Panelists say '98 religious freedom law having an effect on diplomacy

Published: 2006-11-29

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Though it has plenty of weaknesses and flaws, the system put in place by a 1998 law to monitor and protect religious freedom internationally has begun to change how the United States and other countries approach religious rights, said panelists at a Washington forum. Among the problems of trying to protect religious rights abroad, according to speakers at the Nov. 20 forum, are too little emphasis on advocacy as opposed to sanctions in the current diplomacy system, and a risk of other countries misunderstanding the goals of the U.S. policy. The law that created the independent U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also set a formal approach for evaluating how various countries treat religious rights and established an office within the State Department to oversee how diplomats deal with the issue. The State Department now prepares an annual report on the state of religious freedom in each country, while the commission issues its own reports focusing on select countries about which its members are particularly concerned.

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