FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | uscirf.gov
March 16, 2020
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new factsheet on the global response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the impact on religious practice and religious freedom.
Coronavirus Factsheet – This factsheet documents how the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has affected religious freedom around the world. First, it examines the extent to which international law allows governments to impose restrictions on religious freedom in order to protect public health. Next, it provides examples how government and societal responses to the pandemic – including in China, South Korea, Iran, and Italy – have impacted the practice of religion. The factsheet urges governments to strategize a public health response to the pandemic that avoids measures placing an undue burden on or stigmatizing religious groups.
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief.