U.S. designates Pakistan, China, Myanmar and 9 others as ‘countries of particular concern’ for religious freedom violation

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned the U.S. will proceed to fastidiously monitor the standing of freedom of faith or perception in each nation world wide and advocate for these dealing with non secular persecution or discrimination. File
| Photograph Credit score: AP

The USA has designated 12 international locations, together with China, Pakistan and Myanmar, as “international locations of explicit concern” for the present standing of spiritual freedom in these nations.

Asserting this on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned world wide, governments and non-state actors harass, threaten, jail, and even kill people on account of their beliefs.

In some situations, they stifle people’ freedom of faith or perception to use alternatives for political achieve. These actions sow division, undermine financial safety, and threaten political stability and peace. The U.S. won’t stand by within the face of those abuses.

“At the moment, I’m asserting designations in opposition to Burma [Myanmar], the Individuals’s Republic of China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, the DPRK, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Nations of Specific Concern underneath the Worldwide Spiritual Freedom Act of 1998 for having engaged in or tolerated notably extreme violations of spiritual freedom,” he mentioned.

Concurrently, Mr. Blinken additionally positioned Algeria, the Central African Republic, Comoros and Vietnam on the Particular Watch Record for partaking in or tolerating extreme violations of spiritual freedom.

The U.S. additionally designated al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS-Better Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, the Taliban, and the Wagner Group based mostly on its actions within the Central African Republic as “Entities of Specific Concern”.

“Our announcement of those designations is in step with our values and pursuits to guard nationwide safety and to advance human rights across the globe. Nations that successfully safeguard this and different human rights are extra peaceable, steady, affluent and extra dependable companions of america than these that don’t,” Mr. Blinken mentioned.

Mr. Blinken mentioned the U.S. will proceed to fastidiously monitor the standing of freedom of faith or perception in each nation world wide and advocate for these dealing with non secular persecution or discrimination.

“We will even frequently interact international locations about our considerations relating to limitations on freedom of faith or perception, no matter whether or not these international locations have been designated,” he mentioned.

The U.S., he mentioned, welcomes the chance to satisfy with all governments to deal with legal guidelines and practices that don’t meet worldwide requirements and commitments, and to stipulate concrete steps in a pathway to removing from these lists.

In the meantime, forward of the announcement of such an annual designation by the State Division, there have been large lobbying efforts by teams like Indian American Muslim Council and pressures from organisations just like the U.S. Fee for Worldwide Spiritual Freedom to designate India as a Nation of Concern.