U.s. Commission on International Religious Freedom

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom: Annual Report 2013 U.s. Commission on International Religious Freedom

The U. S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) as an entity separate and distinct from the State Department, is an independent, bipartisan U. S. government advisory body that monitors religious freedom worldwide and makes policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF bases these recommendations on the standards found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international documents. The 2013 Annual Report represents the culmination of a year?s work by Commissioners and staff to document abuses on the ground and make independent policy recommendations to the U. S. government. The 2013 Annual Report has been reformatted and is divided into three sections. The first section highlights countries which USCIRF designates as Tier 1 countries. Tier 1 countries are those that USCIRF recommends the United States designate as ?countries of particular concern? (CPCs) under IRFA for their governments? engagement in or toleration of particularly severe violations of religious freedom. Tier 1 countries include countries already officially designated as CPCs by the U. S. government and additional countries USCIRF has concluded meet the CPC threshold and should be so designated. The second section focuses on countries USCIRF designates as Tier 2 countries. The Tier 2 category replaces the Watch List designation used by USCIRF in previous years. Neither Tier 2 nor the Watch List are required by IRFA, but USCIRF created them to highlight situations where religious persecution and other violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the governments are increasing. To be placed on Tier 2, USCIRF must find that the country is on the threshold of CPC status?that the violations engaged in or tolerated by the government are particularly severe and that at least one, but not all three, of the elements of IRFA?s ?systematic, ongoing, egregious? standard is met (e.g., the violations are egregious but not systematic or ongoing). The third section discusses other countries and regions USCIRF monitored during the year. This section also examines crosscutting themes affecting religious freedom in a range of countries around the world and highlights issues in multilateral organizations. An appendix contains biographies of Commissioners, supplemental materials, and prisoner lists.