists, for example?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Again, I'm going to let you refer - you're interested in Latin America. The Latin American countries are well covered, as is what the United States is doing in relationship with the Latin countries on this subject.

Yeah, one more question.

QUESTION: A number of your critics would say a report is all well and good, but the Administration's actions have been sort of tepid notwithstanding your ten points. For example, the President did meet with the Dalai Lama, but it was a drop-by; it wasn't an official visit. He hasn't really pressed those kinds of things. Could you answer that?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Well, I think there has been no Administration that has focused more on this topic than the Clinton Administration . The new emphasis that it's receiving in the second administration and the fact that the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State are meeting with religious leaders such as the Dalai Lama is one element of that focus. Yeah.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, why is your systematically - (inaudible) -- the size in Greece based only on individual like Nikodomos Tsarknias, who is a very well-known tool of political propaganda of Skopje and has not to do anything with the religion?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: I'm going to let the report speak for itself. I'm not going to comment on individual cases.

QUESTION: Do you know how large is -

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: I'm sorry, that - please, go ahead.

QUESTION: How large is the Greek minority - the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - of Greek Orthodox faith? I asked a couple of - (inaudible) - so far there is no answer.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Again, I will let the report speak for itself. If you want to have further conversations after you've had an opportunity to review it, I'm sure there will be officials who can speak with you about it. One more question.

QUESTION: What particular efforts are you going to make to monitor the situation in Hong Kong, after the handover, with regards to religious freedom?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHATTUCK: Well, there will be a constant stream of visitors to Hong Kong from the United States and many other countries who have a great interest in continued issues of religious freedom and human rights in Hong Kong. That topic will be very much on their agenda. Thank you.

[end of document]

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