Ten years ago, the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched a campaign of mass atrocities to achieve the religious and ethnic cleansing of religious minority groups in Iraq and Syria. In 2016, the U.S. State Department determined ISIS’s atrocities against Yazidis, Christians, and Shi’a Muslims constituted crimes against humanity and genocide. Ten years on, survivors face multiple threats to their religious freedom, security, and existence within their homelands.

Today, Ambassador David Saperstein, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, and the Hon. Frank Wolf, former U.S. Representative (R-VA 10th) and former Commissioner at the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), join USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst Susan Bishai. They share their firsthand insight into the United States’ response to ISIS’s genocide and crimes against humanity, as well as offer recommendations for the U.S. to support religious freedom for the surviving communities, ten years on.

Listen to USCIRF’s first podcast in this series commemorating the tenth anniversary of ISIS’s genocide. Read USCIRF’s 2024 Annual Report Chapter on Iraq and view USCIRF's Hearing on Religious Minorities & Governance in Iraq.

USCIRF Releases Report on Religious Freedom in Nigeria

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

Nigeria Country Update - This report provides an update on continuing systematic and ongoing restrictions on freedom of religion or belief in Nigeria. Several states in Nigeria currently enforce blasphemy laws to prosecute members of faith-based groups including Christians, Muslims and secular humanists. The government also continues to tolerate egregious violence against religious groups by non-state actors such as the Islamic State-West Africa Province (ISWAP), JAS/Boko Haram, and other extremist groups. This violence affects large numbers of Christians and Muslims in several states across Nigeria and targets both religious sites and individuals from religious communities.

In its 2024 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended the U.S. Department of State designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.

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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 or belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected]