I. SUMMARY OF MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS
Since the first report on International Religious Freedom was issued in September 1999, the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) has worked continuously with the Office of International Religious Freedom (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor) in implementing H.R. 2431. The result of this cooperation has been the further integration of religious freedom issues into the regular curriculum at FSI. During the period covered by this report, members of the FSI training staff took part in numerous conferences dealing with religious freedom, persecution, conflict, and reconciliation hosted by academic institutions, think tanks and nongovernmental organizations. In addition, the Director of FSI's Political Training Division has worked with the staff of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to ensure that their insights are reflected in FSI's course offerings. In all these ways, the staff at FSI have sought to bolster their own skills on religious freedom issues.
II. COURSES OFFERED
The School of Professional and Area Studies (SPAS) at FSI offers training relevant to the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) in a variety of courses. Following are brief descriptions of courses offered by the divisions of Political Training, Orientation, Consular Training, and Area Studies:
-- Foreign Service Officer Orientation (A-100)
Every new Foreign Service Officer takes a 7-week orientation course to prepare for an initial assignment overseas and to obtain the grounding needed for a successful foreign service career. For a wide range of emerging policy issues the students are broken down into groups of about five to six students to engage in research on the topic and then make an hour-long presentation to classmates, which includes a question and answer session. The Political Training Division briefs the students who are selected to work on religious freedom issues, identifies initial contacts for them to make, and provides them with the research materials described in Section III below. These students routinely visit the office of International Religious Freedom to discuss its work, and the issue of religious freedom as an element of U.S. foreign policy. The Political Training staff monitors the work of the religious freedom group to ensure that key points related to IRFA are covered appropriately.
-- Political Tradecraft (PP-202) and Political Economic Tradecraft (PG-140)
Each of these two basic 3-week-long courses is offered three times per year. The students are full time government employees (mostly State Department Foreign Service officers) being assigned for the first time to work in an embassy's or consulate's political, economic, or combined political/economic section overseas. These are essentially required courses, in that State Department officers are assigned to take these courses by the personnel system and exceptions are rare. The State Department expects that a large proportion of these officers/students during their careers will be directly responsible for preparing their post's human rights and religious freedom reports. Therefore, these two courses provide training to one of the major classes of officers identified in the IRFA.
In these courses, each student is provided with a course notebook that contains the items listed in Section III. In addition the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor provides at least a half-day session during which religious freedom issues are featured prominently, together with other important human rights issues in a discussion led by the office of International Religious Freedom. There is also usually a segment that includes a discussion of religious persecution, religious identity, and religious reconciliation as important factors in contemporary international conflicts. Religious freedom issues also are covered in a major segment of the course related to doing contact work overseas.
-- Global Issues (PP-510)
This 3-day course is given twice a year and is geared toward mid-level foreign affairs and national security professionals working for the Department of State and other agencies. In the fall, this course is combined with a separate module on human rights.
In these courses students are provided with a course notebook that contains the items listed in Section III. As in the Tradecraft courses, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor provides a full-day session during which Religious freedom issues are prominently featured in a discussion led by the office of International Religious Freedom, together with other aspects of U.S. human rights policy. The importance of religious issues in the modern world also is raised in several of the other segments, including one devoted to U.S. foreign policy priorities and strategic planning.
-- International Conflict -- Diplomacy (PP-517)
This 3-day course focuses on various aspects of international conflict, especially the enhancement of skills needed to analyze the causes of conflict and develop a plan for preventive diplomacy. This course trains up to 25 mid-level foreign affairs and national security professionals working for the Department of State and other agencies.
The students are provided with a course notebook that contains most of the key documents listed in Section III. Multiple segments in this course deal with religious persecution and identity as a factor in ethnic conflict, and reconciliation as a potential preventive step.
-- Basic Consular Course (PC-530)
PC-530 serves as the prerequisite for obtaining a consular commission. It is aimed at junior foreign services officers preparing to go overseas to fill consular positions, dependents of U. S. government employees who will work as consular associates overseas, and domestic employees of the Bureau of Consular Affairs in order that they may serve temporary duty as consular officers should the need arise.
The PC-530 schedule includes a lecture related to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), "Working with INS," that incorporates discussion of refugee and asylum issues as these pertain to consular officers. The subject also is covered in further detail in the Self-Instructional Guide (SIG) on immigrant visa processing, which includes a chapter on "Refugees, Asylum, Walk-ins, and Parole." This chapter describes the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) refugee criteria, the U.S. refugee program, and processing requirements for refugees. Scenarios involving religious minorities have been incorporated into the "role play" portion of the training on consular prison visits.
-- Advanced Consular Course (PC-532)
The Advanced Consular Course is a 3-week course aimed at mid-level consular officers being assigned to overseas posts as first-time managers, as well as Civil Service employees of the Bureau of Consular Affairs.
This course continues routinely to include a session, organized by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), on refugee processing and policy and religious persecution; and a second session, organized by representatives of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor's office of Country Reports and Asylum (DRL/CRA) on U.S. asylum law and processing. Emphasis is given to the role of a consular officer in these areas, to include processing of refugee- and asylee- following to join cases (based on approved I-730 petitions).
-- Area Studies
The Foreign Service Institute and the Appeal of Conscience Foundation annually sponsor a major symposium focused on religious freedom and the role of U.S. diplomats overseas. Following keynote addresses, officers at FSI in language training and area studies courses take part in day-long sessions together with outside experts on religious issues in their region, to permit in depth exchanges and discussions.
Throughout the year, the course chairs in the Area Studies Division, in cooperation with the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, take steps to ensure that their courses address both regional and country specific issues of religion, religious freedom and human rights. Participants receive substantial information encompassing the full range of issues affecting particular regions, including religious freedom and human rights, religious history and religious traditions. Students also receive reading lists (and World Wide Web guidance) that direct them to even more detailed material.
-- Ambassadorial and Deputy Chief of Mission Training
In these courses, students are provided with a course notebook that contains the items listed in Section III. When possible the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs and/or the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor provide oral briefings on religious freedom and related human rights issues to these senior officials.
III. BACKGROUND MATERIAL ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
The following background materials related to religious freedom are made available to FSI students:
* Remarks by the President to Religious Leaders
(June 18, 1998)
* Universal Declaration of Human Rights
* International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
* U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence
* Text of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998
* Department Telegram explaining the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998
* Most current Department of State telegrams on how to implement IRFA and prepare the Annual Report.
* Text of briefing by Ambassador Robert Seiple and Assistant Secretary Harold Koh on the 1999 Report on International Religious Freedom, September 9, 1999
* Appendix on Diplomatic Steps taken to implement IRFA
* State magazine article on U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
* Highlights from the text of the 1999 report, plus World Wide Web site address for the entire report.
* Current and planned actions related to outreach to the domestic and worldwide Islamic community.
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