Displaying results 1 - 12 of 12

Religious Freedom Priorities for the Biden Administration
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…
The Situation in Sinjar
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…
Religious Freedom & Taliban Fears in Tajikistan
Sep 30, 2021 For many years, USCIRF has been deeply concerned about religious freedom conditions in Central Asia, and more recently the impact of the Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan on the surrounding region. Since 2012…
The Persecution of Muslims in Tajikistan
Nov 10, 2022 Tajikistan’s population is majority Sunni Muslim, with a small Shi’a Muslim community which primarily consists of ethnic Pamiris located in the mountainous eastern part of the country known as the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO).…
The Suffocating Hold of HTS on Northwest Syria
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…
Shortcomings of the State Department’s CPC Designations
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…
10 Years On: Ongoing Threats to Religious Minority Survivors of ISIS’s Genocide
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,…
Responses to Genocide: Two Former U.S. Officials Reflect on ISIS’s Genocide in Iraq and Syria
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…
Religious Freedom as Syria Transitions After Assad
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…
The Abuse of Extremism Laws in Central Asia
May 30, 2025  The governments of Central Asia—that is Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—influenced by decades of Soviet rule, maintain similar legislation to combat “extremism.” Each of these governments uses these laws…
Religious Prisoners and State Repression in Tajikistan
Dec 18, 2025  Since 2012, USCIRF has recommended Tajikistan for designation as a Country of Particular Concern for the government’s egregious, ongoing, and systematic violations of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). Among the particularly severe…
Independent Media and its Essential Role in Promoting FoRB throughout Central Asia
Apr 17, 2026  In Central Asia, independent media plays an essential role in shedding light on freedom of religion of belief (FoRB) violations. As a result, Central Asian governments attempt to silence independent journalists and bloggers to conceal…