The virtual event for the release of the USCIRF 2024 annual report. (Video screen grab)(RNS) — An independent watchdog on religious liberty has recommended Azerbaijan be listed among the State Department’s “countries of particular concern” that have committed the most egregious violations of religious freedom.
In its annual report, issued Wednesday (May 1), the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also urged the addition of Kyrgyzstan to the department’s second-tier “special watch list.”
The report comes months after the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the International Religious Freedom Act was officially marked in October. The law created in 1998 the role of ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom and the Office of International Religious Freedom within the department and the bipartisan commission.
“USCIRF’s first annual report, issued in May 2000, focused primarily on China, Russia, and Sudan,” reads the introduction of the commission’s 2024 Annual Report. “Today, the governments of China and Russia remain among the world’s worst violators of their people’s religious freedom, as well as among the most active perpetrators of cross-border repression and other malign activities abroad, including in the United States.”
The nine commissioners presented the report’s findings in a virtual event on Wednesday.
Commissioner Stephen Schneck said conditions in Azerbaijan had long been noted by the commission but had worsened in 2023, the year of focus for the report.
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom 2024 annual report cover. (Courtesy image)
“USCIRF documented a significant and alarming increase in the number of prisoners arrested on the basis of religion or belief in Azerbaijan during the year,” he said of the former Soviet republic. “In addition, authorities are regularly accused of torturing or threatening sexual violence to elicit false confessions from detainees, with those perpetrating such violence facing no accountability.”
The commissioners recommended that the State Department also retain the dozen countries that are currently designated as “countries of particular concern,” which the department determined are committing “systematic, egregious, and ongoing” religious freedom violations: Myanmar (which the department refers to as Burma), China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russi …
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In its annual report, issued Wednesday (May 1), the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also urged the addition of Kyrgyzstan to the department’s second-tier “special watch list.”
The report comes months after the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the International Religious Freedom Act was officially marked in October. The law created in 1998 the role of ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom and the Office of International Religious Freedom within the department and the bipartisan commission.
“USCIRF’s first annual report, issued in May 2000, focused primarily on China, Russia, and Sudan,” reads the introduction of the commission’s 2024 Annual Report. “Today, the governments of China and Russia remain among the world’s worst violators of their people’s religious freedom, as well as among the most active perpetrators of cross-border repression and other malign activities abroad, including in the United States.”
The nine commissioners presented the report’s findings in a virtual event on Wednesday.
Commissioner Stephen Schneck said conditions in Azerbaijan had long been noted by the commission but had worsened in 2023, the year of focus for the report.
RELATED: Rabbi, religious freedom delegation end Saudi trip early after yarmulke incident
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom 2024 annual report cover. (Courtesy image)
“USCIRF documented a significant and alarming increase in the number of prisoners arrested on the basis of religion or belief in Azerbaijan during the year,” he said of the former Soviet republic. “In addition, authorities are regularly accused of torturing or threatening sexual violence to elicit false confessions from detainees, with those perpetrating such violence facing no accountability.”
The commissioners recommended that the State Department also retain the dozen countries that are currently designated as “countries of particular concern,” which the department determined are committing “systematic, egregious, and ongoing” religious freedom violations: Myanmar (which the department refers to as Burma), China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russi …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]