A devastating decline on religious freedom all over the world has been observed in their annual report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Some common countries in which is very messy and is affiliated in war like Russia, Afghanistan, China, Cuba, Iran, and Nicaragua are leading in crossing out religion.
Religious Freedom Worsening Globally, According to USCIRF Report
The USCIRF, a joint government organization, provides advice on foreign policy to both the U.S. Government and Congress. These suggestions are meant to reduce religious discrimination and advance religious and political freedom worldwide. The U.S. benefits from the USCIRF's conclusions and recommendations. The Department of State has been creating a list of countries and non-state actors that either actively violate religious freedom regularly or allow such violations.
The 2023 report also recalls key recommendations from the 2022 report that the U.S. government has put into action. These include adding the Central African Republic (CAR) to the State Department's SWL, imposing targeted sanctions on religious freedom violators, and acknowledging the Burmese military's atrocities against Rohingya Muslims as genocide and crimes against humanity. Furthermore, the report offers information about individuals featured in USCIRF's Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Victims List.
Also Read:Biden Administration Accused of Infringing Religious Freedom with Latest Actions
USCIRF Identifies 17 Countries of Particular Concern
According to the article in Vatican News, the State Department is advised to designate 17 nations as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) for 2023 by USCIRF. These inlcudes 12 countries namely: Myanmar, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, that the Department have considered as CPCs last November 2022, and also added five more countries, and these are: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, Syria, and Vietnam.
Additionally, the 2023 Report that 11 nations be added to the Special Watch List of the State Department. Algeria and the Central African Republic, which were included in the State Department's list from the previous year, are among them.
Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and for the first time, Sri Lanka are the other eight nations that are suggested for the SLW because of the country's deteriorating conditions for religious freedom in 2022. This report just shows the struggle that are being faced by the peoplr in faith in these 28 countries, and also including the exile and discrimination of the Catholic Leaders in Nicaragaua, under President Daniel Ortega or human rights abuses caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Advocate for religious liberty and USCIRF commissioner Stephen Schneck welcomed the American government's response to the persecution of Catholic leaders in Nicaragua. According to the article in Catholic Review, he also urged the U.S. to intensify its efforts and called for the Vatican to adopt a more vocal stance.
Schneck praised the Vatican's long-term foreign policy plan but emphasized the need for it to more strongly denounce the actions of the Nicaraguan government against Catholics in public. He stressed on the importance of preservation of the universal rights, and must be governed by the United Nations.
USCIRF also stressed the necessity for Congress to forbid payments for lobbying in favor of hostile foreign governments, especially those who engage in egregious breaches of the right to religious freedom.
Related Article:Religious Freedom Bill Advances to Senate After Clearing House Vote
