USCIRF Report: US Better at Condemning Violations of Religious Freedom Than at Promoting Change

Last week (Sept. 6), the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a 28-page report (full text) titled Revisiting the CPC Designation. The report evaluates the effectiveness of the provisions of the International Religious Freedom Act that call for designating as Countries of Particular Concern those nations where the government has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom. The Report says in part:

Key informant interviews and independent discourse analysis reveal that the CPC designation mechanism is far more effective at condemning religious freedom violations than promoting changes to policy..... 

In its 25-year history, IRFA has played a significant role in elevating international religious freedom as a U.S. foreign policy priority and galvanizing a global effort to advance this fundamental human right. The CPC designation mandate, including its requirement for subsequent actions, represents a core component of that policy effort. When appropriately utilized, it has energized action across the IRF ecosystem. Maintaining this energy has been critical in cases of success; this is true both within the U.S. foreign policy sphere and with violator states. When the United States is able to make a sustained, coherent, and adaptive case for religious freedom, U.S. interlocutors take note. The CPC designation tool is the enforcement mechanism that undergirds these efforts. 

However, its use can be improved through more consistent application, integration into U.S. bilateral relationships, and documentation of changes to freedom of religion or belief. Too often, the application of IRFA has failed to produce genuine change to advance religious freedom. The repeated use of sanctions waivers backed by vague justifications and the repurposed application of preexisting sanctions dilute the effectiveness of the CPC designation. The indefinite suspension of sanctions or other punitive measures for religious freedom violators, whether due to inertia or competing policy priorities, impedes accountability for religious freedom violators. When waivers must be issued, as the act permits, the State Department should provide clear justifications and timelines.

Baptist Press reports on USCIRF's findings.

Catholic Diocese Sues Feds Over Rule Change For Religious Worker Visas

Suit was filed last month in a New Jersey federal district court by the Catholic diocese of Patterson, New Jersey and by several Catholic priests who are citizens of foreign countries and are in the United States on R-1 Temporary Religious Worker visas.  The lawsuit challenges a State Department rule change adopted in March 2023 which makes it more difficult for religious workers on R-1 visas to obtain EB-4 special immigrant religious worker permanent resident status ("green card"). The complaint (full text) in Roman Catholic Diocese of Patterson, New Jersey v. U.S. Department of State, (D NJ, filed 8/8/2024) alleges in part:

This civil action asserts that in March of 2023, Defendant-DOS acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it imposed an unfounded and unsupported interpretation of the Act as it relates to visa availability for individuals and subject to the EB-4 preference category and employers who must rely upon the EB-4 preference category for their workers.  The recent and sudden agency action governing the calculation of visa availability and allocation by Defendant DOS was conducted without proper notice, failed to provide for a proper period of comment, exceeded the authority of Defendant-DOS, and directly threatens Individual-Plaintiffs’ ongoing ability to carry out their religious and spiritual vocation.  In doing so, Defendant-DOS acted in a manner certain to disrupt countless religious workers, forcing Individual-Plaintiffs to either violate the terms of their nonimmigrant visa or face imminent and abrupt departure the United States without any knowledge as to when, or even if, Individual-Plaintiffs will return to the United States.

The complaint alleges, among other things, violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the 1st Amendment's Free Exercise Clause.

Americal Magazine reports on the lawsuit.  North Jersey.com reports that the State Department's reaction to the lawsuit has been a statement that says in part:

[O]nly Congress has the ability to address the imbalance between the limited supply of EB-4 visas and the increasing demand. We recognize the importance of religious ministers and workers as well as their U.S. employers who lead faith-based institutions, and we share your concern about the long wait times for EB-4 visas.

International Representatives Release Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism

On Wednesday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, representatives of 36 nations and international organizations, including U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, released a set of legally nonbinding Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism (full text). Thursday was the 30th anniversary of the 1994 Hizballah bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in Buenos Aires in which 85 people were killed. On Thursday, Secretary of State Blinken issued a statement (full text) announcing the Guidelines, saying in part:

The United States is pleased to play a leadership role, together with the European Union, the Organization of American States, the Government of Argentina, and other governments and international bodies, in advancing these guidelines and we invite others across the international community to endorse and implement them.  The Guidelines identify practical actions that governments, international bodies, civil society organizations, and people of conscience everywhere can take against antisemitism wherever and whenever it occurs.

USCIRF Issues Annual Report on Countries Violating Religious Freedom

On Tuesday, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released its 96-page 2024 Annual Report (full text). It detail developments in 28 countries and makes additional policy recommendations as well. As summarized by the agency's press release announcing the Report:

In its 2024 Annual Report, USCIRF recommends 17 countries to the U.S. Department of State for designation as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) based on their governments engaging in or tolerating particularly severe violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief. These include 12 that the State Department designated as CPCs in December 2023: Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan—as well as five additional recommendations: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Nigeria, and Vietnam.

The 2024 Annual Report also recommends 11 countries for placement on the State Department’s Special Watch List (SWL) based on their governments’ perpetration or toleration of severe violations of religious freedom. These include one that the State Department placed on that list in December 2023: Algeria—as well as 10 additional recommendations: Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. While the State Department included Vietnam on its SWL in December 2023, USCIRF believes the government of Vietnam’s violations rise to the level of CPC status. Additionally, USCIRF recommends the State Department add Kyrgyzstan to the SWL for the first time due to the Kyrgyz government’s heightened religious repression in 2023.

USCIRF further recommends to the State Department seven non-state actors for redesignation as Entities of Particular Concern (EPCs) for particularly 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).

State Department Names Recipients of International Religious Freedom Awards

Last Thursday, the State Department announced that Secretary Blinken has awarded the Department's International Religious Freedom Awards to individuals in New Zealand, Nigeria, Iraq, Pakistan, Nicaragua, South Africa, and People's Republic of China-Tibet, as well as to a group of nine Orthodox clergy in Lithuania. Detailed information about the award recipients is available on the website of the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom.

State Department Issues Updated List of Religious Freedom Violators; USCIRF Reacts

On January 4, the State Department, pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act, released its annual list of countries and entities that have engaged in or tolerated serious violations of religious freedom.  Secretary of State Blinken's announcement (full text) said in part:

I have designated Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, the DPRK, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.  In addition, I have designated Algeria, Azerbaijan, the Central African Republic, Comoros, and Vietnam as Special Watch List countries for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.  Finally, I have designated al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS-Sahel, ISIS-West Africa, al-Qa’ida affiliate Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, and the Taliban as Entities of Particular Concern.

Reacting to the State Department's designations, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a press release stating in part:

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) calls for a congressional hearing after reiterating its extreme disappointment that the U.S. Department of State yet again failed to designate Nigeria and India as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC), despite both countries repeatedly meeting the legal standard. Despite this disappointment, USCIRF welcomed the State Department’s decision to include Azerbaijan on its Special Watch List (SWL) for committing or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).

State Department Releases 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom

Yesterday the U.S. State Department released its 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom (full text). The Report describes the status of religious freedom in 196 countries. The Report is submitted annually to Congress in compliance with the International Religious Freedom Act. Secretary of State Blinken, announcing release of the report, said in part:

Over the past year we’ve seen real progress in some parts of the world on expanding religious freedom as people demanded their rights.  Civil society groups pushed for change and governments listened.

Unfortunately, the report also documents the continuation and, in some instances, the rise of very troubling trends.  Governments in many parts of the world continue to target religious minorities using a host of methods, including torture, beatings, unlawful surveillance, and so-called re-education camps.  They also continued to engage in other forms of discrimination on the basis of faith or lack of faith, like excluding religious minorities from certain professions or forcing them to work during times of religious observance.

Governments use anti-conversion, blasphemy, apostasy laws, which ban the act of leaving a faith, to justify harassment against those who don’t follow their particular interpretation of a theology, often weaponizing those laws against humanists, atheists, and LGBTQI+ individuals....

In a press release, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reacted to the State Department's Report.

USCIRF Releases 2023 Annual Report

 On May 1, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released its 2023 Annual Report (full text). A press release from the Commission summarizes the 98-page Report. It says in part:

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released its 2023 Annual Report documenting developments during 2022, including significant regression in countries such as Afghanistan, China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, and Russia....

USCIRF recommends 17 countries to the State Department for designation as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) because their governments engage in or tolerate “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations” of the right to freedom of religion or belief. These include 12 that the State Department designated as CPCs in November 2022: Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan—as well as five additional recommendations: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, Syria, and Vietnam....

The 2023 Annual Report also recommends 11 countries for placement on the State Department’s SWL [Special Watch List] based on their governments’ perpetration or toleration of severe religious freedom violations. These include two that the State Department placed on that list in November 2022: Algeria and Central African Republic (CAR)—as well as nine additional recommendations: Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Uzbekistan....

USCIRF further recommends to the State Department seven non-state actors for redesignation as “entities of particular concern” (EPCs) for systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations. The State Department designated all seven of these groups as EPCs in November 2022: al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, the Houthis, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP or ISIS-West Africa), and Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM)....

In addition to chapters with key findings and U.S. policy recommendations for these 28 countries, the 2023 Annual Report describes and assesses U.S. international religious freedom policy overall. The report also highlights important global developments and trends.... 

State Department Gets Broader Authority to Pay Rewards in War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide Cases

Yesterday President Biden signed into law H.R.4250 (full text) which expands the Department of State War Crimes Rewards Program that allows the State Department to pay rewards to persons who furnish information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country, or by an international criminal tribunal, of any foreign national accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide. Previously 22 USC §2708(b)(10) had a seemingly artificial limitation on when a reward could be paid.  It was authorized only when the defendant was convicted of these crimes as defined by the statute setting up the international criminal tribunal involved.  The new law expands this to allow rewards when the defendant is convicted in another country or by an international tribunal of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide as defined by "(A) the statute of such country or tribunal, as the case may be; or (B) United States law".

State Department Updates List of Countries Violating Religious Freedom; USCIRF Reacts

Last week (Dec. 2) the U.S. State Department, as required by the International Religious Freedom Act, announced its annual list of countries and entities that violate or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom.  In a press statement, Secretary Blinken said in part:

Today, I am announcing designations against Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, the DPRK, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.  I am also placing Algeria, the Central African Republic, Comoros, and Vietnam on the Special Watch List for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.  Finally, I am designating al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, the Taliban, and the Wagner Group based on its actions in the Central African Republic as Entities of Particular Concern.

Responding to the State Department's action, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a press release stating in part:

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) finds it inexplicable that the U.S. Department of State did not include Nigeria or India in its latest designations of “Countries of Particular Concern”....

Religion News Service has posted an opinion piece on the State Department's actions by a former State Department adviser.

International Day Commemorating Victims Of Religious Persecution

Today was International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence based on Religion or Belief, so designated by a United Nations General Assembly Resolution (full text) adopted in 2019. A U.N. web page sets out the background and importance of the day. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken issued a statement (full text) saying in part:

May this day offer assurance to those suffering for their beliefs that the United States and likeminded partners have not forgotten or forsaken you.  We see you, we hear you, and we remain unwavering in our commitment to ensure your freedom, protection, and peaceful exercise of your beliefs.

The Council of the European Union issued a press release marking the occasion, saying in part:

In these times of armed conflicts and humanitarian crises across the globe, individuals, including those belonging to minority groups, continue to be discriminated against, persecuted targeted, killed, detained, expelled or forcefully displaced because of their religion or for holding humanists and /or atheist beliefs. Today is an opportunity to highlight their situation.

State Department Issues International Religious Freedom Report

On June 2, the State Department issued its annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom.  Issued in accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the Report describes the status of religious freedom in nearly 200 foreign countries. The 2000-page Report is available on the State Department's website only in a format that allows the reader to choose one country at a time and read the report on that nation.  Appendices to the Report, also available on the website, give additional information on the legal framework that attempts to assure religious freedom internationally. Secretary of State Blinken and Ambassador At Large for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain delivered remarks (full text) on the release of the Report, highlighting issues in a number of  nations.  Ambassador Hussain said in part:

I’d like to lay out three key themes in the report.

First, too many governments use discriminatory laws and policies and abuse their own people. We have seen two genocides of religious minority communities in recent years – in China and in Burma.

Second, rising societal intolerance and hatred are fueling violence and conflict around the world. Governments must not sit silent or stand idly by in the face of such oppression.

Third, powerful collaboration among civil society, governments, and multilateral partners has led to some progress and provides hope in addressing these complex challenges.

State Department Issues 2021 Report On Human Rights Practices Around The World

On Tuesday, the State Department released the 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. This year's reports cover 198 countries and territories. While these reports include information on the status of religious freedom in the countries surveyed, the State Department also issues a report each year focused specifically in International Religious Freedom. The 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom will be issued later this year.

Lipstadt Finally Confirmed As Special Envoy To Combat Antisemitism

Late yesterday, The U.S. Senate by voice vote confirmed Prof. Deborah Lipstadt to be Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, with the rank of Ambassador. The Forward reports on the Senate's action. Confirmation has been held up for months, largely because of concerns by Foreign Relations Committee member Ron Johnson about tweets from Lipstadt last March critical of him. (See prior posting.)

U.S. Imposes New Sanctions On China For Repression Of Ethnic And Religious Minorities

On Monday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced (full text of press statement) that the U.S. is imposing new sanctions on Chinese officials for human rights violations. He said in part:

The Department of State is taking action against PRC officials for their involvement in repressive acts against members of ethnic and religious minority groups and religious and spiritual practitioners inside and outside of China’s borders, including within the United States....

Today’s action imposes visa restrictions on PRC officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, policies or actions aimed at repressing religious and spiritual practitioners, members of ethnic minority groups, dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists, labor organizers, civil society organizers, and peaceful protestors in China and beyond....

We call on the PRC government to end its ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, repressive policies in Tibet, crackdown on fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, and human rights violations and abuses, including violations of religious freedom, elsewhere in the country.

CBS News reports on the State Department's action.

U.S. Labels Burmese Military's Treatment Of Rohingya As Genocide

In a speech (full text) yesterday at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that the United States has concluded that Burma's actions against the Rohingya constitute genocide.  He said in part:

One of my responsibilities as Secretary is determining, on behalf of the United States, whether atrocities have been committed.  It’s an immense responsibility that I take very seriously, particularly given my family’s history.

Beyond the Holocaust, the United States has concluded that genocide was committed seven times.  Today marks the eighth, as I have determined that members of the Burmese military committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya.

Lipstadt Finally Gets Hearing On Her Nomination As Anti-Semitism Monitor

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on the nomination of Emory Prof. Deborah Lipstadt to be Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, with the rank of Ambassador.  (Video of full hearing.) (Transcript of Prof. Lipstadt's prepared statement.) Lipstadt is a widely-known scholar of the Holocaust. A hearing on Lipstadt's nomination has been delayed for months by Republicans, particularly Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Ron Johnson, because of a Tweet last March by Lipstadt characterizing a statement by Johnson as white supremacy.  Politico reports on this aspect of the Lipstadt hearing. Washington Post reports more generally on the hearing.

Rashad Hussain Confirmed As International Religious Freedom Ambassador

Yesterday the U.S. Senate, by a vote of 85-5, confirmed Rashad Hussain to be Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom. The White House issued this biographical background when Hussain was nominated for the post:

Rashad Hussain is Director for Partnerships and Global Engagement at the National Security Council.... During the Obama Administration, Rashad served as U.S. Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), U.S. Special Envoy for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, and Deputy Associate White House Counsel. In his roles as Envoy, Hussain ... spearheaded efforts on countering antisemitism and protecting religious minorities in Muslim-majority countries.... Rashad received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal, and Master’s degrees in Public Administration (Kennedy School of Government) and Arabic and Islamic Studies from Harvard University....

State Department Designates "Countries of Particular Concern" For Violating Religious Freedom Rights

Last week, in a little noticed move, pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act the U.S. State Department published this year's designation of countries and non-state actors that are major violators of religious freedom. In a statement, Secretary of State Blinken said:

I am designating Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Eritrea, Iran, the DPRK, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”  I am also placing Algeria, Comoros, Cuba, and Nicaragua on a Special Watch List for governments that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations of religious freedom.”  Finally, I am designating al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, and the Taliban as Entities of Particular Concern.

Many of the designations are the same as last year, except that Russia was moved from the Special Watch List to become a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and Nigeria was placed on the Special Watch List instead of being designated a CPC. Also the State Department noted "The Taliban’s designation is based on information analyzed as of August 15, 2021." As is often the case, the State Department's designations vary to some extent from the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

State Department Will Accommodate LGBTQI+ Citizens In Passport Designations

The U.S. State Department in a press release dated June 30 announced: 

the Department will be taking further steps toward ensuring the fair treatment of LGBTQI+ U.S. citizens, regardless of their gender or sex, by beginning the process of updating our procedures for the issuance of U.S. Passports and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBA).

Most immediately, we will be updating our procedures to allow applicants to self-select their gender as “M” or “F” and will no longer require medical certification if an applicant’s self-selected gender does not match the gender on their other citizenship or identity documents.  The Department has begun moving towards adding a gender marker for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming persons applying for a passport or CRBA.  We are evaluating the best approach to achieve this goal.

TLDEF issued a press release reacting to the announcement.