In October and again in May, an officer from Washington with responsibilities for religious freedom visited Moscow to hold meetings with religious and human rights groups. On November 7, 11 members of the United States Helsinki Commission and 6 members of Congress urged President Putin to correct a pattern of religious discrimination in the denial of visas to foreign religious workers from targeted minority faiths. In January, the U.S. Government's International Visitor program, focusing on religious freedom, sent Russian local, regional, and federal officials to the U.S. on the program "Promoting Dialog and tolerance across Ethnic Lines."
Sudan. U.S. Government officials made clear to the Sudanese government that the problem of religious freedom is one of the key impediments to an improvement in the relationship between the two countries. High-level U.S. officials and U.S. missions to international fora have raised consistently the issue of religious freedom with both the Government and the public. Ambassador Hanford met with Sudanese officials promote religious freedom. The Embassy consistently raised the issue at all levels of the Government, including with the President and the Foreign Minister. The U.S. Embassy and the Department of State forcefully raised religious freedom issues publicly in press statements and at international fora, including the U.N. Human Rights Commission. The Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan, John Danforth, met with religious leaders during his visits to the country and pressed for religious freedom. In October 2002, a representative from the Office of International Religious Freedom met with Sudanese religious leaders in Khartoum and Nairobi to discuss religious freedom in the country.
U.S. diplomatic efforts to bring about peace in the country have continued to focus on promoting religious dialog. The U.S. Embassy has enlisted the help of organizations such as the Sudan Council of Churches and the Sudan Inter-religious Council to this end, and also has maintained and developed relationships with religious leaders from both Muslim and Christian traditions.
In 2003 the Secretary of State designated Sudan a "country of particular concern" for the fourth consecutive time.
Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Government continued its policy of pressing the Government to honor its public commitment to permit private religious worship by non-Muslims, eliminate discrimination against minorities, and promote tolerance toward non-Muslims. The U.S. Ambassador called for increased respect for religious minorities in the country, and Embassy officers met with Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials to deliver and discuss the 2002 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. Senior U.S. Embassy officers called on the Government to respect the rights of Muslims who do not follow the Salafi tradition of Islam. Senior Embassy officials also protested the raids on private homes and detention of Christian worshipers in Riyadh, contributing to the successful release of several Christian prisoners in September 2002. The U.S. Government also facilitated the resettlement of a former Christian prisoner so that he would avoid facing persecution if deported to his country of origin.
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