US report highlights state of international religious freedom

(Vatican Radio) Religious liberty is under threat around the world. This is the core message of a recent report by the US Department of State. The 2012 Report on International Religious Freedom tells of thousands of people around the world who are jailed for their beliefs or lack of belief. The Report seeks to advance religious freedom by shining a spotlight on abuses and violations in countries around the globe.

The US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Suzan Johnson Cook, spoke with Vatican Radio about the broader nature and scope of her work. “Diplomatic engagement is what I do and it is an essential component to achieving lasting improvements in international religious freedom,” she said. “Our goal,” explained Ambassador Johnson Cook, “is to work constructively with foreign governments to help them improve religious freedom, and to help them avoid conditions that would lead them to being designated as countries of particular concern.” Listen to Chris Altieri’s extended conversation with US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Suzan Johnson Cook:

The position of Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom was created by the US Congress fifteen years ago, in 1998, along with a bipartisan United States Commission on International Religious Liberty and the Special Advisor for International Religious Liberty within the US National Security Council. The 2012 document on the state of religious freedom around the world is comprehensive: it consists of almost two hundred individual reports on countries and territories, each of which sets forth the laws, policies, and practices of governments; describes the nature of societal respect for religious freedom; and highlights the specific efforts that the U.S. government made in each country to promote respect for religious freedom. Listen to Chris Altieri’s extended conversation with Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook.