Last week, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released its 2026 Annual Report (full text) containing its recommendations for designations of "countries of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act. The Introduction to the 92-page report says in part:
USCIRF’s 2026 Annual Report assesses religious freedom violations and progress in 29 countries during calendar year 2025 and makes independent recommendations for U.S. policy.... This report’s primary focus is on two groups of countries: first, those that USCIRF recommends the State Department should designate as CPCs under IRFA and second, those that USCIRF recommends the State Department should place on its Special Watch List (SWL). The report also includes USCIRF’s recommendations of nonstate actors for designation by the State Department as EPCs under IRFA.
In addition, the report analyzes the U.S. government’s implementation of IRFA during the reporting year, recognizes the ways that the administration and Congress met USCIRF’s recommendations to more effectively advance religious freedom abroad, and provides new and updated policy recommendations for the same. This year, the report delineates USCIRF’s recommendations in a standalone chapter, including all relevant designations as well as policy options for the administration and Congress.
The Report recommends the following countries be designated "countries of particular concern": Afghanistan, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Libya, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.
Discussing the Report, Religion Unplugged said in part:
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2026 annual report, released on March 4, focused on international issues — but was overshadowed by controversy over its critique that other branches of government have undercut protections for religious freedom.
It criticized, for example, cuts to USAID programs, since many of those programs were specifically aimed at protecting religious freedom.
The report stated that the State Department’s suspension of foreign aid “left hundreds of victims of religious persecution receiving support in immediate need of lifesaving assistance in countries such as Afghanistan, Burma, Egypt, Nigeria, and Vietnam.” It added that U.S. funding cuts “contributed to 11.6 million refugees, including many fleeing religious persecution, losing access to humanitarian assistance,” and that as a result 130,000 refugees, including about 15,000 registered Iranian Christians, remain in limbo....
Republican members of the commission officially dissented from these statements. They did not say that the findings were wrong but that they went far beyond the scope of USCIRF's own mandate, which is specifically international in focus....
