USCIRF Urges Obama To Press Iraqi Prime Minister On Religious Freedom

President Obama meets today in Washington with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. (State Department press briefing.) The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom yesterday released a letter (full text) that it has sent to President Obama urging him to use the occasion to urge Maliki to do more to protect human rights and religious freedom. The letter says in part:

Regrettably, the government of Iraq has been unable to stop sectarian attacks from occurring and often lacks the will to investigate attacks and bring perpetrators to justice. This has created a climate of impunity and a perpetual sense of fear for all religious communities, particularly the smallest ones. The actions of Prime Minister al-Maliki’s government have also exacerbated the feelings of exclusion and discontent among the country’s Sunni population through political marginalization and prosecutions of Sunni leaders.  In addition, the dispute between the central government and Kurdish parties over territory in the north has led to human rights abuses, particularly against the smallest minorities in those areas.