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“RECOGNIZING THE 21ST CENTURY WILBERFORCE INITIATIVE” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1609 on Dec. 7, 2016.
The State Department is responsibly for international relations with a budget of more than $50 billion. Tenure at the State Dept. is increasingly tenuous and it's seen as an extension of the President's will, ambitions and flaws.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
RECOGNIZING THE 21ST CENTURY WILBERFORCE INITIATIVE
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HON. K. MICHAEL CONAWAY
of texas
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Mr. CONAWAY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative for working towards a world of religious freedom.
On October 1, 2014, Dr. Randel Everett founded the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative. Dr. Everett has a long and distinguished record of service, which includes establishing the John Leland Center for Theological Studies, serving as the Executive Director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and over 40 years of pastoring all over the nation including as my own pastor at First Baptist Church in Midland, Texas.
Under Dr. Everett's leadership, the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative has experienced remarkable growth and has left a lasting impact through their work. The organization has now grown to two offices: one in the Washington, D.C. area that focuses on the United States' engagement in protecting religious liberties and a second office in Dallas, Texas, which serves as a headquarters that mobilizes and engages with churches to help raise public awareness of people who are facing religious oppression around the world.
Since its conception, the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative has helped thousands of people worldwide by working alongside policymakers. In 2015, members from the organization traveled to Iraq and met with Christians and Yazidis impacted by the Islamic State. Their report,
``Edge of Extinction,'' helped elevate the awareness regarding the atrocities of religious and ethnic minorities in the Nineveh Plain. Through their efforts, the organization was successful in establishing a Special Advisor for Religious Minorities in the Near East and South/
Central Asia within the State Department and in passing H. Con. Res. 75, which officially declared ISIL's persecution and mass murder of Christians, Yezidis, and other groups in Iraq and Syria as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. This bill passed the House on March 14, 2016, by a vote of 393-0--a success I was proud to support.
The 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative has become a leading advocate for religious minorities in other areas, such as northern and central Nigeria. Throughout 2016, the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative has traveled throughout areas of Nigeria that the UN describes as the world's worst current humanitarian crisis. During these trips, Wilberforce spoke with thousands of pastors and victims throughout the country and listened to their heartbreaking stories. The group's published report ``Fractured and Forgotten'' has been featured at numerous conferences and has been used to brief Congressional leaders. The group worked extensively with the Nigerian National Assembly to help confirm a new U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria in September of 2016.
In addition to raising awareness, the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative has trained more than 2,700 religious and government leaders from across the world on the importance of religious freedom, worked to expand religious liberties in Nepal's Constitution, and met with leaders within the Taiwanese government to discuss creating a Religious Freedom Caucus in the Legislative Yuan. These are just some of the many accomplishments the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative has been able to accomplish in their efforts to advance religious freedom around the world.
As a nation that was built by those who escaped religious persecution in their homelands, we must not forget that thousands of others across the globe are facing the same persecution as our forefathers. The 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative has given these people a voice and hope that one day they can share the same liberties that we all cherish here in this great nation. I applaud the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative for their hard work and pray that God blesses them and continues to provide them with the strength and courage to continue their mission to help save their fellow man.
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