The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) immediately criticized Secretary of State Antony Blinken for once again removing Nigeria from the State Department's annual list of Countries of Special Concern (CPC) for religious persecution.
inside 2023 edition Religious freedom group Open Doors, as part of a global watch list, estimates that nearly 90 percent of Christians killed for their faith last year were killed in Nigeria. In 2023, the International Christian Concern (ICC), a Christian advocacy group, labeled Nigeria the “world's most dangerous place for Christians.”
President Joe Biden, dressed as First Lady Jill Biden, reads “It's the Night Before Christmas” during a holiday visit to patients and families at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC, on December 22, 2023. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) )
USCIRF said there was “no good reason” for removing Nigeria and India from the list, especially since the State Department's own “reports and statements” suggest both countries should be added to the list.
The bipartisan USCIRF found this inaction so egregious that its leaders, Chairman Abraham Cooper and Vice Chairman Frederick A. Davey, called for a Congressional investigation.
A few days before Christmas, hundreds of Christians were murdered along with their pastors in Nigeria. This is just the latest example of deadly violence against Nigeria's religious communities, which even the State Department has condemned. The majority of members visited Nigeria and noted the threats to freedom of religion and belief and the deadly impact on religious communities.
In addition to gross religious freedom violations within India's borders, the government has intensified cross-border repression targeting religious minorities and their proxies abroad.
USCIRF rejected the State Department's decision to exclude Nigeria and India from the CPC. We have met multiple times with the State Department to warn these countries, but not all of our recommendations have been followed. Undaunted, we will continue to serve as the watchdog mandated by Congress to ensure that the U.S. government prioritizes religious freedom as a key element of U.S. foreign policy.
The committee also criticized the Biden State Department for failing to elevate Vietnam from the Special Watch List to a Country of Particular Concern, again citing the State Department's own report, which classified Vietnam at the highest level for threatening religious freedom. cited as evidence that it should be done.
As of 2024, cost per click list Includes Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
An equally grim list of non-state parties of particular concern (EPC) includes al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra), Yemen's Houthis, ISIS and the Sahel, ISIS and West Africa, including al-Shabab. -Qaeda-affiliated organization Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslim, and the Taliban. The Taliban falls under the “entity” list because the United States does not recognize them as Afghanistan's legitimate government. However, the Afghan Taliban absence From the State Department's list of designated foreign terrorist organizations.
USCIRF sounded the alarm Regarding the “systematic, continuous and egregious” religious persecution in Nigeria throughout 2023. Crimes included the killing and kidnapping of Christian villagers by groups of Islamic Fulani jihadists, as well as ongoing looting by Boko Haram, an Islamic extremist group allied with ISIS.
Critics found it strange that Nigeria was not listed as a country of particular concern while Boko Haram was. Unlike the situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban are the top oppressors of religious freedom but are not an internationally recognized government, in Nigeria the government has no control over Islamic extremists who kill and enslave Christians. very oppressive and very permissive.
“Despite statements calling for interfaith unity, the Nigerian government has generally failed to enact meaningful policy reforms or changes to address drivers of violence that impact religious freedom,” USCIRF said in December. He called on the Biden administration to “hold the Nigerian government accountable.”
USCIRF in June published A wide-ranging report on “Nationalism and Religious Freedom in Nigeria'' argued that the former threatened to crush the latter.
“Ethno-nationalist fighters in Nigeria politicize religion and attack civilians on the basis of their ethno-religious identity. These fighters commit some of the worst atrocities and human rights abuses of any actor in the country. ,” the commission warned.
USCIRF and the State Department are also highly critical of Nigeria's Islamic blasphemy law, which has imprisoned violators for decades. USCIRF in May called It called for the release of “prisoners of religious conscience” Mubarak Bala and Yahaya Sharif Aminu, who have been imprisoned for more than three years on blasphemy charges.
Rose is an atheist arrested In 2020, he was charged with writing Facebook posts that denied the existence of an afterlife and allegedly insulted the Islamic religion Muhammad. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison for other “blasphemous” Facebook posts.
Sharif Aminu is a Muslim musician arrested In an audio recording, he praised the imam of his Sufi Muslim sect, saying he had “elevated him to be better than the Prophet Muhammad.” His house was burnt down by an angry mob before police could arrest him.
Religious freedom advocacy group ADF International calls on USCIRF to investigate the Biden State Department's denial of Nigeria's CPC designation, I got it. He said blasphemy laws are a “significant driver of social tensions” and often lead to “brutal mass violence.”
“The United States should increase pressure against the blatant violations of religious freedom occurring in Nigeria. More Christians have been murdered for their faith in Nigeria than in all other countries combined. ADF International General Counsel Sean Nelson said.
Biden administration suddenly takes office pulled Nigeria was removed from the CPC list in 2021 and has rejected all chances to regain the listing, a decision critics find baffling. In the case of India, geopolitical considerations are more obvious as India is an important strategic partner of the United States and also maintains friendly relations with Russia.
India's “cross-border repression activities” mentioned by the USCIRF include perhaps the most notable. murder Sikh separatist activists who were active in mainland Canada last year, plot thwarted To kill another person in New York.
USCIRF called the incidents “a serious escalation in India's efforts to silence religious minorities and human rights activists.”
“Indian authorities have repeatedly used draconian laws, such as the Unlawful Activities Act and the Anti-Conversion Act, to systematically repress religious minorities, journalists, and activists within the country. “Extending this crackdown to target Indian religious minorities living abroad is especially dangerous and cannot be ignored,” said USCIRF Director David Currie. Said During December.
