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USCIRF recommends listing India among 'countries of particular concern'
USCIRF, the US government's global religious freedom watchdog, has recommended that four additional countries other than India be added to the CPC list.
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United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. / USCIRF
The US government's global religious freedom watchdog has recommended that the State Department designate Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Nigeria, and Vietnam as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) because of their engagement in, or toleration of “particularly severe” religious freedom violations.
“Twenty-five years after IRFA’s passage, many individuals and communities around the world still cannot freely practice their religion or belief. USCIRF is disheartened by the deteriorating conditions in many countries as highlighted in the Annual Report. It is vital that the President, Secretary of State, and Congress implement the recommendations in this year’s report,” Abraham Cooper, chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said in a press statement on May.1.
Twelve countries were already designated as CPCs by the body in December 2023: Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Back then, the USCIRF expressed disappointment that India and Nigeria were not designated as CPCs, “despite the violations in both countries meeting the legal standard”.
The USCIRF, in its 2024 annual report, has recommended to the State Department seven non-state actors for redesignation as Entities of Particular Concern (EPCs) for severe religious freedom violations. The State Department designated all seven of these groups as EPCs in December 2023: al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Houthis, Islamic State Sahel Province (IS Sahel), Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) (also referred to as ISIS-West Africa), and Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).
In addition to the recommendations, the religious freedom watchdog has also described and assessed the US international religious freedom policy overall.
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