Sikh woman Dr Gunisha Kaur, MD, has been appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan legislative branch agency that monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief globally.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer appointed her to the position, which carries a two-year term. USCIRF was created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act and comprises nine commissioners, supported by a nonpartisan professional staff. Three commissioners are appointed by the president, three by U.S. Senate leadership, and three by leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Senator recommended Kaur in part because she has “extensive experience in human rights and community leadership,” he said in a statement. “I am confident that she will bring her deep medical, academic, research, religious and leadership expertise to her service on the commission.”Kaur is an associate professor of anesthesiology, director of the Anesthesiology Global Health Initiative and Human Rights Impact Lab at Weill Cornell Medicine, and the Salvatore Family Medical Director of the Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights (WCCHR).
Her research on migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers provides the bridge between her Weill Cornell work and USCIRF’s mission.nd public events, hosts a podcast, and pens opinion and editorial articles in various publications. For example, USCIRF releases an annual report detailing foreign countries that violate religious freedom, among other topics. USCIRF also meets regularly with government officials within the executive branch to raise its policy recommendations to advance freedom of religion or belief abroad.