In 1998, Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act to promote greater religious freedom across the world. The Act established:
- The Office of International Religious Freedom at the Department of State, headed by an Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom
- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan body which investigates religious freedom and makes policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress
- The position of Special Advisor for International Religious Freedom at the National Security Council
Every year since 1999, the State Department has designated Burma a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act for discrimination against Christian and Muslim minorities. CAM regularly engages with the State Department’s IRF Office and the Ambassador-at-Large to deliver briefings on the situation of the Christian minority in Burma.
Chin students visiting the State Department, 2023
CAM’s engagement with USCIRF includes Executive Director Zo Tum Hmung’s participation as a panelist at the Feb. 8 hearing, “Two Years after the Coup: Religious Freedom in a Contested Burma.” Video of the hearing and CAM’s written testimony is available here.
CAM has participated in the annual International Religious Freedom Summit held in Washington, DC since the Summit began in 2021. As an IRF Summit Partner, CAM organizes annual delegations of Chin pastors and youth to deliver presentations on the situation of Christians in Burma. CAM also participates in IRF roundtables and discussions throughout the year.