During President-elect Trump’s first term, he and his administration reinvigorated US international religious freedom policy, giving it greater institutional priority and holding violators accountable. As he prepares to reassume the presidency, Trump has an opportunity to build on the efforts of his first term.
Trump’s first term was notable for a number of innovations and efforts with regard to international religious freedom policy. This includes the establishment of the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. This annual gathering brought together representatives from governments, civil society, and religious communities to collaborate on advancing religious freedom. The event symbolized the administration’s commitment to elevating religious freedom in diplomatic discussions, making it a cornerstone of human rights advocacy.
In the wake of the Islamic State’s genocide and depredations, the administration took steps to support religious minorities such as Yazidis and Christians. Working with faith-based nonprofits, for example, USAID provided substantial funding to reconstruction efforts in northern Iraq. Elsewhere, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on individuals and entities associated with human rights abuses against China’s predominantly Muslim Uyghur minority.
On the multilateral front, the administration led the establishment of the International Religious Freedom Alliance (now the Article 18 Alliance). This entity has carried on religious freedom ministerial meetings and issued numerous statements on religious freedom violations. Toward the end of his first term, President Trump achieved a historic breakthrough in the Middle East through the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations.
While these accomplishments laid a strong foundation, a second Trump term will offer an opportunity to deepen and expand U.S. efforts to protect religious freedom worldwide. Fortunately, there is a robust legislative framework for US international religious freedom policy in place via the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016.
One of the key positions established by this legislation is a specially designated official focused on international religious freedom on the National Security Council staff. As President Trump puts together his foreign policy team, he should ensure this position is filled from the early days of his second term. Regrettably, the position has only been filled once (during Trump’s first term) and only briefly. While the State Department has tended to play a leading role in this policy space, it would valuable to have an individual in the Executive Office serving as a coordinator across departments and agencies.
As I have argued in the past, the administration will also need a diverse toolkit leveraging both carrots and sticks. Despite certain countries receiving designations for especially egregious religious freedom violations, these actors do not always face new sanctions or other punitive measures. While other US interests in a bilateral relationship may justify a more nuanced approach to punitive action, the incoming Trump administration should proceed with care when granting sanctions waivers for religious freedom violations.
Alternatively, the United States could leverage more positive means of engagement, including the prospect of economic partnerships, to promote religious freedom. In addition, the incoming administration should once again leverage USAID, both as a vehicle for partnering with civil society and faith-based organizations on local investment in persecuted communities and to foster grassroots engagement among religious actors.
One area for immediate attention in the international religious freedom domain is Syria. While there are a multitude of issues at play in the post-Assad environment, religious freedom concerns should not be ignored. There is a grave risk of sectarian conflict, as the leading rebel group (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS) with erstwhile ties to al-Qaeda seeks to establish itself as an accepted and viable governing body. Loyalists to the former regime, including members of the Alawite minority, may challenge the consolidation of power under this group, and Christians, Druze, and others risk being caught in the crossfire. Add on top of that the imperative of preventing a renewed breakout by the Islamic State.
To date, several Special Envoy or Special Coordinator positions with narrowly tailored mandates generally under the banner of religious concerns have been established, including one focused on anti-Semitism and another on Tibetan issues. The incoming administration should consider setting up a coordinator position focused on religious freedom concerns in Syria, as part of a more comprehensive approach to the country and region. This position could facilitate broader US government efforts to protect religious minority rights in Syria, especially in this period of political transition. The situation in Syria also reflects the importance of leveraging both carrots and sticks. The Trump administration will, for example, need to approach HTS cautiously, while also incentivizing good governance and actions consistent with regional US security interests.
The administration should also consider a more assertive role for the Article 18 Alliance. While regular ministerial meetings and multilateral statements elevate the issue of religious freedom among member countries, there should also be efforts to coordinate both punitive and constructive measures.
Finally, further advancing the Abraham Accords should be a top priority of Trump’s second term. Currently, the accords include normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. Extending these accords, especially to Saudi Arabia, would enhance stability and symbolize in a meaningful way the diminishing of faith-driven divides in the region.
Religious freedom will be just one element of US foreign policy over the next four years, and with conflicts ongoing in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, it will not be the first priority. Nevertheless, President Trump has an opportunity to build on real progress on this front from his first term and advance a key pillar of stable and prosperous countries.