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Oct 9, 2020
Welcome to USCIRF's new series! In USCIRF Spotlight, we discuss major topics in the news and explore how they impact religious freedom around the globe. For this week's episode, listen to what our…
Nov 17, 2020
The United Nations system has several structures and entities that were created to address human rights concerns globally, many of which are relevant to universal right to freedom of religion or…
Dec 15, 2020
Several religious groups, including followers of Judaism and Islam, mandate that animals are uninjured (unstunned) prior to killing. However, nearly a third of European countries limit…
Dec 30, 2020
Since it's independence in 1984, Brunei has operated with a dual legal system: one secular and one Shari’a, the latter only enforceable for Bruneian Muslims. However, the Syariah Penal Code Order 2013 blurs…
Feb 4, 2021
As the Biden administration begins to formulate its broader human rights policy, USCIRF highlights several priority countries when it comes to international religious freedom. Condemning and preventing…
Feb 18, 2021
In recent years, northern Iraq has become a battleground for Turkish armed forces and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). In June 2020, Turkey escalated their attacks in the region, announcing military…
Apr 22, 2021
USCIRF released its 2021 Annual Report documenting developments over the past year, and providing policy recommendations to enhance the U.S. government’s promotion of freedom of religion or belief abroad. In its…
May 14, 2021
The central Sahel region of West Africa is currently home to an extremely complex and fluid landscape of Islamist insurgent actors that stem from both locally grown and foreign movements. Several violent insurgent…
Jun 11, 2021
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur identifies existing and emerging obstacles to the…
Jun 25, 2021
Ethiopia has been going through a democratic transition amidst a civil war that broke out in Tigray at the end of 2020. In November of last year, a massacre took place in Tigray that was slow to be reported in…
Sep 10, 2021
Islam plays a significant role in Africa’s past and present, with at least 500 million Muslims living in Africa today. While many Muslims in Africa practice their faith in peace and harmony, across the region some…
Dec 3, 2021
From 1992-1995, Bosnia endured a brutal ethno-religious war, as Bosnian Serbs ethnically cleansed their Muslim neighbors in the east of the country. The 1995 Dayton Accords, brokered by the United States, ended the…
Jan 21, 2022
Across central and eastern Africa there are many dynamics at play, including political crises and violent insurgencies, both of which pose challenges to freedom of religion or belief. These trends and developments…
Apr 8, 2022
Article 18 of both the United Nations Human Rights Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects not only the right to believe in and practice a religion and to change religion, but…
May 16, 2022
To combat the human rights and religious freedom violations that have occurred as a result of online hate speech, some social media companies now regulate speech on their platforms. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and…
May 20, 2022
Expedited Removal is the U.S. immigration law process that allows officers in the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, to quickly deport noncitizens who arrive at U.S. ports of entry or cross the border without…
Jun 23, 2022
Next week, from June 28 to June 30, the second annual International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit will be held in Washington, DC. The IRF Summit brings together a diverse coalition of NGOs and individuals from all…
Jul 1, 2022
On July 5 and 6, the British government will be hosting the 2022 International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in London. The conference will bring together government, civil society,…
Jul 22, 2022
Several major political events occurred in South Asia over the last year. The Taliban, whom USCIRF has recommended for years as an “Entity of Particular Concern” (EPC), took control of Afghanistan in August 2021.…
Jul 28, 2022
USCIRF is mandated by Congress to make independent policy recommendations to the president, secretary of state, and Congress that would help improve religious freedom around the globe. Each year, USCIRF proposes…
Aug 4, 2022
In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale and unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine, falsely claiming that it aimed to “demilitarize” and “denazify” the country. While many people are broadly aware of the…
Aug 19, 2022
Sri Lanka is an ethnically and religiously diverse country but has had a history of intercommunal violence, most recently heightened in the decade following the end of a civil war in 2009. Conflict among the…
Oct 21, 2022
Seven out of ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations have blasphemy laws currently enshrined in their legal codes. USCIRF’s recent issue update reviews these blasphemy laws and their enforcement within this…
Oct 27, 2022
To commemorate this year’s International Religious Freedom Day and the 24th Anniversary of the enactment of the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998, USCIRF reflects on the important role civil society plays…
Nov 18, 2022
More than a decade after the onset of Syria’s civil war, the conflict continues with multiple state and non-state actors vying for power. Today, one of the most notable non-state actors is the militant Islamist…
Dec 6, 2022
The third annual International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit will be held in Washington, DC on January 31-February 1, 2023. The IRF Summit is an annual civil society conference that seeks to create a coalition of organizations to work…
Dec 16, 2022
Pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the U.S. Department of State designates Countries of Particular Concern, places countries on its Special Watch List, and designates Entities of Particular Concern. As part of this…
Jan 5, 2023
Authoritarian states promote religious tolerance without necessarily ensuring freedom of religion or belief. Last month, USCIRF released a report distinguishing between these two concepts and explains the origins of religious tolerance…
Jan 12, 2023
Governments around the world use many different strategies to control or repress religion, but a common tactic is for the state to elevate a particular religion to a special status in ways that can marginalize different faiths or belief…
Jan 19, 2023
In 2016, Congress passed the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act which mandated that USCIRF maintain a list of individuals targeted for their religion or belief. In 2019, USCIRF launched its Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB)…
Jan 25, 2024
One of USCIRF’s key functions is to make recommendations to the State Department about which countries we think should be designated as Countries of Particular Concern or CPCs, based on our independent research and…
Jul 3, 2024
In 1998, Republicans and Democrats came together to pass the International Religious Freedom Act, creating USCIRF as an independent government Commission led by a bipartisan group of nine Commissioners appointed by both political party leaders…
Jul 25, 2024
The French government has prohibited French athletes from wearing religious garb while competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics. As such, French athletes who wish to wear religious garb are forced to choose between adhering to their sincerely…
Aug 2, 2024
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 Yazidis, Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac Christians, Shi’a and Sunni Muslim Turkmens,…
Aug 9, 2024
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…
Nov 15, 2024
On today’s episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck joins Senior Strategic Advisor Elizabeth Cassidy to reflect on his trip to the United Kingdom. Marked by a special relationship, the United States, and the…
May 23, 2025
At the end of 2024, over thirteen years since the onset of Syria’s protracted civil war, the country’s political landscape dramatically shifted when a rebel coalition toppled the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Religious freedom…
Jul 31, 2025
One of the most important elements of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 is the requirement for the U.S. Secretary of State to designate the world’s worst violators of religious freedom as Countries of Particular Concern and…
Dec 31, 2025
Youth play a crucial role in promoting religious freedom in Africa by advocating for greater religious literacy, inclusivity, and understanding. In East Africa, young people face challenges to religious freedom. The Youth Tolerance…
May 8, 2026
Individuals imprisoned for their religion or belief continue to face state repression even upon their release. For example, in Saudi Arabia, China, and Egypt, many released prisoners face bans on leaving the…