Middle East File

032 | Ending Persecution: Charting the Path to Global Religious Freedom | Knox Thames

Knox Thames is an international human rights lawyer, advocate, and author who has dedicated his career to promoting human rights, defending religious minorities, and combatting persecution. Over his 20 years of service in the U.S. government, Knox held several key positions advocating for freedom of religion or belief, including at the State Department and two different U.S. government foreign policy commissions. Knox has deep experience regarding South/Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and U.S. foreign policy relating to human rights. Serving in the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, he has worked at the intersection of global affairs, religion, and human rights. He is the author of Ending Persecution: Charting the Path to Global Religious Freedom [https://undpress.nd.edu/9780268208677/ending-persecution/] (Notre Dame University Press, 2024). The Middle East File podcast is a publication of the Religious Freedom Institute [https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/].

031 | Regime change and religious discrimination after the Arab uprisings | Jason Klocek

Jason Klocek is an Assistant Professor in Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham. He is also a senior researcher at the United States Institute of Peace and a Faculty Affiliate of the University of Notre Dame's Center for the Study of Religion and Society. In this conversation, we discuss Regime change and religious discrimination after the Arab uprisings, published in the Journal of Peace Research. The article looks at how times of political turmoil and regime change impact experiences of religious persecution. The article tests its findings across Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen, four countries that experienced regime change following 2011. The article highlights not only that societal religious discrimination increases, but explores some of the reasons for why this is the case. The Middle East File is a publication of the Religious Freedom Institute.

030 | Findings from Pew Research Center's 14th Annual Global Restrictions on Religion | Samirah Majumdar

Samirah Majumdar is a research associate at the Pew Research Center, where she focuses on global restrictions on religion. She is an alumnus of Barnard College and Georgetown University and the author of multiple Pew Research Center reports, including the latest study: Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down [https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2024/03/05/globally-government-restrictions-on-religion-reached-peak-levels-in-2021-while-social-hostilities-went-down/]. The Middle East File podcast is a publication of the Religious Freedom Institute [https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/].

029 | More Than "Ink on Paper" Taking Stock Three Years After Yazidi Survivors Law | Mairéad Smith

Mairéad Smith is a consultant with the Coalition for Just Reparations (C4JR) and a PhD candidate at Brown University. In this conversation we discuss the C4JR Annual Report on implementation of the Yazidi Survivors Law: More than "Ink on Paper": Taking Stock Three Years After the Adoption of the Yazidi [Female] Survivors Law. The report provides an overview of YSL implementation and the work of the General Directorate for Survivors’ Affairs (GDSA) in implementing the YSL, including the latest information on the verification and appeals process, application statistics, and administrative capacity of the GDSA, highlighting challenges that hinder the delivery of benefits in a trauma-informed and survivor-centered manner. Additional Resources: More than “Ink on Paper”: Taking Stock two Years After the Adoption of the Yazidi [Female] Survivors Law (C4JR, 2023) International Protocol on Documenting Violations of Religious Freedom (Religious Freedom Institute and Open Doors, 2022) Guidance Note: Protecting Vulnerable Religious Minorities in Conflict and Crisis Settings (Religious Freedom Institute, 2020) The Middle East File podcast is a publication of the Religious Freedom Institute's Middle East Action Team.

028 | A Retrospective: 25th Anniversary of International Religious Freedom Act | Lou Ann Sabatier

Lou Ann Sabatier is a consultant with decades of leadership experience in non-profit and corporate publishing, marketing and communications. She has worked with clients including World Vision/Save the Children, the International Monetary Fund, the OECD, the Federal Reserve Bank, National Geographic, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. She also currently serves as Director of Communications for 21Wilberforce [https://21wilberforce.org/] and in 2021 cofounded the FoRB Women's Alliance [https://forbwomen.org/]. In this conversation, we discuss A Retrospective: 25th Anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act [religiousfreedominstitute.org]. The retrospective looks back on the stories, people, successes, and challenges of the past 25 years, considering not only the legislation and policy, but the broader IRF movement in the United States and around the world. Additional Resources: * IRFA 20TH ANNIVERSARY RETROSPECTIVE [https://21wilberforce.org/reports-data/#irfa-anniversary] (21Wilberforce) * The First 25 Years: IRFA Accomplishments and Next Steps [https://www.uscirf.gov/events/25th-anniversary-international-religious-freedom-act-1] (USCIRF) * Surveying the Landscape of International Religious Freedom Policy [https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/surveying-the-landscape-irf-policy/] (Religious Freedom Institute) The Middle East File podcast is a publication of the Religious Freedom Institute's Middle East Action Team.