[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 15, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E31]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 THE NEED FOR A SPECIAL ENVOY TO ADVOCATE FOR RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN 
                 THE MIDDLE EAST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ASIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 15, 2013

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, today I am joining with my colleague Rep. Anna 
G. Eshoo in reintroducing legislation to create a special envoy 
position at the State Department to advocate on behalf of vulnerable 
religious minorities in the Middle East and South Central Asia.
  In countries like Iraq and Egypt, ancient Christian communities are 
being driven from the lands they have inhabited for centuries. In Iran, 
Baha'is are imprisoned and some cases executed simply because of their 
faith. In Pakistan, Ahmadi graves are desecrated. In Afghanistan, a 
country where America has sacrificed greatly in both blood and 
treasure, the most basic right to freedom of religion or belief is not 
recognized in the constitution. This is but a snap shot of the grave 
challenges facing these communities.
  If the international community fails to speak out, the prospects for 
religious pluralism and tolerance in the region are bleak.
  Last Congress the House, to its credit, overwhelmingly passed, by a 
vote of 402-20, bipartisan legislation, H.R. 440, to create a special 
envoy position at the State Department charged with focusing on the 
plight of religious minorities in these regions. Sadly, in the face of 
State Department opposition, the Senate failed to act.
  There is a historic precedent for special envoys--including the Sudan 
special envoy and the North Korea human rights special envoy--whose 
positions were created in response to an urgent need for focused 
attention on a critical issue. The dire challenges facing Coptic 
Christians, Baha'is, Chaldo-Assyrians, Ahmadis, the small remaining 
Jewish population and countless other religions minorities throughout 
the Middle East and South Central Asia is surely such an issue.
  While there is no guarantee that a special envoy will be able to 
single-handedly solve the problem, it certainly cannot hurt to have a 
high-level person within the State Department bureaucracy who is 
exclusively focused on the protection and preservation of these ancient 
communities. Such an envoy would send an important message to both our 
own foreign policy establishment and to suffering communities in the 
Middle East and elsewhere that religious freedom is a priority--that 
America will be a voice for the voiceless.
  President Reagan once said that the U.S. Constitution is ``a covenant 
that we have made not only with ourselves, but with all of mankind.'' I 
believe the United States has an obligation to speak out for the 
voiceless around the world and urge my colleagues to join me 
cosponsoring this critical legislation.

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