Oct 1, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USCIRF Releases New Report about Religious Tensions and Fulani Communities in West and Central Africa
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report on religious tensions and Fulani communities in west and central Africa:
West and Central Africa Factsheet – This factsheet explores the role that religion plays in escalating violence committed by and against Fulani communities in west and central Africa. Predominantly Muslim and historically associated with cattle herding and livestock rearing, Fulani communities – one of the largest ethnic groups in the world – stretch across the African continent from Senegal to Sudan and have been both the victims and perpetrators of violence against civilians in many countries in recent years. Although the extent to which religious ideology contributes to driving this violence remains a subject of debate, the trend of increasing violence by and against Fulani groups is clearly aggravating religious tensions in countries such as Nigeria and the Central African Republic.
In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S State Department designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its ongoing, systematic, and egregious religious freedom violations. USCIRF also recommended that the State Department place the Central African Republic on its Special Watch List (SWL).
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].
May 1, 2025
In recent years, USCIRF has reported declining religious freedom conditions in India, as the government continues to enforce and strengthen legislation that disproportionately impacts religious minorities, including anti-conversion and cow slaughter laws. These laws often target Muslim and Chrisitan communities. In its 2025 annual report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate India as a Country of Particular Concern.
On today’s episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck joins Senior Policy Analyst Sema Hasan to discuss the decline of religious freedom in India with particular focus on legislation.
Read USCIRF’s 2025 Annual Report Chapter on India and USCIRF’s most recent India Country Update.
Apr 28, 2025
USCIRF Alarmed by Repatriation of Afghan Refugees
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), is alarmed by the Pakistani government’s rapid and ongoing repatriation of Afghan refugees to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. This is the latest phase in a repatriation process that began in October 2023, and since March 2025 alone, Pakistan has repatriated an estimated 80,000 Afghans. Recently, Pakistan extended its deadline for undocumented Afghans to leave the country by April 30, including those seeking resettlement to the United States.
“The situation in Afghanistan remains dire for those who do not share the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islam, including Christians, Shi’a Hazara, Ahmadiyya Muslims, and Sikhs,” said USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck. “We are deeply concerned that religious minority communities will be in grave danger, especially women and girls, as Taliban officials seek retaliation against Afghans returned by the Pakistani government’s forced and accelerated repatriation efforts.”
Following the 2021 Taliban takeover, tens of thousands of Afghans fled persecution. In 2022, the United States granted a number of Afghans temporary protective status (TPS), which provides protection for these individuals from being returned to Afghanistan as conditions prevent them from returning safely. USCIRF is concerned by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s announcement to not extend TPS for Afghans residing in the United States, currently set to expire on May 20.
In addition to those individuals that fled, the small number of religious minorities that remain in Afghanistan have been forced to practice their faith in secret, for fear of retribution. At particular risk are Afghan Christians and other converts from Islam, whom the Taliban deem “apostates,” and therefore punishable by death. Afghanistan’s Shi’a Hazara community also faces ongoing persecution and violent attacks by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).
"The Taliban regime has created terrible circumstances that put Afghan religious minorities at risk of severe persecution, including corporal punishment and arbitrary detention,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Meir Soloveichik. “We urge the administration to impose targeted sanctions on Taliban officials responsible for religious freedom violations.”
In March 2025, USCIRF held a hearing on religious freedom conditions in Afghanistan. In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that U.S. Department of State designate Afghanistan and Pakistan as “Countries of Particular Concern,” or CPCs, for engaging in systematic, egregious, and ongoing violations of religious freedom.
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan legislative branch agency established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].