Entities of Particular Concern (EPC)

In 2025, nonstate actors posed significant threats to religious freedom abroad. Among these, USCIRF identified some groups that met the criteria of an Entity of Particular Concern (EPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998, as amended. IRFA calls for USCIRF to recommend that the U.S. Department of State designate certain nonstate actors as EPCs. That statute defines an EPC as a nonstate group that engages in particularly severe violations of religious freedom and is also “a nonsovereign entity that exercises significant political power and territorial control; is outside the control of a sovereign government; and often employs violence in pursuit of its objectives.”