First Muslim religious freedom ambassador lays out US agenda

Rashad Hussain, ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom, spoke with GMA 3 about working to end religious persecutions.

Rashad Hussain, the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, is the first Muslim-American ever to hold the title, and he told GMA 3 that his appointment sent a powerful signal to the world.

Hussain was confirmed by the Senate in December with an 85-5 vote, where 10 Senators did not vote. He said the bi-partisan support sent a message that the U.S. is "supporting the right to religious freedom for all people everywhere."

The ambassador told "GMA" that the White House is particularly concerned about the situation unfolding with the genocide against the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority group.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said attacks by Myanmar's military against the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority, constituted genocide and crimes against humanity. The legal determination was made five years after the government killed 9,000 Rohingya and forced over a million others into exile.