MELBOURNE, 2 May 2023: India has criticised the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (UCRIF), which has in its 2023 Annual Report released last month, called upon the United States to – Designate India as a ” country of particular concern,” or CPC, for engaging in systematic, and egregious violations of religious freedom, as defined by the International Religious Act (IRFA)”.
The verbal sword-play comes three weeks before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Biden are to meet in Sydney for the Quad summit of leaders along with the Australian and Japanese Prime Ministers. Similar recommendations regarding India by the USCIRF since 2000 were not accepted by the State Department.
The Indian government invoked the UAPA and the Sedition Act throughout the year to target freedom of religion and expression, creating an increasing climate of intimidation and fear.”
Similar recommendations regarding India by the USCIRF since 2000 were not accepted by the State Department.
The bipartisan UCRIF Report released on May 1, 2023 is 92 pages long. “USCIRF’s independence and bipartisanship enables it to unflinchingly identify threats to religious freedom abroad. In its 2023 Annual Report, USCIRF recommends 17 countries to the State Department for designation as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) because their governments engage in or tolerate “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations” of the right to freedom of religion or belief. These include 12 that the State Department designated as CPCs in November 2022: Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan—as well as five additional recommendations: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, Syria, and Vietnam. For the first time ever, the State Department designated Cuba and Nicaragua as CPCs in 2022,” a UCRIF media release says.
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