A Weill Cornell Medicine physician and researcher has been appointed to a federal commission that monitors religious freedom around the world and advises U.S. policymakers on international human rights issues.
Dr. Gunisha Kaur, an associate professor of anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been named to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent bipartisan agency established by Congress to monitor violations of religious liberty abroad. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer appointed Kaur to the position, which carries a two-year term.
Kaur is the director of the Anesthesiology Global Health Initiative and Human Rights Impact Lab at Weill Cornell Medicine and serves as medical director of the Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights. Her work has focused extensively on migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, examining the intersection of healthcare and human rights.
Schumer cited Kaur’s experience in human rights advocacy, research and community leadership in announcing the appointment, saying she would bring broad expertise to the commission’s work.
Kaur also becomes the first Sikh leader to serve on the commission. She said her clinical and research experience has provided firsthand insight into the effects of persecution, violence and human rights abuses on vulnerable populations around the world.
Created through the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the commission consists of nine members appointed by the president and congressional leadership. The body monitors religious freedom conditions worldwide and provides policy recommendations to Congress, the State Department and the White House.
Among its responsibilities, the commission issues annual reports identifying countries that violate religious freedom, conducts hearings and public events, and advises federal officials on policies designed to protect freedom of religion and belief internationally.
Kaur graduated from Weill Cornell Medicine in 2010, the same year the institution’s Center for Human Rights was launched in partnership with Physicians for Human Rights, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization focused on documenting and combating human rights violations worldwide.
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