5/2/2024 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) — On Wednesday, May 1, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its annual report, which outlines its recommendations for the U.S. State Department on actions relating to international religious freedom (IRF).
The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) created USCIRF as an independent, bipartisan commission to make expert recommendations to the State Department regarding its actions relating to IRF. According to IRFA, each year, the president of the United States must recommend countries that have engaged in, or tolerated, particularly severe violations of religious freedom as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC). The State Department must also place countries that do not meet all of the qualifications but still engage in particularly severe religious freedom violations on the Special Watch List (SWL). Additionally, the State Department must designate all non-state actors who engage in such activity as Entities of Particular Concern (EPCs).
To aid the State Department in deciding which countries are worthy of such designations, USCIRF releases a report each year with a list of countries they believe meet the requirements, country-specific evidence, and political recommendations.
This year, the USCIRF recommended Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burma (Myanmar), China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam as CPCs. This year’s report marks the fourth year USCIRF has recommended 17 countries for the CPC designation.
Additionally, USCIRF recommended Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey (Türkiye), and Uzbekistan for the Special Watch List and al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Kay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Houthis, Islamic State Sahel Province (IS Sahel), Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP0, and Jamaat Nasr al-Ilsam wal Muslimin (JNIM) as EPCs.
Notably, USCIRF recommended Azerbaijan for a CPC designation for the first time. It also removed Syria from the CPC recommendation list and moved it to the SWL. USCIRF also added Kyrgyzstan as a recommended SWL, marking the country’s first appearance on either list.
During their press briefing, USCIRF addressed several findings, including persecution in India, China, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, transnational oppression, and the destruction of religious sites, specifically in Sudan, Russia, and Burma (Myanmar).
Commissioner David Curry expressed deep disappointment on behalf of USCIRF for the State Department’s failure to designate India as a CPC “despite the country clearly meeting the standards under IRFA.”
Commissioner Stephen Schneck discussed the shift of persecution in Syria from administrative to entity perpetuated. He emphasized the importance of maintaining the EPC designation for the HTS. Additionally, Commissioner Schneck highlighted the “significant and alarming increase in the number of prisoners arrested on the basis of religion or belief in Azerbaijan during the year,” which led to its place on the list of countries recommended for CPC designation.
Commissioner Nury Turkel described the position of China as the “world’s most sophisticated and far-reaching perpetrator of transnational repression.” He discussed the depth of China’s control through the “100 overseas police stations in at least 53 countries,” as well as “the Chinese government and its state affiliates entities [who] have hired former U.S. officials and former members of Congress to lobby on their behalf, undermining religious freedom and relating human rights in China.”
Commissioner Eric Ueland discussed the longstanding issues of the failure of the State Department to designate Nigeria as a CPC despite USCIRF’s recommendations for the past 16 years. Despite this failure, the State Department designated Boko Haram and ISWAP, entities that primarily operate within Nigeria’s borders, as EPCs in 2023. Addressing this apparent disparity, Ueland said, “[T]hat designation does not account for the imprisonments and mob violence for alleged blasphemy, the mass killings including killings of many Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, and the consistent failure of the Nigerian government to prevent or punish widespread violence impacting religious freedom in Nigeria.”
“ICC is greatly encouraged by USCIRF’s vital work,” an ICC staff member said. “Through the courage of the experts on the commission, the U.S. State Department can make the most well-informed decision as to which countries to designate. Consequentially, the U.S. can hold countries that engaged in the worst forms of persecution to a higher standard of decency and, therefore, improve living conditions for the persecuted.”
For interviews, please email [email protected].
