U.S. Senate holds confirmation hearing for Indian American nominated to Religious Freedom post
The Hindu
China is one of the worst abusers of religious freedom in the world, says Rashad Hussain
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a virtual confirmation hearing for for the post of Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom (IRF) on Tuesday. Several other Biden administration nominees were being heard during the same session. If confirmed, Mr. Hussain, whose parents are from Bihar, would be the first Indian American and Muslim to head the State Department’s office of IRF.
During the hearing, Mr. Hussain, a 42 year old attorney, spoke of his background in working to protect minorities, especially in Muslim majority countries, and committed to increase efforts to hold China accountable for its oppression of Uighurs, saying the country was one of the “worst abusers of religious freedom “ globally.
“China is one of the worst abusers of religious freedom in the world. I've visited Xinjiang province and I've seen firsthand China's blatant disregard for the Uighur community, their oppression via the genocide that's occurring there, and for their disregard of human rights toward a number of religious communities, including the Tibetan Buddhist Protestants, Catholics and Falun Gong,” Mr. Hussain said.