Remarks on Release of the Department's Annual Report on International Religous Freedom

I am grateful to Ambassador John Hanford and the Office of International Religious Freedom, and to Department employees worldwide who have worked tirelessly to produce a compelling and comprehensive report on the conditions of religious freedom across the globe.

Religious freedom is at the core of our nation, now as always. We are a country founded on the belief that all men and women are created equal, that as equals we enjoy certain universal and inalienable rights, and that among these are the right to live without oppression, to worship as we wish, and to think and speak and assemble without retribution.

Indeed, just last week, I was honored to welcome Muslim leaders, friends, and colleagues from around our country and across the world to the State Department to share a traditional Iftaar dinner.

For nations that uphold the liberty and dignity of every citizen, they discover, as we have, that these highest of ideals are a source of strength, success, and stability. Nations must not only make peace with their neighbors, they must make peace with themselves, and that means respecting diversity, and protecting it in law.

Through our bilateral relationships, our work in international fora, and our ongoing engagement with NGOs, civil society leaders, and scholars, the United States will continue to actively promote religious freedom as essential to human dignity, a robust civil society, and democratic development.