The U.S. government is not doing enough to protect religious freedoms abroad, the independent U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said April 29 in its annual report to Congress and the White House.
“The problems are above and beyond what we saw last year, and the administration must do more,” said Leonard Leo, chair of the commission, which was founded by Congress in 1998.
The commission named 13 “countries of particular concern” dealing with religious freedom violations: Burma, North Korea, Nigeria, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
The panel also named 12 countries to a second-tier “watch list” that deserve close monitoring by Washington: Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Laos, Russia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Venezuela. India was the only new addition from last year.
Beyond the annual list of offenders, which has remained relatively stable in recent years, commissioners chided the Obama administration and U.S. diplomats for ignoring religion in foreign policy when so many conflicts find their roots — or justification — in religion. (RNS)
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