• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Democracy Chronicles

Towards better democracy everywhere.

  • AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
  • WORLD DEMOCRACY
  • POLITICAL ART
  • more
    • election technology
    • money politics
    • political dissidents
    • THIRD PARTY
      • third party central
      • green party
      • justice party
      • libertarian party
    • voting methods
  • DC INFO
    • author central
    • about
    • advertise with DC
    • contact
    • privacy policy
You are here: Home / Democracy News Headlines / International Democracy / 16 Countries Are Most ‘Egregious’ Violators of Religious Freedom

16 Countries Are Most ‘Egregious’ Violators of Religious Freedom

May 2, 2019 by DC Editors Leave a Comment

FacebookLinkedInPinTweet

US Watchdog: 16 Countries 'Egregious' Violators of Religious Freedom

From Voice Of America

An independent U.S. watchdog named 16 nations Monday as “countries of particular concern” for engaging in “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations” of religious freedom.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which advises President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Congress, named the 16 countries in its annual survey, saying they were identified because of “particularly severe” violations of religious freedom.

The commission’s chair, Tenzin Dorjee, said that in the last year “we have seen severe violations of religious freedom mount around the globe, from the imprisonment of individuals charged with blasphemy in several countries to the internment of over one million Uighur Muslims in China. We and others laboring in the realm of religious freedom must persevere in our efforts to make this right a reality for everyone, everywhere.”

He said, “The freedom to believe as one’s conscience dictates is a fundamental human right and vital to the security, stability and economic vitality of any state or region.”

The release of the report came two days after a gunman shot to death a Jewish worshipper inside a California synagogue near San Diego and injured three others, six months after another incident in which 11 people were killed inside a Pittsburgh synagogue.

The 16 countries the commission cited as the worst religious freedom violators were Myanmar, Central African Republic, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

In Myanmar, the report said, “Victims of severe human rights and religious freedom violations have little hope for justice; this includes Rohingya and other Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, and Hindus, as well as ethnic Kachin, Shan, Karen, Rakhine, and Chin.”

It said “the Chinese government continued to persecute all faiths” in an effort to make them conform to a Chinese characterization, “a campaign that attempts not only to diminish and erase the independent practice of religion, but also the cultural and linguistic heritage of religious and ethnic communities, particularly Tibetan Buddhists and Uighur Muslims.”

In Russia, the report said, “The government continued to target ‘nontraditional’ religious minorities with fines, detentions, and criminal charges under the pretext of combating extremism. Russian legislation targets ‘extremism’ without adequately defining the term, enabling the state to prosecute a vast range of nonviolent, nonpolitical religious activity.”

In addition, the commission cited five “entities of particular concern” for severe violations of religious freedom: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Taliban in Afghanistan, al-Shabab in Somalia, and new on the list this year, the Houthis in Yemen and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham in Syria.

FacebookLinkedInPinTweet

Filed Under: International Democracy Tagged With: Africa, Central African Republic, Europe, Middle East, Nigeria, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia

Some highlighted Democracy Chronicles topics

Africa American Corruption American Local Elections American State Elections Asia Capitalism and Big Business Celebrity Politics China Democracy Charity Democracy Protests Democrats Dictatorships Education Election History Election Methods Election Security Election Transparency Europe Internet and Democracy Journalism and Free Speech Middle East Minority Voting Rights Money Politics New York City and State Elections Political Artwork Political Dissidents Political Lobbying Redistricting Republicans Russia Socialism and Labor Social Media and Democracy South America Spying and Privacy Supreme Court Third Party Voter Access Voter ID Voter Registration Voter Suppression Voter Turnout Voting Technology Women Voting Rights Worldwide Worldwide Corruption

About DC Editors

We are your source for news on the all important effort to establish and strengthen democracy across the globe. Our international team with dozens of independent authors are your gateway into the raging struggle for free and fair elections on every continent with a focus on election reform in the United States. See our Facebook Page and also follow us on Twitter @demchron.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

democracy chronicles newsletter

democracy around the web

  • Lloyd Mayer on the Johnson Amendment
    Source: Election Law Blog Published on: 23 hours ago
  • VoteBeat on Texas Redistricting
    Source: Election Law Blog Published on: 23 hours ago
  • Preliminary Injunction Against Maine Foreign...
    Source: Election Law Blog Published on: 1 day ago
  • Expand Democracy Roundup
    Source: Election Law Blog Published on: 1 day ago
  • Brennan Center Releases Local Election Offici...
    Source: Election Law Blog Published on: 1 day ago