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U.S. panel recommends sanctions against Amit Shah
Why is it in news?
- The U.S. International Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has expressed concern over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and considered recommending sanctions against Home Minister Amit Shah and other top leaders.
More in news
- USCIRF’s statement:
(1) If the CAB passes in both Houses of Parliament, the United States government should consider sanctions against the Home Minister and other principal leadership.
(2) USCIRF fears that the Indian government is creating a religious test for Indian citizenship that would strip citizenship from millions of Muslims
- More about USCIRF:
(1) The USCIRF describes itself as an independent, bipartisan US federal government commission that was created by The International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).
(2) IRFA:
(a) The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 was passed by the 105th US Congress (1997-99) and signed into law by the then President Bill Clinton on October 27, 1998.
(b) It is a statement of the United States’s concern over violations of religious freedoms overseas.
(3) Mandate of USCIRF: The USCIRF is mandated by US statute to “monitor the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad — not in the United States — using international standards to do so and makes policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress.
- Indian MEA statement:
(1) The statement made by the USCIRF is neither accurate nor warranted.
(2) The Bill provides expedited consideration for Indian citizenship to persecuted religious minorities already in India from certain contiguous countries.
Source
The Hindu, Indian Express.