Washington Times | 05/29/18
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put a spotlight on the Trump administration’s push to bolster religious freedom around the world Tuesday, calling it the “most fundamental of human rights” and declaring that “the United States will not stand by as spectators” while people are persecuted over faith.
Mr. Pompeo made the assertion while releasing the State Department’s annual Report on Religious Freedom — a document that can be found on the department’s website. He also announced that he personally will host the department’s first-ever international “Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom” in Washington in late-July.
The high-level meeting, to include faith leaders and top diplomats from “like-minded governments” around the world, “will break new ground” and “not just be a discussion group,” Mr. Pompeo told reporters at department headquarters Tuesday.
“It will be about action,” he said in remarks that appeared to be geared at putting the issue on the front-burner of the Trump administration’s wider human rights policy. “We look forward to identifying concrete ways to push back against persecution and ensure greater respect for religious freedom for all.”