(CNN) — The US State Department announced on Friday the inclusion of several countries, groups, terrorist entities and armed organizations in the list of “violators of religious freedoms.”
“Around the world, governments and non-state actors harass, threaten, imprison and even kill people because of their beliefs,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The State Department has specified that Cuba and Nicaragua have been included in the list of particularly worrying countries, in the sense that they are among the worst violators of religious freedom, while China, Russia, Iran, Burma, Eritrea, North Korea and Pakistan are remained on the list.
States that violate the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 should be included, and countries designated as countries of particular concern could face sanctions, as the US government is required by law to impose one or more “presidential actions” against those countries unless they grant an exception because it has already been sanctioned.
Waivers or exceptions were issued for Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan this year, according to a US State Department official, because it was determined that “the important national interest of the United States requires such waivers.”
According to the ministry, Burma, Cuba, China, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua and Russia were granted an exception in a new “presidential order” and were instead considered “double-sided”, meaning they were already sanctioned in other respects, but are now also considered to be included in the list of countries of particular concern.
Blinken explained: “In some cases, these parties stifle individuals’ freedom of religion or belief to exploit opportunities for political gain, and these actions sow division, undermine economic security, and threaten political stability and peace, and United States will not stand idly by in the face of these violations.”
The US secretary added: “I have also included Algeria, the Central African Republic, the Comoros and Vietnam on the special watch list for their participation in and tolerance of serious violations of religious freedom.”
He said: “The Somali youth movement, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS West Africa, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam and the Muslims, and the Taliban movement have been including .”
He explained: “Our announcement of these designations is consistent with our values and interests to protect national security and promote human rights around the world. Countries that effectively protect these and other human rights are more peaceful, stable, prosperous and reliable for the United States than those who do not”.
He underlined: “We will continue to closely monitor the state of freedom of religion or belief in every country of the world and we will defend those who face persecution or religious discrimination. Laws and practices that do not meet international standards and obligations and identify concrete steps to remove them from these lists.
