The omission of India and Nigeria from the list of countries that were “engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom” has irked the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which found it “inexplicable”.

“There is no justification for the State Department’s failure to recognize Nigeria or India as egregious violators of religious freedom, as they each clearly meet the legal standards for designation as CPCs,” USCIRF Chair Nury Turkel said in a statement in reaction to the religious freedom designations list announced by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday.

According to the commission, the US has “turned a blind eye” to both countries’ particularly severe religious freedom violations.

Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, the DPRK, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan are designated as Countries of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

“USCIRF is tremendously disappointed that the secretary of state did not implement our recommendations and recognize the severity of the religious freedom violations that both USCIRF and the State Department have documented in those countries,” said the USCIRF chair said, adding that the State Department’s own reporting included numerous examples of particularly severe religious freedom violations in Nigeria and India.

The State Department also added Cuba and Nicaragua to its CPC list, both of which previously had been on the department’s Special Watch List (SWL). In its 2022 annual report in April, the USCIRF recommended re-designation of the 10 CPC countries, and also recommended CPC designation for Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, Syria, and Vietnam. At that time USCIRF recommended SWL placement for Cuba and Nicaragua based on conditions in those countries in 2021, but the situation in both deteriorated in 2022.

Blinken had also designated 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 (CAR) as Entities of Particular Concern.

It placed on its SWL Algeria, the CAR, Comoros, and Vietnam. USCIRF recommended in its 2022 Annual Report that Algeria and CAR be placed on the SWL, but also that Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan be included as well.

“USCIRF is disappointed that the State Department did not include Afghanistan as a CPC this year. While it did re-designate the Taliban as an ‘entity of particular concern,’ or EPC, that does not reflect the reality that the group is the de facto government of the country,” USCIRF Vice Chair Abraham Cooper said.

The State Department also designated nine EPCs, which are non-state actors that engage in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom pursuant to IRFA.

Blinken’s announcement

“Around the world, governments and non-state actors harass, threaten, jail, and even kill individuals on account of their beliefs. In some instances, they stifle individuals’ freedom of religion or belief to exploit opportunities for political gain,” Blinken said as he announced the list.

“These actions sow division, undermine economic security and threaten political stability and peace. The United States will not stand by in the face of these abuses.”

He added that the designations were in keeping with the US “values and interests” to protect national security and to advance human rights around the globe. Blinken said that countries that effectively safeguard this and other human rights were more peaceful and more reliable partners of the US.

“We will continue to carefully monitor the status of freedom of religion or belief in every country around the world and advocate for those facing religious persecution or discrimination,” he said, adding that the US administration would regularly engage countries about their concerns regarding limitations on freedom of religion or belief, regardless of whether those countries have been designated.

“We welcome the opportunity to meet with all governments to address laws and practices that do not meet international standards and commitments, and to outline concrete steps in a pathway to removal from these lists.”

US commission report on India

Religious freedom conditions in India remained poor this year, the US commission said in a report released in November.

“During the year, the Indian government at the national, state, and local levels continued to promote and enforce policies, including laws targeting religious conversion, interfaith relationships, and cow slaughter, that negatively affect Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and Adivasis (indigenous and scheduled tribal people),” it said.

The country update was an overview of religious freedom conditions in India in 2021 and 2022.

It added that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government continued to suppress critical voices—particularly religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf—including through surveillance, harassment, demolition of property, arbitrary travel bans, and detention under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and by targeting nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) under the Financial Contribution (Regulation) Act.

“The pilot implementation of the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state of Assam continued to exacerbate fears of losing citizenship among Muslims, who lack protection under the 2019 Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).”

The commission was of the view that such policies enabled intolerance of religious minorities and exacerbated communal divides.

“This trajectory, alongside an escalating government crackdown on civil society and dissent, is deeply alarming in a diverse, secular, and democratic country whose constitution is intended to protect religious freedom.”