USCIRF urges Congressional hearing amidst disappointment over State Department’s CPC decision

USCIRF is now urging Congress to convene a public hearing to address the State Department’s deviation from their recommendations

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The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is intensifying its call for a Congressional hearing following the US Department of State’s failure to designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), a decision met with extreme disappointment, as reported by nriaffairs.com.

Expressing dismay, USCIRF Chair Abraham Cooper and Vice Chair Frederick A. Davie emphasized the inconsistency in the State Department’s actions, pointing out the failure to designate both Nigeria and India as CPCs despite evidence supporting such a designation.

USCIRF has consistently communicated its recommendations to the State Department and Congress since the release of its 2023 Annual Report. In December 2023, USCIRF reiterated these recommendations in a meeting with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken

USCIRF is now urging Congress to convene a public hearing to address the State Department’s deviation from their recommendations.

Chair Cooper and Vice Chair Davie highlighted India’s perpetration of severe religious freedom violations within its borders and the escalating transnational repression targeting religious minorities abroad and their advocates. They underscored USCIRF’s rejection of the State Department’s decision, stating that meetings and alarms raised about these countries were not fully heeded. Emphasizing their commitment as a congressionally mandated watchdog, USCIRF vows to persist in ensuring that the US government prioritizes religious freedom in its foreign policy.

While the State Department designated 12 countries, including Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, and Russia, as CPCs, USCIRF’s 2023 Annual Report recommended the re-designation of these countries without waivers. Additionally, USCIRF called for the CPC designation for Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, Syria, and Vietnam. The State Department, however, issued waivers on sanctions for Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

USCIRF has consistently communicated its recommendations to the State Department and Congress since the release of its 2023 Annual Report. In December 2023, USCIRF reiterated these recommendations in a meeting with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. The commission also disseminated publications addressing India’s State-Level Anti-Conversion Laws, Ethnonationalism and Religious Freedom in Nigeria, and State Control of Religion in Azerbaijan. In 2023, USCIRF conducted hearings on various countries, including Iran, Burma, Russia, Cuba, Tajikistan, Vietnam, India, and Iraq.

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