[20220407]IF10803_全球人权：国际宗教自由政策.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov Updated April 7, 2022Global Human Rights: International Religious Freedom PolicyFor decades, U.S. policymakers have sought to promote religious freedom abroad, reflecting both a prioritization of human rights in U.S. foreign policy generally as well as an emphasis on religious freedom in U.S. domestic law and political culture. Protection of religious freedom is also affirmed in international law through the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other instruments. Congress has sought to ensure continued support for religious freedom as a focus of U.S. foreign policy, most prominently through passage of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Legislative Background The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA; P.L. 105-292) is the foundational legislation for U.S. international religious freedom (IRF) policy. Recognizing religious freedom as a “universal human right,” IRFA created various government mechanisms aimed at cementing IRF as a foreign policy priority of the United States. Most significantly, the law created an Office on International Religious Fr