Report notes lack of progress in global religious liberty

WASHINGTON (RNS)—The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued its annual list of countries it considers to be the most egregious violators of religious liberty and urged the new Trump administration to appoint a new ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

The commission’s 2025 report, released March 25, included a list of countries nearly identical to its 2024 list—a reflection, according to the report, that in most of those countries, things have not improved but often have worsened.

“The administration of President Donald J. Trump faces a complex international environment in which to build on its previous success of centering religious freedom as a cornerstone of foreign policy and global leadership,” the report states.

“Confirming this commitment to advancing freedom of religion or belief will require calibration and joint action with like-minded governments.”

The eight current commissioners of the bipartisan, independent agency asked Congress to halt the visits it receives from representatives of countries designated as the most egregious religious freedom violators.

“Lobbyists paid to represent the interests of governments that kill, torture, imprison, or otherwise persecute their populations because of what religion they practice or what beliefs they hold should not be welcome in the halls of Capitol Hill,” they stated.

The 2025 report also sought a successor to Rashad Hussain, whose ambassador-at-large post ended with the Biden administration. Hussain was recently announced as a distinguished senior fellow at the Institute for Global Engagement, a think tank that seeks to foster partnerships to build religious freedom.

“I think what’s critical here is an ambassador who has access, not only to Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio, but has access to the White House directly,” USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck told RNS in an interview.

“It needs to be somebody, I think, of that level, given the surge of, the big uptick in violations of freedom of religion or belief around the world that we’re seeing right now.”

Recommended nations for CPC designation

The bipartisan, independent commission, reauthorized last year by Congress through September 2026, annually recommends to the State Department a list of countries to designate as “of particular concern” for committing “systematic, egregious, and ongoing” religious freedom violations.

The 2025 report seeks the redesignation of 12 countries: Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

It also seeks designation of four others: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Vietnam.

The commission sought the same redesignations and designations last year, with a request to add Azerbaijan.

This year, it requested that Azerbaijan remain on the State Department’s second-tier special watch list, along with Algeria.

The commission also sought these countries to be added to the special watch list: Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

‘It’s become much worse’

Schneck, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, said the repetition in its requests about Countries of Particular Concern reflects the troubled state of religious liberty across the globe.

“It’s become much worse in several places, including Iran, Nicaragua and, frankly, Russia,” he said, adding that key drivers are often authoritarian governments like those, and religious nationalism in countries such as Myanmar (also called Burma), India and Turkey.

“We’re not seeing progress. In fact, in most of the countries on this list, we’re seeing regress.”

For the second year in a row, the commission also requested that the presidential administration appoint an envoy for Nigeria and the Lake Chad region, as northern portions of Nigeria have seen violence against Christians as well as Muslims.

Schneck said he was disappointed the State Department did not, as expected, announce its latest designations for its lists of religious liberty violators before the conclusion of the Biden administration, nor since the start of the Trump administration.

Concerns about USAID and refugees

The report noted the Biden administration’s funding of hundreds of millions of dollars of humanitarian aid through the U.S. Agency for International Development for religious groups facing genocide and persecution, such as Muslim Rohingya refugees located in and around Bangladesh and for the people of Syria.

But Schneck said those programs are part of the pausing of USAID funds that has occurred since Trump took office.

“As I understand, all of the freezes are still in place that affect those USAID programs,” Schneck said.

“We’re very hopeful that the new administration will act quickly to resolve some of these situations, so that some really needed programs to protect religious freedom on the ground in different parts of the world can be funded appropriately.”

Likewise, Schneck said the commission is worried about the plight of refugees whose temporary status in the United States is in jeopardy due to recent administration decisions.

“We are concerned about anything that makes it more difficult for refugees to flee from religious persecution to find safe haven,” he said.

In its new report, the commission requested its own permanent reauthorization, as well as that of the bipartisan Lautenberg Amendment that provides a legal process to resettle religious minorities from Iran and countries in the former Soviet Union.

The commission’s report also includes examples of people who have held to their religious beliefs even amid antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of religious hostility.

“One of the most heartening things that we see around the world is the resilience of people to stand up for their faith or their lack of faith, for that matter, their principles,” Schneck said, pointing to young people in Iran and congregants in churches in authoritarian countries.

“But the larger picture doesn’t change. We are concerned about what looks like a decaying picture for freedom of religion.”