The United States Department of State (DOS) routinely issues condemnations of countries that fail to uphold religious freedom — but those harsh words are rarely followed by actions that lead to policy changes in those foreign governments, according to an analysis published this month.
After the United States adopted the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the DOS has issued regular reports that designate “countries of particular concern” (CPCs). The designation is reserved for countries with “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” violations of religious liberty, such as torture and other other types of inhumane treatment, prolonged detentions, abductions and disappearances, and other flagrant denials of life, liberty, or security of persons.
Although the legislation requires the president to either sanction or take other actions against a country designated as a CPC, all five presidents since 1998 have found workarounds to avoid taking new action against most countries that are added to the list.
Out of the 164 CPC designations, there has only been one “binding agreement” entered to address a religious freedom violation and only three new sanctions issued.
An analysis published by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) concluded that “the CPC designation mechanism is far more effective at condemning religious freedom violations than promoting changes to policy.” The USCIRF is a federal commission tasked with providing policy recommendations on advancing religious liberty abroad.
The International Religious Freedom Act establishes a method for a president to enter into a “binding agreement” with countries designated as a CPC. The goal of such agreements is to phase out any religious liberty violations.
However, the United States has only pursued three binding agreements: twice with Vietnam in 2004 and 2005 and once with Uzbekistan in 2006. The United States secured an agreement with Vietnam, which addressed the problem and was removed from the CPC list. The United States never secured an agreement with Uzbekistan.
The federal government also rarely follows up a CPC designation with new sanctions. According to the analysis, only three new sanctions have been adopted because of a CPC designation, all of which were against Eritrea.
Rather than taking new action, the federal government has cited existing regulations 111 times to fulfill the presidential action requirement. On 40 occasions, the DOS granted a waiver on any action, citing national interest. In another seven cases, a waiver was granted on the basis that the waiver would further religious liberty.
“It has been disappointing to see how seldom a CPC designation has resulted in real consequences for those responsible for religious freedom violations,” USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck told CNA in a statement.
“This has to change,” said Schneck, who is a Catholic appointed to the role by President Joe Biden. “Accountability is truly in the interest of the United States. It extends the values of freedom and dignity etched in every human being and ensures our partners live up to their human right commitments, increasing stability, prosperity, and peace.”
The way in which the CPC mechanism has been used, Schneck added, “has limited our policy effectiveness to condemning violations by leaving behind many opportunities to incentivize reform.”
Some of the countries that the USCIRF has recommended for CPC designation have also been declined by the DOS in recent years. This includes Nigeria, which the DOS finally designated as a CPC in 2020 but then removed from the list in 2021.
Nina Shea, the director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom and a former commissioner of the USCIRF, has been critical of the Biden administration for removing Nigeria from the CPC designation.
“The administration prioritized climate change concerns in an all-of-government executive order which seemed to cancel out any serious policymaking on the issue of religious freedom internationally,” Shea told CNA. “Nigeria was recommended for CPC designation by USCIRF but the Biden administration lifted its designation and ignored the USCIRF recommendation, without any official explanation.”
Shea, a Catholic who served in the commission from 1999 through 2012, was originally appointed by former Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
“More Christians are murdered for their faith each year in Nigeria than all other countries combined and this terror is carried out with complete government impunity,” she added. “... Entire villages have been eradicated of their Christian population. The administration has turned a willful blind eye to this horrific persecution, which is both shameful and a failure to carry out its responsibilities under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.”
Under the Biden-Harris administration, the DOS justified its removal of Nigeria by arguing that the violence is primarily rooted in conflicts over resources. Christians, Muslims, and adherents to traditional African religion have all been killed in the ongoing violence, but when adjusting for population, Christians are 6.5 times more likely to be killed, according to a report last month by The Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa.
In its analysis, the USCIRF encouraged Congress to update the list of required actions for CPC designations and the government to pursue targeted sanctions against religious liberty violators. The commission also urged the DOS to ensure that religious freedom is a priority in diplomacy and other aspects of international relations.
