The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–292, as amended by Public Law 106–55, Public Law 106–113, Public Law 107–228, Public Law 108–332, and Public Law 108–458) was passed to promote religious freedom as a foreign policy of the United States, and to advocate on the behalf of the individuals viewed as persecuted in foreign countries on the account of religion. The Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on October 27, 1998. Three cooperative entities have been maintained by this act to monitor religious persecution.
- An Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom within the Department of State,
- A bipartisan United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and
- A Special Adviser on International Religious Freedom within the National Security Council.
While the original bill imposed mandatory sanctions on the countries supporting religious persecution, the amended act offers the president a waiver provision if he feels that it would further the goal of the bill or promote the interests of U.S. national security not to impose measures on a designated country.
Read more about International Religious Freedom Act Of 1998: History, Organization, Scope and Substance of The Act, Office of International Religious Freedom, Commission On International Religious Freedom, Special Advisor On International Religious Freedom, Justification and Legal Basis
Other articles related to "international religious freedom act of 1998, act, international, religious":
... This Act has been justified by the US Congress on the basis of constitutional and international law principles ... that the United States was born out of the need for religious freedom and that this principle was codified in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution ... explicitly guarantees the fundamental right of religious freedom and liberty to practice any faith as according to one's choice ...
Famous quotes containing the words freedom, act and/or religious:
“... the sentimentalist ... exclaims: “Would you have a woman step down from her pedestal in order to enter practical life?” Yes! A thousand times, yes! If we can really find, after a careful search, any women mounted upon pedestals, we should willingly ask them to step down in order that they may meet and help to uplift their sisters. Freedom and justice for all are infinitely more to be desired than pedestals for a few.”
—Bertha Honore Potter Palmer (1849–1918)
“In the order of literature, as in others, there is no act that is not the coronation of an infinite series of causes and the source of an infinite series of effects.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)
“The tradition I cherish is the ideal this country was built upon, the concept of religious pluralism, of a plethora of opinions, of tolerance and not the jihad. Religious war, pooh. The war is between those who trust us to think and those who believe we must merely be led.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)