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Senator Schumer appoints Gunisha Kaur to USCIRF
Kaur is the first member of the Sikh community to serve on the commission.
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Ishani Duttagupta - Thu, 21, May 2026
- 17:33 EDT
- 50
Dr. Gunisha Kaur / sikhspeakersnetwork.org
Gunisha Kaur, a physician specializing in human rights research and the founding director of the Weill Cornell Medicine Human Rights Impact Lab in New York, has been appointed to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Appointed by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), Kaur is the first member of the Sikh community to serve on the commission. Her nomination was put forward and championed on Capitol Hill by the Sikh Coalition.
Also Read: Sikhs of America honors diaspora achievers
Kaur is an associate professor of anesthesiology and has dedicated her career as a physician-scientist to advancing the health of forcibly displaced individuals such as refugees and asylum seekers who are facing persecution based on religion, LGBTQ+ identity, or other minority statuses.
She has used her extensive background in neuroscience research as an analytical framework to pioneer the study of human rights through scientific methodology. Her research has been supported by several funders, including the National Institutes of Health, the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research, the National Academy of Medicine, and Cornell University.
“I am proud to recommend the exceptional Dr. Gunisha Kaur for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Dr. Kaur will make history as the first and only Sikh to serve on the commission, and I am honored to support a commissioner with such extensive experience in human rights and community leadership,” Schumer said.
“I am confident that she will bring her deep medical, academic, research, and leadership expertise to her service on the commission,” Schumer added.
“Sikh history is closely connected to USCIRF’s core issues, including persecution, displacement, and the defense of fundamental human rights. From government-based challenges to religious liberty in South Asia to humanitarian crises affecting Sikh communities in war-torn areas like Iran and Afghanistan, Sikh perspectives are more relevant than ever to USCIRF’s mission,” Sikh Coalition executive director Harman Singh said.
Kaur earned her BS from Cornell University in 2006, graduated from Weill Cornell Medical College in 2010, and completed her anesthesiology residency training at Weill Cornell Medical College/New York Presbyterian Hospital in 2014. She earned a master’s degree in Medical Anthropology from Harvard University in 2015.
USCIRF commissioners are appointed by the White House and Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate for two-year terms.
As an independent, bipartisan legislative branch agency, USCIRF is responsible for monitoring the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad; making policy recommendations to the US President, Secretary of State, and Congress; and tracking the implementation of its recommendations.
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