New Delhi: The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has said the US State Department has turned a blind eye by not including India in the list of “countries of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act.
“There is no justification for the State Department’s failure to recognise Nigeria or India as egregious violators of religious freedom, as they each clearly meet the legal standards for designation as CPCs.
USCIRF is tremendously disappointed that the Secretary of State did not implement our recommendations and recognise the severity of the religious freedom violations that both USCIRF and the State Department have documented in those countries,” the commission’s chairperson, Nury Turkel, said in a statement.
“The State Department’s own reporting includes numerous examples of particularly severe religious freedom violations in Nigeria and India,” he said.
The US has designated 12 countries, including China, Pakistan and Myanmar, as “countries of particular concern” for the current status of religious freedom in these nations.
“Today, I am announcing designations against Burma (Myanmar), the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea], Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as ‘countries of particular concern’ under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Blinken also placed Algeria, the Central African Republic, Comoros and Vietnam on the Special Watch List for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.
Last month, in an unusual year-end update, as reported by news agency Press Trust of India, the USCIRF had alleged that religious freedom and related human rights in India are under ongoing threat.
This is the fourth time in a row that the Commission has found “severely deteriorating” religious freedoms in India.
In April, the Commission had recommended to the US State Department to designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern”.
“In 2021, religious freedom conditions in India significantly worsened. During the year, the Indian government escalated its promotion and enforcement of policies—including those promoting a Hindu-nationalist agenda—that negatively affect Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and other religious minorities,” it had said in its report.
India has previously rejected the USCIRF’s observations, terming them as “biased and inaccurate”.
From 2020, India has continued to figure under the category of ‘Country of Particular Concern’. However, the US State Department has still not accepted the Commission’s recommendation on India.
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