May 6, 2026
Targeted Sanctions as a Key U.S. Foreign Policy Tool to Promote Religious Freedom
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released the following report on targeted sanctions:
Targeted Sanctions in Response to Violations of International Religious Freedom – Targeted sanctions are a vital U.S. foreign policy tool for promoting accountability for violations of religious freedom. Measures such as denying U.S. visas and freezing U.S.-based assets aim to influence behavior and demonstrate that the U.S. government will not tolerate such abuses. In addition to the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998, other laws provide tools to sanction individual perpetrators, including the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act of 2016 and the Immigration and Nationality Act. This factsheet outlines these relevant authorities and their application in countries such as Afghanistan, China, India, and Nicaragua, examining the role of targeted human rights sanctions within broader U.S. foreign policy efforts to advance religious freedom.
In its 2026 Annual Report, USCIRF urged the administration to apply its new global visa restriction policy related to religious freedom violations with a particular focus on countries USCIRF recommends for designation as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) and placement on the Special Watch List (SWL). Given the strength of these tools, USCIRF further recommended the use of targeted sanctions in response to particularly severe or severe religious freedom violations in many of the countries that USCIRF recommends for these designations.
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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].
May 5, 2026
Nicaragua Continues its Unrelenting Campaign to Eliminate Religious Freedom
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released the following report:
Nicaragua Country Update – In 2026, the government of President Daniel Ortega and self-appointed Co-President Rosario Murillo weaponized laws on treason, sovereignty, and various crimes that restricted freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). The government used arbitrary arrest and detention, closure of nongovernmental organizations, and transnational repression to harass, intimidate, and repress religious individuals. Catholic and Protestant churches continue to face severe restrictions on their FoRB. Ortega and Murillo increasingly target indigenous populations and Nicaraguans in exile—many of whom are expelled clergy or laypeople—as they seek to maintain power. Nicaragua has resisted efforts by the international community, including the United States, to alter the regime’s actions.
In its 2026 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended Nicaragua be designated as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). USCIRF has reported on the authoritarian repression of FoRB in Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela, and held a hearing on Nicaragua’s religious freedom violations.
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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].
May 5, 2026
The Burmese military maintains its grip over Burma through arson, arbitrary detentions, airstrikes, killings, and other forms of intimidation and violence to instill fear in its people, including ethnoreligious minorities such as Rohingya and Chin. The lack of justice for the junta’s atrocities has deepened its resolve, yet Burmese people are seeking accountability through the legal principle of universal jurisdiction.
On this episode of the USCIRF Spotlight podcast, Commissioner Stephen Schneck speaks with Tun Khin, President of the Burmese Rohingya Organization UK, and Salai Za Uk Ling, the Executive Director of the Chin Human Rights Organization. Their discussion centers on the principle of universal jurisdiction and how civil society organizations are seeking to prosecute responsible individuals through courts overseas for their part in ordering and carrying out genocide and crimes against humanity.