Dear Colleagues,

The State Department has begun drafting the 2009 Report on International Religious Freedom and welcomes input from the NGO community. The Report documents the actions of governments-those that repress religious expression, persecute believers, and tolerate violence against religious minorities, as well as those that protect and promote religious freedom. It also addresses societal attitudes on religion and religious minorities and records positive and negative actions taken by nongovernmental actors.

Information and analysis provided by NGOs, religious groups, and other civil society organizations are critical to ensuring the Report is as credible and comprehensive as possible. The Report will cover events during the period from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. If you would like to provide material relevant to the Report, please do so by May 30 (and no later than July 2 for late-breaking incidents).

The most useful NGO reports are objective and verified, with detailed descriptions of the date, place (country, district, town/village), circumstances, persons, and governmental and/or nongovernmental actors involved in religious freedom cases. I refer you to our 2008 Report for examples of how the State Department documents religious freedom violations and improvements: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008

Thank you for considering this request for your assistance. Please email your submissions and any questions you might have to ReligiousFreedom@State.gov.

Sincerely,

Kurt Donnelly,
Director Office of International Religious Freedom
U.S. Department of State

Tina Ramirez

Office of Congressman Trent Franks

Second Congressional District of Arizona

2435 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

202-225-4576