WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Portal) – The United States on Friday identified China, Iran and Russia, among others, as countries of particular concern under the Religious Freedom Act for serious violations, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Blinken said in a statement that the countries identified as of particular concern – which include North Korea and Myanmar – have committed or tolerated serious violations of religious freedom.
Algeria, Central African Republic, Comoros and Vietnam have been added to the watch list.
Several groups, including the Kremlin-affiliated Wagner Group, a private paramilitary organization active in Syria, Africa and Ukraine, were also identified as of particular concern. The Wagner group was named because of its activities in Central African Republic, Blinken said.
“Around the world, governments and non-state actors harass, threaten, detain and kill individuals because of their beliefs,” Blinken said in the statement.
“The United States will not stand idly by in the face of these abuses.”
He added that Washington would welcome the opportunity to meet with all governments to outline concrete steps towards delisting.
Washington has increased pressure on Iran over its crackdown on protesters. Women have waved and burned headscarves – mandatory under Iran’s conservative dress code – during demonstrations that present one of the boldest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
The United Nations says more than 300 people have been killed and 14,000 arrested so far in protests that began after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in custody on September 16 after being arrested for “inappropriate clothing”.
United Nations experts have also urged Shia-majority Muslim Iran to stop persecuting and harassing religious minorities and using religion to restrict the exercise of fundamental rights.
The Baha’i community is among Iran’s most persecuted religious minorities, with a sharp rise in arrests and attacks this year, part of what UN experts say is a broader policy crackdown on dissident beliefs or religious practices, including Christian converts and atheists .
The United States has expressed grave concerns about human rights in western China’s Xinjiang region, home to 10 million Uyghurs.
Human rights groups and Western governments have long accused Beijing of abuses against the predominantly Muslim ethnic minority, including forced labor in detention camps.
The US accuses China of genocide. Beijing strenuously denies any abuse.
The other countries identified as of particular concern were Cuba, Eritrea, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The US Religious Freedom Act of 1998 requires the President – who delegates the role to the Secretary of State – to designate states as high concern countries that are believed to be systematically and persistently violating religious freedom.
The law gives Blinken a range of policy responses, including sanctions or waivers, but they are not automatic.
Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Jonathan Landay and Tyler Clifford with Washington editing by Matthew Lewis
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