It has been one year since President Obama was inaugurated, yet he still has not appointed an Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom.
With the recent release of the Open Doors 2010 World Watch List of the worst persecuting countries of Christians in the world, Open Doors USA has launched an advocacy campaign asking President Obama to immediately appoint an Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom.
As your eyes are opened to the severity of persecution worldwide as exposed in the World Watch List, this petition is one way you can make a difference for persecuted Christians.
In leaving this important position unfilled, President Obama is in violation of U.S. law. In 1998, a unique piece of legislation was passed and signed into law by President Bill Clinton called the "International Religious Freedom Act." This bill created a special office called the "Office of International Religious Freedom" within the State Department. This department researches and tracks the state of religious freedom in every country of the world except for the U.S. and produces annual reports on each country.
Each year this department announces a list of the worst violators of religious freedom called "Countries of Particular Concern" (CPC). The government has a wide variety of options available to work with each country to improve religious freedom, including creating agreements or imposing sanctions on these CPCs.
The Ambassador at Large overseas this department, engages in diplomacy with countries that suppress religious freedom, helps negotiate within the U.S. government to determine which countries should be named as CPCs and advises on U.S. policy towards each of these countries.
I would like to know if you are aware of the religious persecution which is being done in Haiti? Where people must state that they are christians before they are given aid?
ReplyDeletePlease feel free to contact me @ educlosel@aol.com
Hi Marsha,
ReplyDeleteThis is both unfortunate and unlawful, as it violates the International Religious Freedom Act, so I’m quite sure that although this act of stating people must be Christians may be happening, it may not be publically advertised as such therefore for the sake of voiding prosecution is only implied.
I challenge your statement back to the community to state that your accusations are wrong and misunderstood by offering aid to those who are NOT of the Christian religion. My presumption is that aid would only be offered to some and not all on a ratio to those of the Christian faith than to all others in Haiti of non Christian faith to save face so that these matters may continue to go on unjustly so. I could be wrong but something tells me I’m not. I welcome to be proven otherwise.
Best,
Mona Magick
www.MonaMagick.com