[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 16332-16333]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       SPECIAL ENVOY APPOINTMENT

  Mr. KAINE. Madam President, as chairman of the Near East and South 
and Central Asia subcommittee on the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee, today I cosponsored S. 653, a bill that authorizes the 
President to appoint a Special Envoy within the Department of State to 
Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and 
South Central Asia.
  Unfortunately, there is a wide range of persecuted minorities who too 
often are victims of discrimination, marginalization, and violence in 
the

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region. Coptic Christians in Egypt, Baha'i in Iran, Ahmadi Muslims in 
Pakistan, and Christians in Syria are examples of communities and 
faiths that suffer intolerance.
  I believe that all peoples deserve equal treatment, regardless of 
faith, and I hope the appointment of a Special Envoy within the State 
Department will help protect those universal rights.

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