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09685
August 11, 2009
Clinton asked to raise religious freedom issues in Africa
by Kristen May
Religion News Service
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is asking Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to raise issues of religious tolerance in Nigeria and Somalia while on her trip to Africa this week.
In an open letter dated July 30, USCIRF discusses long-term and ongoing sectarian violence in Nigeria as well as Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed’s proposal to install Islamic law as the basis for Somalia's new judicial structure.
About 700 people have died in a recent wave of religious violence in Nigeria, according to media reports.
Clinton’s goal for her 11-day African tour is to discuss ways to foster good governance by “partnering with regional leaders to ... prevent conflict and violence, including gender-based violence, democratic erosions, and transnational threats that challenge Africa,” said Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson.
The USCIRF’s letter requests that Clinton also put heavy emphasis on the sectarian violence that rages through both Nigeria and Somalia. USCIRF, which monitors religious freedom worldwide, has named Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” and has put Somalia on its “watch list.”
“USCIRF believes that improving freedom of religion and related human rights and governance will help to address many of the problems in Somalia,” the commission said.
USCIRF’s 2009 annual report says the monitoring of religious persecution in Nigeria has been “inadequate and ineffectual” and stresses that serious threats to religious freedom have arisen in Somalia. Thursday’s letter reiterates these concerns and requests that Clinton push the issue of religious freedom when she speaks with Nigerian and Somali leaders.
“The severe violations of religious freedom and sectarian violence in Nigeria must be addressed for that country to realize lasting progress, security, and prosperity as a democracy,” says USCIRF.
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