In depth: CSW advocating to the US government

Washington DC is one of the world’s most significant power hubs. So CSW is there doing vital work. We’re there meeting politicians and decision-makers, presenting our evidence of religious freedom violations around the world, promoting the vital importance of religious freedom to a just and democratic society, and explaining how the United States can play its part in ensuring this fundamental human right is respected around the world.

In 2012, Kenia Gude Pérez decided she had had enough. Her husband Omar had been sentenced to six years in prison on various false charges.

He was targeted by the Cuban government because of his leadership position in a church network which isn’t officially recognised. And although the US had offered the family asylum, in recognition of all the persecution they’d suffered, Cuba was still refusing to let the family leave the country together.

So in November 2012, after years of work raising the family’s case with the US government, CSW arranged
for Kenia to visit Washington in a last-ditch attempt to get justice and freedom for the family. She knew this could mean dangerous repercussions for her and her family when she went back to Cuba, but she decided she had to take the risk. We arranged for her to meet US government officials to tell them her story in person, and ask them to intervene. Once she’d returned to Cuba, the family was contacted by Cuban security officials – and two months later Kenia, Omar and their children finally left Cuba. They’ve now settled into a new life in the United States, leaving their years of persecution behind.

How our regular meetings helped Kenia to freedom

Success stories like Kenia’s show how important it is for us to advocate for people like Kenia and Omar in Washington, DC. We regularly meet members of Congress and other key players, feeding into discussions on religious freedom around the world, and providing them with our reports of first-hand testimonies of religious freedom violations.This regular contact lays the groundwork for when we need to organise meetings for someone like Kenia with the people who really have the power to help her.

Earlier this year we gave evidence before the US House of Representatives at a hearing entitled ‘The Persecution of Christians as a Worldwide Phenomenon’. We highlighted the closure of churches and increasing harassment and violence against Christians in Indonesia; the trends of hostility, harassment, repression, restrictions or violence experienced by Christians on account of their faith in sub-Saharan Africa; and the situation in Mexico and Colombia, where a parallel legal system for indigenous communities, allowing for the promotion of collective cultural rights over individual rights, has led to severe violations of religious freedom.

Keeping religious freedom a priority in an election year

It’s especially important for us to keep up our religious freedom advocacy in Washington as the US elections take place in November, and political priorities are being shaped. We only have one full time member of staff in Washington, so please do keep her in your prayers as she carries out this incredibly important work.

Kenia will be speaking at events in London and Scotland in November, to mark the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Book your free place at www.csw.org.uk/idop