State Department Releases Religious Freedom Blacklist
The State Department headed under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released this week the religious freedom violator blacklist designated by the Bush administration in January before leaving office.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice re-designated the same eight countries named in 2006 – Burma, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, the Peoples Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan – as “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC) on Jan. 16.
The list was not made available until this week after an inquiry by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Being named a CPC is the worst label a country can receive from the United States for religious freedom violations. The designation can result in a wide range of U.S. actions against the country in attempt to improve its religious freedom record, including sanctions.
USCIRF, a bipartisan government agency that monitors religious freedom status around the world, was critical of the latest CPC list for not adding any of the countries it had recommended. It also voiced dissatisfaction that although Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan were designated CPC, the Bush administration had given them waivers.
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