Freedom of religion is a fundamental human right, yet more than 80 percent of the world’s population faces some level of restriction on their ability to live out their faith. USAID remains committed to supporting all populations facing persecution due to their religious beliefs.

Yesterday USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa released a statement highlighting our most recent religious freedom updates. Please note the statement's takeaways below in addition to another religious freedom milestone that the U.S. Government recently reached in support of this vital work.
White House Issues Executive Order to
Promote International Religious Freedom
Yesterday the White House issued an Executive Order on international religious freedom. Through this Order, USAID and the State Department will allocate a combined $50m per fiscal year for religious freedom programs and engage religious organizations as well as other society groups   in developing U .S. foreign policy. 


USAID Names Samah Norquist as Agency's
Lead Religious Freedom Advisor
Acting Administrator Barsa named Samah Norquist to serve as his lead in managing and directing USAID's contribution to the Executive Order released yesterday. Samah brings decades of experience in international affairs and religious liberty issues in the Middle East and globally. At USAID, she established the Agency's Genocide Recovery and Presecution Reponse in Northern Iraq to help Yazidis and Christians facing ISIS genocide. She has also advanced USAID's religious freedom work in the Middle East Bureau. In this new role, she will expand that success across the Agency. Read more here.
USAID Launches Religious Freedom Training
for all Foreign Service Officers
Promoting religious liberty is integral in USAID's development strategy as it is related to the protection of many civil and political rights. Toward this end, the Agency recently launched a training program for its own workforce on tactics and strategies to support religious freedom , as called for in the  Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act . The training is mandatory for all USAID foreign service officers.
U.S. House of Representatives Passes
Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act
USAID commends the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, to hold Chinese government officials responsible for the persecution of Uyghurs . We hope this demonstrates that the plight of the Uyghurs has not been forgotten, and that the U.S. stands by communities facing discrimination and worse due to their religious beliefs.