US report on global religious
freedom highlights good and bad trends
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| Sudanese Christians during one of the protests that led to the fall of General Mar-al-Bashir (AFP) |
A report just-released by the US Commission on Religious
Freedom documents significant developments during 2019, including remarkable
progress in Sudan and a sharp downward turn in India.
By Linda Bordoni
In its annual report released this week, the US Commission
on Religious Freedom (USCIRF) downgrades India to that status of ‘Countries of
Particular Concern’ (CPC). It so doing, it describes developments under the BJP
government as causing the “steepest, and most alarming deterioration in
religious freedom”, citing its policies and treatment toward the Muslim
population last year.
But it also upgrades Sudan. The USCIRG says the nation’s
Transitional Government has disbanded so-called “church councils” used by
unseated dictator Omar al-Bashar for persecuting Christians and demolishing
churches.
On another positive note, the report singled
out Uzbekistan for its progress in fulfilling the commitments it as made
to allow religious groups greater freedom.
Alongside the deterioration of the situation in India and
several other countries, the report said: “international religious freedom is
on an upward trajectory overall.”
‘Countries of Particular Concern’
All in all, 14 countries were recommended to the US State
Department for designation as “countries of particular concern” because their
governments engage in or tolerate “systematic, ongoing, egregious
violations.”
They include Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea,
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Nigeria, Russia, Syria,
and Vietnam continue to get bad grades.
The 2020 Annual Report also has a section that focusses on 6
non-state actors designation them as “entities of particular concern” for their
systematic and ongoing violations of religious freedom.
These consist of five sadly renowned groups: al-Shabaab in
Somalia, Boko Haram in Nigeria, the Houthis in Yemen, Islamic State and the
Taliban in Afghanistan, and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham in Syria.
‘Special Watch List’
The detailed report does not neglect to shine the light on
countries to be placed on the State Department’s “Special Watch List” (SWL) for
severe violations.
A new section of the report highlights key developments in
countries not recommended for CPC status or SWL placement. Examples include the
adoption of new blasphemy laws in Brunei and Singapore, increased anti-Semitism
in Europe, and a spike in attacks on places of worship or holy sites.
Praise and recommendations
Finally, the report commends the US Administration for
continuing to prioritize international religious freedom and for dedicating a
significant amount of US funding to protect places of worship and religious
sites globally.
It expresses satisfaction for the establishment, for the
first time, of a senior staff position at the White House focused solely on
international religious freedom. However, it also urges the Administration “to
discontinue the repeated imposition of pre-existing sanctions or waivers for
CPC-designated countries, and instead, take a unique action for each country to
provide accountability for religious freedom abuses.”
About USCIRF
USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan federal government
entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyse and report on
threats to religious freedom throughout the world. It also makes
recommendations to enhance the U.S. government’s promotion of freedom of
religion or belief at an international level.
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