US Commission outraged by authors of religious omissions…… | News and reports

The United States has expanded its list of the world’s worst religious freedom violators.

Two new nations, Cuba and Nicaragua, were added to the State Department’s list of countries of particular concern (CPC) on Friday. Two more – Vietnam and the Central African Republic (CAR) – have been added to its Special Watch List (SWL). And a new organization has been added to its list of entities of particular concern (EPC): the Russian mercenary group Wagner, due to its cited offenses in the CAR.

“Around the world, governments and non-state actors harass, threaten, imprison and even kill people because of their beliefs,” said Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State. “The United States will not stand idly by in the face of these abuses.”

His own watchdog, however, is unconvinced.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) tweeted its “outrage” at the non-inclusion of Nigeria and India. It’s “inexplicable,” the independent bipartisan organization continued, given the State Department’s own reports.

In June, Blinken released the US government’s annual report on international religious freedom. Mandated by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998, the report chronicles violations in every nation of the world, whether by governmental or societal actors, also measuring local legal frameworks.

The sections on Nigeria and India were particularly long.

“They clearly meet the legal standards for designation,” said Nury Turkel, president of USCIRF. “USCIRF is extremely disappointed that the Secretary of State has not…acknowledged the seriousness of religious freedom violations.”

Last year, USCIRF released two updated reports and held a hearing on Nigeria. Additional consideration was also given to India, Cuba, Nicaragua and Afghanistan.

In its annual report released in April, the USCIRF also recommended Syria for CPC designation. It also listed Vietnam, which the State Department included on its SWL list, and Afghanistan, semi-included with the Taliban designation as an EPC.

USCIRF Vice President Abraham Cooper had mixed reactions. While hoping Vietnam’s designation would spur the Southeast Asian government to take “concrete steps” to address concerns, he said simply redesignating the Taliban “does not reflect the reality that the group is the de facto government”.

The independent commission, meanwhile, “welcomed” the CPC designations of Cuba and Nicaragua, both of which it labeled SWL nations in April. The situation in each has worsened since then, he noted.

The USCIRF also recommended that Algeria, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan be placed on the SWL to “engage in or tolerate” at least one criterion of “systematic, continuous and flagrant” violations of religion. freedom.

CPC designation requires two of these criteria, and Blinken has also judged Burma (Myanmar), China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan as culprits.

Russia was added to the State Department’s list last year; Nigeria had been designated by the Trump administration the previous year, before being phased out under Biden in 2021.

But USCIRF has also frequently criticized the US government’s use of waivers to avoid legally mandated “targeted actions” against offending countries. Authorized for national security reasons under Section 407 of IRFA, in 2020 exemptions were invoked for 5 of the then 10 CPCs, including Nigeria.

Blinken said the United States stands ready to meet with any government willing to discuss the “pathway” for removal from the State Department lists. Sometimes this means reaching out to non-state actors and holding them accountable.

In addition to the Taliban and the Wagner group, this year al-Shabab (Somalia), Boko Haram (Nigeria), Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Syria), the Houthis (Yemen), Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal- Muslimin in the African Sahel and ISIS chapters in the Sahara and West Africa.

“Our announcement of these designations is consistent with our values ​​and interests to protect national security and advance human rights around the world,” Blinken said. “Countries that effectively protect this right and other human rights are more peaceful, stable, [and] prosperous and more reliable partners of the United States than those which are not”.

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