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Do not fill this in! ==Designations== [[File:2023-USIRF-report-map.svg|alt=A map of the world with Afghanistan, China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam colored blue (indicating a Country of Particular Concern) and with Algeria, Azerbaijan, Central African Republic, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Uzbekistan colored green (indicating a country on the Special Watch List)|thumb|350x350px|Countries designated in USCIRF's 2023 annual report as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) or included on the Special Watch List (SWL)]] The International Religious Freedom Act requires the President, who has delegated this function to the Secretary of State, to designate as “countries of particular concern,” or CPCs, countries that commit systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. Pursuant to IRFA, USCIRF recommends the countries that, in its view, meet the CPC threshold and should be so designated.<ref name="FAQ">{{Cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://www.uscirf.gov/about-uscirf/frequently-asked-questions |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom}}{{PD-notice}}</ref> In addition to recommending countries for CPC designation, USCIRF also recommends countries to be added to the State Department's Special Watch List (SWL). The SWL is for countries whose governments engage or tolerate in severe religious freedom violations, but do not rise to the CPC standard of “systematic, ongoing, ''and'' egregious.” Violations in SWL countries must meet two of those three criteria.<ref name="FAQ"/> In its 2023 report, USCRIF recommended the following countries be designated as countries of particular concern: [[Afghanistan]], [[China]], [[Cuba]], [[Eritrea]], [[India]], [[Iran]], [[Myanmar]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Nigeria]], [[North Korea]], [[Pakistan]], [[Russia]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Syria]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], and [[Vietnam]]. Additionally, USCIRF recommended that [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], the [[Central African Republic]], [[Egypt]], [[Indonesia]], [[Iraq]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Turkey]], and [[Uzbekistan]] be included on the State Department's Special Watch List.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 Recommendations |url=https://www.uscirf.gov/countries/2023-recommendations |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom}}</ref> ===India=== USCIRF has repeatedly designated India as a country of particular concern or on the Special Watch List. These reports have drawn criticism from the [[Media in India|Indian press]]. ''[[The Pioneer (India)|The Pioneer]]'', in an editorial, termed it as "fiction", "biased", and "[[Big Lie|Surpassing Goebbels]]". It criticized USCIRF for projecting the [[Godhra train burning|massacre of 58 Hindu passengers]] as an accident. It also accused USCIRF of indirectly justifying [[Murder of Lakshmanananda Saraswati|murder of Swami Lakshamananda]], a Hindu cleric and social activist.<ref> {{cite news |title= Surpassing Goebbels|author=Sandeep B.|newspaper=[[The Pioneer (Indian newspaper)|The Pioneer]]|date=August 19, 2009 |url=http://www.dailypioneer.com/196685/Surpassing-Goebbels.html|access-date=October 8, 2010}}</ref> Christian leaders in [[Odisha]] defended India: Archbishop [[Raphael Cheenath]] stated that India remained of a secular character, the president of the Odisha Minority Forum that, despite a small hate campaign against minorities, the majority of society had been "cordial and supportive", and the Orissa Secular Front that, despite the 2002 and 2008 riots, [[India]] had a [[Secularism in India|strong secular foundation]].<ref> {{cite news |title= Orissa: Christian leaders disagree with US panel's report|newspaper=[[Rediff]]|date= August 14, 2009|url=http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/aug/14/orissa-christian-leaders-disagree-with-us-report.htm|access-date=October 8, 2010}} {{cite news |title= Orissa Christians reject USCIRF report, defends 'secular' India|author=Babu Thomas|newspaper=[[Christianity Today]] |date= August 17, 2009|url=http://in.christiantoday.com/articles/orissa-christians-reject-uscirf-report-defends-india/4382.htm|access-date=October 8, 2010}}</ref> In the 2019 USCIRF report, the chairman Tenzin Dorjee disagreed with the commission's designation of India as a CPC citing having lived in India for 30 years as a religious refugee stating that "India is an open society with a robust democratic and judiciary system. India is a great civilization, and since ancient times she has been a country of [[multifaith]], [[Multilingualism|multilingual]], and [[multicultural]] diversity."<ref>{{cite book |title=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2019 Annual Report |date=2019 |page=181 |url=https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2019USCIRFAnnualReport.pdf |access-date=9 May 2019}}</ref> Several Indian-American Muslim, Sikh and Christian groups applauded the USCIRF for its 2021 report wherein it has recommended India be designated as a "country of particular concern (CPC)" for the alleged deterioration of religious freedom in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/muslim-sikh-christian-groups-applaud-uscirf-for-its-religious-freedom-report-on-india-7286112/|title = Muslim, Sikh, Christian groups applaud USCIRF for its religious freedom report on India|date = April 23, 2021}}</ref> ===Egypt=== Prior to the 2001 visit of the USCIRF to [[Egypt]], some [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic]] leaders in Egypt protested, viewing the visit as a form of [[American imperialism]]. For example, Mounir Azmi, a member of the Coptic Community Council, said that despite problems for [[Copts]], the visit was a "vile campaign against Egypt" and would be unhelpful. Another critic called the visit "foreign intervention in our internal affairs".<ref name="Egypt">[http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2001/526/eg1.htm "US commission faces closed doors"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031127222008/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2001/526/eg1.htm |date=November 27, 2003 }}, Omayma Abdel-Latif, ''[[Al-Ahram Weekly]]'', March 22–28, 2001, #526. Accessed on line June 12, 2010.</ref> In the event, the USCIRF was able to meet the [[Coptic Orthodox Pope]] [[Shenouda III]] and [[Mohammed Sayed Tantawi]] of [[Al-Azhar University]], but others refused to meet the delegation. Hisham Kassem, chairman of the [[Egyptian Organization for Human Rights]], felt that insisting on the rights of Christians in Egypt might antagonize Muslims and thus be counterproductive.<ref>[http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/may21/22.28.html "Egypt: Religious Freedom Delegation Gets Cold Shoulder"], Kees Hulsman, ''Christianity Today'', May 21, 2001. Accessed on line June 12, 2010.</ref> ===Laos=== The first-ever [[U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom]], [[Robert Seiple]], criticized the USCIRF's emphasis on the punishment of religious persecution over the promotion of religious freedom. In his view, the USCIRF was "only cursing the darkness". As an example, he highlighted the Commission's decision to designate [[Laos]] a Country of Particular Concern in 2002 despite the release of religious prisoners. He further stated, "that which was conceived in error and delivered in chaos has now been consigned to irrelevancy. Unless the Commission finds some candles soon, Congress ought to turn out the lights."<ref>{{cite web|title=Speaking Out: The USCIRF Is Only Cursing the Darkness|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/octoberweb-only/10-14-31.0.html |publisher=Christianity Today|access-date=August 19, 2009}}</ref> The Commission responded that despite the releases, the [[Marxism|Marxist]], [[Pathet Lao]] government in Laos still had systemic impediments to religious freedom, such as laws allowing religious activities only with the consent of Pathet Lao government officials, and laws allowing the government to determine whether a religious community is in accord with its own teaching.<ref>{{cite web|title=Speaking Out: USCIRF's Concern Is To Help All Religious Freedom Victims|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/novemberweb-only/11-4-41.0.html |publisher=Christianity Today|date=November 1, 2002|access-date=June 4, 2010}}</ref> Other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), religious freedom and human rights advocates, policy experts, and Members of Congress have defended the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's research work, and various reports on the Pathet Lao government's increased and serious religious persecution in Laos, from Seiple's controversial criticism. They have pointed out potential conflicts of interest involving reported grant monies Seiple, or a non-profit organization connected to Seiple, reportedly received from officials at the U.S. Department of State to apparently seek to minimize grossly increased religious persecution and widespread human rights violations by the Lao government and the [[Lao People's Army]].<ref>Smith, Philip, [[Center for Public Policy Analysis]] (or Centre for Public Policy Analysis), (10 December 2004), Washington, D.C. [http://www.centreforpublicpolicyanalyis.org]{{Dead link|date=July 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> ===Central Asia=== In 2007, Central Asia and foreign affairs experts [[S. Frederick Starr]], [[Brenda Shaffer]], and [[Svante Cornell]] accused USCIRF of championing the rights of groups that aspire to impose religious coercion on others in the name of religious freedom in the [[Central Asia]]n states of [[Azerbaijan]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], and [[Uzbekistan]]. USCIRF has castigated these countries for excessive and restrictions on religious freedom and repression of non-traditional religious groups, despite them having a strict [[separation of church and state]], refusing to make Islam the [[state religion]], and having a secular legal system.<ref>{{ cite news |newspaper=Foreign Affairs |author=S. Frederick Starr, Brenda Shaffer, and Svante Cornell |date=2017-08-24 |access-date=2018-12-14 |title=How the U.S. Promotes Extremism in the Name of Religious Freedom |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/central-asia/2017-08-24/how-us-promotes-extremism-name-religious-freedom}}</ref> [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan|Tajikistan Foreign Ministry]] criticized the USCIRF report on March 13, 2020. Tajikistan called on the U.S. Department of State to refrain from publishing unverified and groundless information unrelated to the actual situation with the rule of law and respect of human rights in Tajikistan.<ref>[https://www.mfa.tj/en/main/view/5837/statement-by-the-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-of-tajikistan-on-the-us-human-rights-report Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan on the US Human Rights Report]</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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