Victor Fazio: “the right to religious freedom should be a fundamental right that every citizen enjoys. Indeed, our nation was founded…”

“the right to religious freedom should be a fundamental right that every citizen enjoys. Indeed, our nation was founded on this premise. Yet sadly, there are nations where being a Muslim, a Jew, a Christian, or any of a number of other religions, can cause you great harm. It's difficult for many of us who live in a nation where everyone can worship as he and she chooses without fear of persecution to even imagine the possibility of being thrown in jail or being killed because of whom you pray to. This brutal suppression of religious freedom, of course, is reprehensible. And President Clinton has made securing religious freedom for people of all faiths a priority in our foreign policy. The State Department has expanded coverage of religious freedom in its annual human rights report. And the Administration has created an Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Aboard. In addition, the Secretary of State will be creating a senior-level coordinator responsible for integrating religious freedom into our foreign policy. These stepped-up actions by the Clinton Administration will help us in persuading governments to prevent limitations on religious freedom. Our current law already provides an adequate basis for us to impose sanctions on foreign governments when we need to take tough action.”