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| | {{Organization |
| | |OrganizationName=Commission on International Religious Freedom |
| | |OrganizationType=Independent Agencies |
| | |Mission=To advance international freedom of religion or belief by independently assessing and confronting threats to this fundamental right. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom internationally and makes policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress. |
| | |ParentOrganization=United States Government (Independent) |
| | |CreationLegislation=International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 |
| | |Employees=20 |
| | |Budget=$4.5 million (approximate, based on recent fiscal year allocations) |
| | |OrganizationExecutive=Chair |
| | |Services=Monitoring religious freedom; policy recommendations; public advocacy; |
| | |HeadquartersLocation=38.89996, -77.00953 |
| | |HeadquartersAddress=732 North Capitol Street NW, Suite A714, Washington, DC 20401 |
| | |Website=https://www.uscirf.gov |
| | }} |
| {{Short description|American government agency}} | | {{Short description|American government agency}} |
| {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}{{Use American English|date = February 2019}}
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| {{Infobox government agency | | {{Infobox government agency |
| | name = United States Commission on International Religious Freedom | | | name = United States Commission on International Religious Freedom |
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| In addition to recommending countries for CPC designation, USCIRF also recommends countries to be added to the State Department's Special Watch List (SWL). The SWL is for countries whose governments engage or tolerate in severe religious freedom violations, but do not rise to the CPC standard of “systematic, ongoing, ''and'' egregious.” Violations in SWL countries must meet two of those three criteria.<ref name="FAQ"/> | | In addition to recommending countries for CPC designation, USCIRF also recommends countries to be added to the State Department's Special Watch List (SWL). The SWL is for countries whose governments engage or tolerate in severe religious freedom violations, but do not rise to the CPC standard of “systematic, ongoing, ''and'' egregious.” Violations in SWL countries must meet two of those three criteria.<ref name="FAQ"/> |
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| In its 2023 report, USCRIF recommended the following countries be designated as countries of particular concern: [[Afghanistan]], [[China]], [[Cuba]], [[Eritrea]], [[India]], [[Iran]], [[Myanmar]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Nigeria]], [[North Korea]], [[Pakistan]], [[Russia]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Syria]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], and [[Vietnam]]. Additionally, USCIRF recommended that [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], the [[Central African Republic]], [[Egypt]], [[Indonesia]], [[Iraq]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Turkey]], and [[Uzbekistan]] be included on the State Department's Special Watch List.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 Recommendations |url=https://www.uscirf.gov/countries/2023-recommendations |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom}}</ref> | | In its 2023 report, USCRIF recommended the following countries be designated as countries of particular concern: [[Afghanistan]], China, [[Cuba]], [[Eritrea]], [[India]], [[Iran]], [[Myanmar]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Nigeria]], [[North Korea]], [[Pakistan]], [[Russia]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Syria]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], and [[Vietnam]]. Additionally, USCIRF recommended that [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], the [[Central African Republic]], [[Egypt]], [[Indonesia]], [[Iraq]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Turkey]], and [[Uzbekistan]] be included on the State Department's Special Watch List.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 Recommendations |url=https://www.uscirf.gov/countries/2023-recommendations |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom}}</ref> |
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| ===India=== | | ===India=== |
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| [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan|Tajikistan Foreign Ministry]] criticized the USCIRF report on March 13, 2020. Tajikistan called on the U.S. Department of State to refrain from publishing unverified and groundless information unrelated to the actual situation with the rule of law and respect of human rights in Tajikistan.<ref>[https://www.mfa.tj/en/main/view/5837/statement-by-the-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-of-tajikistan-on-the-us-human-rights-report Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan on the US Human Rights Report]</ref> | | [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan|Tajikistan Foreign Ministry]] criticized the USCIRF report on March 13, 2020. Tajikistan called on the U.S. Department of State to refrain from publishing unverified and groundless information unrelated to the actual situation with the rule of law and respect of human rights in Tajikistan.<ref>[https://www.mfa.tj/en/main/view/5837/statement-by-the-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-of-tajikistan-on-the-us-human-rights-report Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan on the US Human Rights Report]</ref> |
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| ==Criticism==
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| ===Accusations of Christian bias and other issues===
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| A former policy analyst, Safiya Ghori-Ahmad, filed a complaint with the [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]], alleging that she was fired because she was a Muslim and a member of an advocacy group, the [[Muslim Public Affairs Council]]. Current commissioners and some other religious freedom advocates deny the claims of bias. The commission has also been accused of in-fighting and ineffectiveness.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/16/AR2010021605517.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=Agency that monitors religious freedom abroad accused of bias | first=Michelle | last=Boorstein | date=February 17, 2010 | access-date=May 26, 2010}}</ref>
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| [[Jemera Rone]] of [[Human Rights Watch]] said about the report: "I think the legislative history of this Act will probably reflect that there was a great deal of interest in protecting the rights of Christians ... So I think that the burden is probably on the US government to show that in this Act they're not engaging in crusading or proselytization on behalf of the Christian religion."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hackett |first1=Rosalind |last2=Silk |first2=Mark |last3=Hoover |first3=Dennis |year=2000 |title=Religious Persecution as a U.S. Policy Issue |journal=Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life |publisher=Harford |page=56 |url=http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/Religious%20Persecution/relperse.pdf |access-date=June 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040206/http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/Religious%20Persecution/relperse.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
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| In a 2009 study of the [[International Religious Freedom Act of 1998]], the Institute of Global Engagement stated that the United States' international religious freedom policy was problematic in that it "has focused more on rhetorical denunciations of persecutors and releasing religious prisoners than on facilitating the political and cultural institutions necessary to religious freedom," and had therefore been ineffective. It further stated that USIRF policy was often perceived as an attack on religion, [[cultural imperialism]], or a front for American missionaries. The report recommended that there be more attention to religious freedom in [[Foreign policy of the United States|U.S. diplomacy]] and foreign policy in general and that the USCIRF devote more attention to monitoring the integration of religious freedom issues into foreign policy.<ref name="Globalengage">{{cite web|title=The Future of U.S. International Religious Freedom Policy (Special Report)|author=Thomas F. Farr and Dennis R. Hoover|url=http://www.globalengage.org/research/reports/829-the-future-of-us-international-religious-freedom-policy-special-report-.html|access-date=August 19, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091214205744/http://www.globalengage.org/research/reports/829-the-future-of-us-international-religious-freedom-policy-special-report-.html|archive-date=December 14, 2009|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
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| In 2018, the appointment of [[Tony Perkins (politician)|Tony Perkins]] as a commissioner received criticism.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/longtime-gay-rights-opponent-tony-perkins-named-u-s-religious-n875016|title=Longtime gay-rights opponent Tony Perkins named to U.S. religious freedom panel|date=17 May 2018|publisher=NBC}}</ref> The organizations such as [[GLAAD]], [[Hindu American Foundation]], atheist and humanist groups, and others questioned the credibility of Perkins, citing his stance against non-Christians and LGBTQ people.<ref name="hindu">{{cite news |title=Appointment of Far-Right Evangelist Tony Perkins Strains Credibility of USCIRF |url= https://www.hafsite.org/appointment-far-right-evangelist-tony-perkins-strains-credibility-uscirf |access-date= January 24, 2019 |publisher= [[Hindu American Foundation]] |date=May 16, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190124203424/https://www.hafsite.org/appointment-far-right-evangelist-tony-perkins-strains-credibility-uscirf |archive-date= January 24, 2019}}</ref> The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] also chastised Perkins for far-right Christian views, his [[anti-LGBT]] views, his associations with the [[Ku Klux Klan]] and other [[White supremacy|white supremacist]] groups, terming his evangelical organization, the [[Family Research Council]], a "hate group".<ref name = "splc">{{cite web |title=Tony Perkins |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/tony-perkins |website=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]] |access-date=24 January 2019}}</ref>
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| ==References== | | ==References== |