On 27 October 1998, the International Religious Foundation Act of 1998 (passed by the US Congress on 27 January, 1998 came into force. The Act mandates the US to take cognizance of violation of religious freedom in foreign countries and to negotiate with such countries and penalize them with measure's commensurate with the severity of the violation. Important excerpts are reproduced - Editor.

An Act: To express United States foreign policy with respect to, and to strengthen United States advocacy on behalf of, individuals persecuted in foreign countries on account of religion; to authorize United States actions in response to violations of religious freedom in foreign countries; to establish an Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom within the Department State, a Commission on International Religious Freedom, and a Special Adviser on International Religious Freedom within the National Security Council; and for other purposes.

SEC. 2 FINDINGS; POLICY

(a) FINDINGS - Congress makes the following findings;

(1) The right to freedom of religion undergrids the very origin and existence of the United States. Many of our nation's founders fled religious persecution abroad cherishing in their hearts and mind the ideal of religious freedom. They established in law, as a fundamental right and as a pillar of our Nation, the right to freedom of religion. From its birth to this day, the United States has prized this legacy of religious freedom and honored this heritage by standing for religious freedom and offering refuge to those  suffering religious persecution.

(2) Freedom of religious belief and practice is a universal human right and fundamental freedom articulated in numerous international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Helsinki Accords, - the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, the United Nations Charter and the European Convention for the

protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

(3) Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that 'Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. This right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance'. Article 18(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights recognizes that 'Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice, and teaching'. Governme ...- have the responsibility to protect the fundamental rights of their citizens and to pursue justice for all. Religious freedom is a fundamental right of every individual, regarding of race, sex country, creed, or nationality and should never be arbitrarily abridged by any government.

(4) The right to freedom of religion is under renewed and, in some cases, increasing assault in many countries around the world. More than one-half of the world's population lives under regimes that severely restrict or prohibit the freedom of their citizens to study, believe, observe and freely practice the religious faith of their choice. Religious believers and communities suffer both government-sponsored and government-tolerated violations of their rights to religious freedom. Among the many forms of such violations are state-sponsored slander campaigns, confiscations of property, surveillance by security police, including by special divisions of 'religious police', severe prohibitions against construction and repair of places of worship, denial of the right to assemble and relegation of religious communities to illegal status through arbitrary registration laws, prohibitions against the pursuit of education or public office, and prohibitions against publishing, distributing, or possessing religious literature and materials.

(5) Even more abhorrent, religious believers in many countries face such severe and violent forms of religious persecution as detention, torture, beatings, forced marriage, rape, imprisonment, enslavement, mass resettlement, and death merely for the peaceful belief in, change of or practice of faith. In many countries, religious believers are forced to meet secretly, and religious leaders are targeted by national security forces and hostile mobs

(6) Though not confined to a particular region or regime, religious persecution is often particularly widespread, systematic, and heinous under totalitarian governments and in countries with militant, politicized religious majorities.

(b) POLICY - It shall be the policy of the United States, as follows:

(1) To condemn violations of religious freedom, and to promote, and to assist other governments in the promotion of, the fundamental fight to freedom of religion.

(2) To seek to channel United States security and development assistance to governments other than those found to be engaged in gross violations of the right to freedom of religion, as set forth in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, in the International Financial Institutions Act of 1977, and in other formulations of United States human rights policy.

(3) To be vigorous and flexible, reflecting both the unwavering commitment of the United States to religious freedom and the desire of the United States for the most effective and principled response, in light of the range of violations of religious freedom by a variety of persecuting regimes, and the status of the relations of the United States with different nations.

(4) To work with foreign governments that affirm and protect religious freedom, in order to develop multilateral documents and initiatives to combat violations of religious freedom and promote the right to religious freedom abroad.

(5) Standing for liberty and standing with the persecuted, to use and implement appropriate tools in the United States foreign policy apparatus, including diplomatic, political, commercial, charitable, educational and cultural channels, to promote respect for religious freedom by all governments and peoples.

TITLE I - DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIVITIES

Sec. 101. Office on International Religious Freedom;

Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom.

Sec. 102. Reports.

Sec. 103 Establishment of a religious freedom Internet site.

Sec 104. Training for Foreign Service officers.

Sec. 105. High-level contacts with non-governmental organizations.

Sec. 106. Programs and allocations of funds by United States missions abroad.

Sec.107. Equal access to United States missions abroad for conducting religious activities.

Sec.108. Prisoner lists and issue briefs on religious freedom concerns.

TITLE II - COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Sec. 201. Establishment and composition.

Sec. 202. Duties of the Commission.

Sec. 203. Report of the Commission.

Sec. 204. Applicability of other laws.

Sec. 205. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 206. Termination.

TITLE III - NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

Sec. 301. Special Adviser on International Religious Freedom

TITLE IV - PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS

Subtitle - I - Targeted Responses to Violations of Religious Freedom Abroad

Sec. 401. Presidential actions in response to violations of religious freedom.

Sec. 402. Presidential actions in response to particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

Sec. 403. Consultations.

Sec. 404. Report to Congress.

Sec. 405. Description of Presidential actions.

Sec. 406. Effects on existing contracts.

Sec. 407. Presidential waiver.

Sec. 408. Publication in Federal Register.

Sec. 409. Termination of Presidential actions.

Sec. 410. Preclusion of judicial review.

Subtitle II - Strengthening Existing Law

Sec. 421. United States assistance.

Sec. 422. Multilateral assistance.

Sec. 423. Exports of certain items used in particularly

severe violations of religious freedom.

TITLE V - PROMOTIONOF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Sec.501. Assistance for promoting religious freedom.

Sec. 502. International broadcasting.

Sec. 503. International exchanges.

Sec. 504. Foreign Service awards.

TITLE VI - REFUGEE, ASYLUM AND CONSULAR MATTERS3

Sec. 601. Use of Annual Report.

Sec. 602. Reform of refugee policy.

Sec. 603. Reform of asylum policy.

Sec. 604. Inadmissibility of foreign government officials who hve engaged in particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

TITLE VII - MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 701. Business Codes of conduct.