Introduction to the International Religious Freedom Act

Recognizing the idea that religious liberty is a universal human right,
the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) was enacted to
give the United States government a framework for promoting religious
freedom and combating religious persecution around the world. IRFA
established worldwide religious liberty as a core US foreign policy goal
and specifies an array of informational, economic, and diplomatic tools
the government must use to respond to countries that allow religious
persecution. Additionally, IRFA provides assistance to NGOs and foreign
governments in the implementation of policies that encourage global
religious freedom.

To achieve these ends, the Act created the Office of International
Religious Freedom (OIRF), the U.S. Commission on International Religious
Freedom (USCIRF), and a special advisor to the President. USCIRF acts
as an independent advisory council to the government and is responsible
for publishing a yearly report on religious freedom wholly apart from
the State Department. OIRF, an office within the State Department, is
lead by the Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom. The office
issues an annual report on religious freedom that surveys religious
liberty conditions around the world and designates the most egregious
and systematic violators as "Countries of Particular Concern" (CPC's). Each country's commitment to religious freedom is measured against the standards defined by international agreements such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Upon CPC designation, IRFA mandates an official diplomatic and/or economic response by the U.S. Government. Through these mechanisms IRFA has effectively raised the priority given to religious liberty interests in U.S. foreign relations.