USCIRF Releases Report on Religious Freedom in Tajikistan

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report:

Tajikistan Country Update – This report provides an overview of religious freedom conditions and developments in Tajikistan. It details the legal framework regulating religion, the situation of Sunni and Ismaili Shi’a Muslims, issues impacting Christian communities, and cases of transnational repression. As part of an effort to maintain complete, authoritarian control over all segments of society, the government of Tajikistan commits systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. The Tajik government has placed undue restrictions on all facets of religious practice, including prayer, celebrations, education, and rituals. Those who fail to comply with Tajikistan’s regulations can face severe penalties. While Tajikistan’s religious freedom violations negatively impact all religious groups, they especially target the Hanafi Sunni Muslim majority.

In its 2023 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State redesignate Tajikistan as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations. In November 2022, the U.S. Department of State redesignated Tajikistan as a CPC. 

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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 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].

USCIRF Marks 75 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) commemorates the 75th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Among the many rights and freedoms protected in the landmark declaration is Article 18’s guarantee that all individuals, everywhere, have the right to freedom of religion or belief. Under Article 18, individuals have the freedom to adhere to any religion or belief, or to none, and the freedom to change their religion or belief. Individuals also have the freedom to manifest their religion or belief according to their conscience.

“Seventy-five years after its adoption, Article 18 of the UDHR remains the international community’s authoritative legal standard on the right to freedom of religion or belief,” said USCIRF Chair Abraham Cooper. “While we recognize Article 18’s legacy and robust protections for religious freedom, we also stress that severe religious persecution persists in several countries around the world. We call on all member states to live up to the letter and spirit of this declaration. The U.S. government must continue to increase pressure on countries to protect the right to freedom of religion or belief.”

Despite Article 18’s clear guarantees, many governments across the globe continue to egregiously violate freedom of religion or belief. In its 2023 Annual Report, USCIRF identified 28 nations whose governments perpetrated or tolerated particularly severe or severe violations of religious freedom throughout 2022. USCIRF also offered the U.S. government comprehensive recommendations on how U.S. policy can more effectively promote freedom of religion or belief in these countries.

“As we move beyond the 75th anniversary of the UDHR and Article 18, USCIRF strongly reiterates its recommendations that the U.S. government increase its use of Global Magnitsky Act sanctions for severe religious freedom violations," said USCIRF Vice Chair Frederick A. Davie. "Additionally, USCIRF calls upon the U.S. government and the international community to strengthen advocacy on behalf of victims of religious persecution through the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance and the International Contact Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief.”

USCIRF maintains the Frank R. Wolf Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Victims List, an online public database that documents individuals who have been detained, imprisoned, placed under house arrest, forcibly disappeared, tortured, or forced to renounce their faith because of their religious belief, religious activity, or religious freedom advocacy. Since its inception in 2016, USCIRF has recorded more than 2,150 victims imprisoned by nearly 30 countries and entities around the world. In December 2022, USCIRF released a factsheet that provided an overview of the FoRB Victims List, including its congressional mandate and criteria for including persons on the list. Individuals and organizations with credible information on victims can submit that information through the FoRB Victims List Intake Form.

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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 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].

USCIRF Commemorates 75th Anniversary of UN Genocide Convention, Seeks Justice for Genocide Victims

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) observes the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime, and the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. These important milestones draw attention to the heinous crime of genocide. USCIRF notes with deep sadness that since the convention’s ratification, millions of people, including those targeted on the basis of religion, have been killed in genocidal campaigns by states and nonstate actors alike.

“The heinous crime of genocide is far more than a violation of international law – it is a scourge on humanity that must be prevented completely. ‘Never again’ must be a policy, not merely a slogan,” said USCIRF Chair Abraham Cooper. “On this somber anniversary we call upon the U.S. government to support the survivors of the Yazidi genocide, including working to return approximately 2,700 missing Yazidi women and children. The United States must also ensure the perpetrators of genocide against Rohingya Muslims are held fully accountable. Finally, it should take all possible measures to hold accountable officials perpetrating the ongoing genocide against Uyghur Muslims in China.”

The 1948 Genocide Convention originated in the tireless efforts of Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jew whose family was murdered in the Holocaust for being Jewish. The Convention makes genocide a crime under international law. Since 1989, the United States government has recognized the Armenian genocide as well as those that occurred in Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq, Darfur, Burma, China, and territories in 2016 and 2017 that were under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). In many of these cases, the affected population was targeted on the basis of their religious identity. Since 2015, the international community has observed the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime.

“The Genocide Convention punishes not only perpetration but also complicity. As such it is a stark reminder of the duty all states have to actively prevent this horrific crime,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Frederick A. Davie. “The U.S. government must continue its efforts to prevent genocide against religious minorities and all peoples. It should also call out publicly statements by governments and non-state entities that incite genocide, deploy genocidal rhetoric, or serve to deny the perpetration of genocide after the fact.”

Today, USCIRF held a hearing on religious freedom conditions in Iraq which noted the ongoing challenges facing the Yazidi community. USCIRF also recently released a report documenting ongoing challenges facing survivors of the Yazidi genocide. Last month, USCIRF condemned United States businesses for operating in China while an ongoing genocide against Uyghur Muslims is taking place. In August, USCIRF called for the U.S. government to fulfill its obligations under the Burma Act of 2022 to support survivors of the Rohingya genocide in Burma.

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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 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].