Jun 05
Jun 5th 10:30am
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing
Religious Freedom Conditions in Azerbaijan
Thursday, June 5, 2025
10:30AM – 12:00PM EST
Hearing Transcript
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) held a virtual hearing on Azerbaijan.
Religious freedom conditions in Azerbaijan remain concerning. The country’s religion law imposes onerous registration requirements on religious communities to engage in religious activities legally. In recent years, following a deterioration of relations with Iran, the Azerbaijani government has arrested and imprisoned a record number of Shi’a Muslims, presumably on the basis of religion. Many of those imprisoned have accused law enforcement of physical violence and other forms of mistreatment. Religious sites in Nagorno-Karabakh remain threatened as Azerbaijani authorities develop the region and eliminate Armenian cultural heritage.
In February, USCIRF traveled to Azerbaijan to survey the country’s religious freedom conditions and meet with religious communities, human rights activists, and government officials. In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate Azerbaijan to the Special Watch List for severe violations of religious freedom.
Witnesses discussed religious freedom conditions in Azerbaijan. They also shared recommendations for the U.S. government to support religious freedom in Azerbaijan.
Opening Remarks
- Stephen Schneck, USCIRF Chair
- Vicky Hartzler, USCIRF Commissioner
Written Remarks
Panel
- Audrey L. Altstadt, Professor of History, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Written Testimony - Felix Corley, Editor, Forum 18 News Service
Written Testimony - Arzu Geybulla, Independent Journalist and Co-founder of Free Voices Collective
Written Testimony - Husik Ghulyan, Lead Researcher, Caucasus Heritage Watch
Written Testimony
This hearing was open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the public, and the media. The video recording of the hearing will be posted on the Commission website. For any additional questions or to schedule an interview, please email [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].