USCIRF Spotlight Podcast

At the end of 2024, over thirteen years since the onset of Syria's protracted civil war, the country's political landscape dramatically shifted when a rebel coalition toppled the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Religious freedom conditions had suffered over the course of the civil war under a variety of state and nonstate actors. Now, in the months since the fall of the Assad regime, freedom of religion or belief faces ongoing nationwide challenges as Damascus continues its political transition under members of U.S.-designated terrorist organization HTS, itself a violator of religious freedom. Meanwhile, Turkey's military strikes and support for Islamist militias pose additional threats to diverse religious communities in the north and east. In its 2025 Annual Report USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State add Syria to the Special Watch List for severe violations of religious freedom. On today's episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, Former USCIRF Chair and current President of the IRF Secretariat Nadine Maenza will join USCIRF Commissioner Maureen Ferguson to discuss findings from Ms. Maenza's recent travel to Syria, including Damascus, where several religious communities face ongoing threats to religious freedom as Syria continues its transition.  Read USCIRF's 2025 Annual Report chapter on Syria and 2022 factsheet on Religious Freedom in Syria Under Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and listen to USCIRF's 2022 Spotlight episode on HTS's religious freedom violations. With Contributions from:Veronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Specialist, USCIRF

The religious freedom situation in Azerbaijan remains highly restricted. The government subjects virtually all religious practices to intrusive state oversight. Shi'a Muslims who do not operate within the government's preferred boundaries have faced imprisonment on dubious charges. Armenian religious sites in Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions remain threatened since Azerbaijan regained control. In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State maintain Azerbaijan on the Special Watch List for severe violations of religious freedom. On today's episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck, Commissioner Mohamed Elsanousi, and Commissioner Vicky Hartzler join Director of Research and Policy Guillermo Cantor to discuss their recent travels to Azerbaijan.Read USCIRF's 2025 Annual Report Chapter on Azerbaijan and USCIRF's most recent Azerbaijan Country Update.With Contributions from:Guillermo Cantor, Director of Research & Policy, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Specialist, USCIRF

In recent years, USCIRF has reported declining religious freedom conditions in India, as the government continues to enforce and strengthen legislation that disproportionately impacts religious minorities, including anti-conversion and cow slaughter laws. These laws often target Muslim and Christian communities. In its 2025 annual report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate India as a Country of Particular Concern. On today's episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck joins Senior Policy Analyst Sema Hasan to discuss the decline of religious freedom in India with particular focus on legislation. Read USCIRF's 2025 Annual Report Chapter on India and USCIRF's most recent India Country Update.With Contributions from:Sema Hasan, Senior Policy Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Specialist, USCIRF

On today's episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck joins Senior Strategic Advisor Elizabeth Cassidy to reflect on his trip to the United Kingdom. Marked by a special relationship, the United States, and the United Kingdom, aim to place a special focus on international religious freedom. Chair Schneck discusses USCIRF's key engagements held with government and civil society actors and highlights the UK's leadership role in the space.  Read USCIRF's 2024 Annual ReportWith Contributions from:Elizabeth Cassidy, Senior Strategic Advisor, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

Ten years ago, the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched a campaign of mass atrocities to achieve the religious and ethnic cleansing of religious minority groups in Iraq and Syria. In 2016, the U.S. State Department determined ISIS's atrocities against Yazidis, Christians, and Shi'a Muslims constituted crimes against humanity and genocide. Ten years on, survivors face multiple threats to their religious freedom, security, and existence within their homelands.Today, Ambassador David Saperstein, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, and the Hon. Frank Wolf, former U.S. Representative (R-VA 10th) and former Commissioner at the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), join USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst Susan Bishai. They share their firsthand insight into the United States' response to ISIS's genocide and crimes against humanity, as well as offer recommendations for the U.S. to support religious freedom for the surviving communities, ten years on.Listen to USCIRF's first podcast in this series commemorating the tenth anniversary of ISIS's genocide. Read USCIRF's 2024 Annual Report Chapter on Iraq and view USCIRF's Hearing on Religious Minorities & Governance in Iraq.With Contributions from:Susan Bishai, Senior Policy Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

Ten years ago, the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched a campaign of mass atrocities to achieve the religious and ethnic cleansing of Yazidis, Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac Christians, Shi'a and Sunni Muslim Turkmens, Shabaks, and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria. In 2016, the U.S. State Department determined ISIS's atrocities against Yazidis, Christians, and Shi'a Muslims constituted crimes against humanity and genocide. In 2019, an international coalition defeated ISIS's last territorial hold in Iraq and Syria. However, ten years on, survivors face multiple threats to their religious freedom, security, and existence within their homelands. Jamileh Naso, President, Canadian Yazidi Association; Nadia Cavner, Philanthropist and Advocate for Assyrians; and Dr. Ali Akram Albayati, Co-Founder, Turkmen Rescue Foundation join USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst Susan Bishai to discuss religious minorities' ongoing struggles to rebuild in the region.Read USCIRF's 2024 Annual Report Chapter on Iraq and view USCIRF's Hearing on Religious Minorities & Governance in Iraq.With Contributions from:Susan Bishai, Senior Policy Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

The French government has prohibited French athletes from wearing religious garb while competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics. As such, French athletes who wish to wear religious garb are forced to choose between adhering to their sincerely held religious beliefs and competing at the highest level of sport. This tight regulation of religious expression is not unusual in France, where the government has enacted similarly strict restrictions on wearing religious garb in public spaces. France has also seen a proliferation of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred, as well as governmental anti-cult efforts negatively impacting religious organizations.  On today's episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, Supervisory Policy Analyst Scott Weiner and Researcher Luke Wilson discuss the French government's worrying restrictions on wearing religious garb in the public sphere.  With Contributions from:Scott Weiner, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRFLuke Wilson, Researcher, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

In 1998, Republicans and Democrats came together to pass the International Religious Freedom Act, creating USCIRF as an independent government Commission led by a bipartisan group of nine Commissioners appointed by both political party leaders in Congress, and by the president. Twenty-five years later, USCIRF's Commissioners continue to lead the non-partisan staff to monitor egregious religious freedom violations around the world and to make independent policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress.On today's episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck and Vice Chair Eric Ueland join us to discuss USCIRF's bipartisan nature and its unique framework to ensure international religious freedom remains a bipartisan issue in U.S. foreign policy. Read USCIRF's 2024 Annual Report With Contributions from:Stephen Schneck, Chair, USCIRFEric Ueland, Vice Chair, USCIRFJamie Staley, Acting Director of Research & Policy, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

One of USCIRF's key functions is to make recommendations to the State Department about which countries we think should be designated as Countries of Particular Concern or CPCs, based on our independent research and analysis. Every year we await the State Department's announcement of its religious freedom designations to assess how they match up with USCIRF's recommendations. On today's episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Chair Abraham Cooper and Vice Chair Frederick A. Davie join us to discuss the State Department's most recent CPC designations—specifically the countries we think should have been added to this list including India, Nigeria, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Syria. Read USCIRF's Press Release on the 2023 State Department IRF DesignationsWith Contributions from:Abraham Cooper, Chair, USCIRFFrederick A. Davie, Vice Chair, USCIRFElizabeth Cassidy, Director of Research & Policy, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

In May 2023, violent clashes between two communities erupted in India's Manipur state, leaving entire villages burned and displacing tens of thousands. The ongoing conflict is between the state's majority Hindu Meitei community and the Christian Kuki population and has seen the direct targeting of religious symbols and places of worship and refuge. More than 250 churches of different denominations have been burned or damaged across the state. Religious freedom in India has declined in recent years, marked by the promotion and enforcement of discriminatory laws and practices that negatively impact the country's minority Muslim, Christian, Sikh, and Adivasis populations. In its 2023 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the State Department designate India as a Country of Particular Concern for systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.USCIRF Policy Analyst Sema Hasan joins Supervisory Policy Advisor Jamie Staley to discuss the current conflict in Manipur and religious freedom conditions in India. Read USCIRF's 2023 Annual Report Chapter on IndiaWith Contributions from:Jamie Staley, Supervisory Policy Advisor, USCIRFSema Hasan, Policy Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

In recent years USCIRF has reported that religious freedom conditions in Algeria have continued to deteriorate with the government increasingly enforcing blasphemy laws and restricting worship. These laws particularly impact religious minorities, such as Protestant Christians and Ahmadiyya Muslims. In 2022, the U.S. Department of State placed Algeria on its Special Watch List (SWL), following USCIRF's recommendation. USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst, Madeline Vellturo, joins Researcher, Hilary Miller, to discuss the continued decline of religious freedom in Algeria.Read USCIRF's Law and Religion in Algeria FactsheetWith Contributions from:Madeline Vellturo, Senior Policy Analyst, USCIRFHilary Miller, Researcher, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

In 2016, Congress passed the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act which mandated that USCIRF maintain a list of individuals targeted for their religion or belief. In 2019, USCIRF launched its Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Victims List – an online database that catalogues persons detained, imprisoned, placed under house arrest, disappeared, forced to renounce their faith, and tortured for their religious belief, religious activity, and religious freedom advocacy. Since then, the FoRB Victims List has documented almost 2,000 victims with that number unfortunately continuing to grow.USCIRF Researcher, Dylan Schexnaydre, joins Research Analyst, Zack Udin, to discuss the database's background, recent upgrades, and data for 2022.Read USCIRF's Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) FactsheetView USCIRF's Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List or complete the Victims List Intake Form. With Contributions from:Dylan Schexnaydre, Researcher, USCIRFZachary Udin, Research Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

Governments around the world use many different strategies to control or repress religion, but a common tactic is for the state to elevate a particular religion to a special status in ways that can marginalize different faiths or belief systems. USCIRF's recently released report, “A Global Overview of Official and Favored Religions and Global Implications for Religious Freedom,” looks at 78 countries that identify an official or favored religion and subsequently enforce that religion, or a particular interpretation of that religion, through the law. While several countries that maintain these relevant laws do not enforce them or even have a legal framework to enforce them, some countries take these laws seriously and are, in fact, some of the worst violators of freedom of religion or belief. Kurt Werthmuller, Supervisory Policy Analyst and author of this report, joins us today to discuss the findings of this report.Read the full report on “A Global Overview of Official and Favored Religions and Global Implications for Religious Freedom”With Contributions from:Kurt Wertmuller, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRFJamie Staley, Supervisory Policy Advisor, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

Authoritarian states promote religious tolerance without necessarily ensuring freedom of religion or belief. Last month, USCIRF released a report distinguishing between these two concepts and explains the origins of religious tolerance promotion as a tool of statecraft. The report presents case studies of countries engaged in religious tolerance promotion, such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Russia, and Uzbekistan. Dr. David Warren, the author of the report and lecturer in the Department of Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, join us to today to discuss the important findings and ways the U.S. government can utilize discussions of religious tolerance to set a groundwork for broader rights protections.Read the full report on “Tolerance, Religious Freedom, and Authoritarianism”With Contributions from:Scott Weiner, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

Pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the U.S. Department of State designates Countries of Particular Concern, places countries on its Special Watch List, and designates Entities of Particular Concern. As part of this mandate, USCIRF makes recommendations to the administration, including the State Department, regarding which countries and entities deserve designation on these three lists based on systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.On today's 100th episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Chair Nury Turkel joins us to discuss the State Department's most recent designations and assess how they match up with USCIRF's recommendations.With Contributions from:Nury Turkel, Chair, USCIRFElizabeth Cassidy, Director of Research & Policy, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

In November 2022, USCIRF visited Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, to assess the current conditions and issues that Burmese Rohingya refugees are facing. The Rohingya community, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority from Burma, have long fled religious persecution to neighboring Bangladesh. However, the most recent waves of refugees came in August 2017 following wide-scale atrocities that the Burmese authorities and military, known as the Tatmadaw, committed against them. These atrocities forced over a million Rohingya to flee the country, with a majority now temporarily residing in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. In March 2022, the Biden administration designated these atrocities as genocide and crimes against humanity, which USCIRF had been calling for since 2017.USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schneck, who led this delegation, joins us today to discuss his first-hand account of the Rohingya's current conditions at the Bangladeshi refugee camps. On this trip, the delegation met with refugees, international organization officials, and members of the government of Bangladesh.With Contributions from:Stephen Schneck, Commissioner, USCIRFElizabeth Cassidy, Director of Research & Policy, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

The third annual International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit will be held in Washington, DC on January 31-February 1, 2023. The IRF Summit is an annual civil society conference that seeks to create a coalition of organizations to work together to advance international religious freedom, raise public awareness about IRF issues, and increase the political strength of the IRF movement. This year's IRF Summit will coincide with the National Prayer Breakfast and highlight four distinctive tracks: defending, documenting, developing, and denying. The defending track will focus on the legal, justice, and accountability aspects of freedom of religion or belief; the documenting track will highlight the importance of journalism and gathering evidence; the developing track will examine and develop advocacy efforts and highlight country-level achievements; lastly, the denying track will highlight victims who have been persecuted on the basis of their religion or belief. Peter Burns, Executive Director of the IRF Summit since its inception in 2021, joins us today to provide some insight into the upcoming IRF Summit. With Contributions from:Elizabeth Cassidy, Director of Research & Policy, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

Alevis constitute the largest religious minority in Turkey and have faced persistent obstacles to the exercise of their religious freedom. In October 2022, the Turkish government announced its plan to create a new state-run Alevi institution—the Alevi Bektashi Culture and Cemevi Directorate—which officials say will oversee and address issues faced by Turkey's Alevi community. The decision, however, has sparked controversy as the government itself has long refused to grant Alevis the recognition and rights that it has granted to other communities. Many observers view the decision as a politically motivated move intended to win over voters ahead of 2023 elections.In its 2022 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the State Department place Turkey on its Special Watch List for the Turkish government's severe violations of religious freedom. In March 2022, USCIRF staff visited Turkey and met with several religious and nonbelief communities, including Alevis, to learn more about ongoing challenges for religious freedom.Aykan Erdemir, the Anti-Defamation League's Director for International Affairs Research and a former member of the Turkish parliament, joins us today to discuss the Turkish government's creation of an official Alevi agency, the range of issues Alevis continue to face, and broader challenges for religious minorities throughout the country.With Contributions from:Keely Bakken, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

More than a decade after the onset of Syria's civil war, the conflict continues with multiple state and non-state actors vying for power. Today, one of the most notable non-state actors is the militant Islamist rebel group and former al-Qaeda affiliate Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Although President Bashar al-Assad has regained control of about 70% of Syrian territory, HTS has maintained a strong resistance in the northwest, setting itself up as the civic authority in areas including the strategically important province of Idlib. Despite HTS's recent efforts to rehabilitate its militant jihadist image and rebrand itself as a legitimate governing force, it continues to pose serious threats to religious freedom. USCIRF recommended in its 2022 Annual Report that the U.S. Department of State redesignate HTS—a U.S. designated terrorist group since 2018—as an “entity of particular concern,” or “EPC,” for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act.Dr. Aaron Zelin, the Richard Borow Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a visiting research scholar at Brandeis University, joins us today to analyze religious freedom conditions in 2022 under the governance of HTS. With Contributions from:Susan Bishai, Policy Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

Tajikistan's population is majority Sunni Muslim, with a small Shi'a Muslim community which primarily consists of ethnic Pamiris located in the mountainous eastern part of the country known as the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO). The latest crackdown on civil society in the GBAO followed protests initially sparked in mid-May of this year. Since then, over 200 residents in the GBAO have been arrested and detained, including at least 90 activists. Journalists have been rounded up and Pamiris have been forcibly repatriated from Russia and given lengthy prison sentences.Religious freedom has declined in Tajikistan since 2009 after the adoption of several highly restrictive laws. In 2011 and 2012, administrative and penal code amendments set new penalties, including large fines and prison terms, for religion-related charges such as organizing or participating in “unapproved” religious meetings. A 2011 law on parental responsibility banned minors from any organized religious activity except for funerals. Since 2012, USCIRF has recommended that the State Department designate Tajikistan as a “Country of Particular Concern,” or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, which the State Department has done every year since 2016.Visiting Scholar at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University and retired Associate Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, Suzanne Levi-Sanchez, joins us today to discuss the persecution of Muslims in Tajikistan and specifically highlights the increasing crackdown on Shi'a Muslims.With Contributions from:Jamie Staley, Policy Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

Since 2014, when ISIS launched its genocidal campaign against the Yazidis—a minority ethno-religious group within the Kurdish-majority areas of Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey, as well as in Armenia–hundreds of thousands of Yazidis have been displaced from their native home in the Sinjar region of Iraq.The U.S. government remains deeply invested in helping stabilize the Sinjar region and making it a viable home again for the displaced Yazidis. As USCIRF has consistently reported, Sinjar is not yet a hospitable environment for the Yazidi people. The United States and wider international community have a role to play in encouraging all stakeholders—including Yazidis and authorities in both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi federal government—to help this vulnerable religious minority to safely return to Sinjar.Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Zovighian Partnership, Lynn Zovighian, joins us today to discuss the challenges the Yazidi community and the Sinjar region continue to face as new stages of the genocide unfold.With Contributions from:Susan Bishai, Policy Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

To commemorate this year's International Religious Freedom Day and the 24th Anniversary of the enactment of the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998, USCIRF reflects on the important role civil society plays in promoting freedom of religion or belief abroad. Greg Mitchell, Co-Chair of the IRF Roundtable, joins Elizabeth Cassidy, Director of Research and Policy at USCIRF, to assess the U.S. government's efforts to promote freedom of religion or belief abroad over the past 24 years, and to discuss the IRF Roundtable's establishment and civil society advocacy.Read the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.With Contributions from:Elizabeth Cassidy, Director of Research and Policy, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

Seven out of ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations have blasphemy laws currently enshrined in their legal codes. USCIRF's recent issue update reviews these blasphemy laws and their enforcement within this region and highlights recent cases and provides analysis on related laws. Blasphemy is defined as “the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God or sacred things.” In particular, blasphemy laws remain an ongoing religious freedom violation in Indonesia and Malaysia as well as a potent tool for authoritarian and right-wing forces in Burma and Thailand. While many such laws are a legacy of colonialism, some countries in the region have expanded their legal restrictions in the subsequent decades since independence.USCIRF Policy Analyst, Patrick Greenwalt, joins Director of Research and Policy, Elizabeth Cassidy, to discuss this recent report and take a deeper dive into the background and present context of these blasphemy laws.Read USCIRF's report on Blasphemy and Related Laws in ASEAN Member Countries.With Contributions from:Elizabeth Cassidy, Director of Research and Policy, USCIRFPatrick Greenwalt, Policy Analyst, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

In April 2017, the Russian Federation banned Jehovah's Witnesses as an “extremist” organization. In the five years since that designation, law enforcement authorities across Russia have made it a regular practice to raid, detain, and arrest Jehovah's Witnesses on “extremism” charges directly related to their peaceful religious activities. According to statistics published by Jehovah's Witnesses, approximately 643 Witnesses have been charged with “organizing the activities of an extremist organization,” and nearly 350 individuals have been detained or arrested at some point in time. As of early October, 100 Witnesses are imprisoned in Russia for their beliefs.David Williams, Deputy Director of the Office of Public Information, and Jarrod Lopes, Senior Communications Officer, from the World Headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses in New York join us today to discuss the ongoing persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. Read USCIRF's 2022 Backgrounder on Russia and Issue Update on The Global Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses.Listen USCIRF's Spotlight Podcast on Abuses of Traditional Religion in Russia.With Contributions from:Keely Bakken, Senior Policy Analyst, USCIRFDavid Williams, Deputy Director of the Office of Public Information, World Headquarters of Jehovah's WitnessesJarrod Lopes, Senior Communications Officer, World Headquarters of Jehovah's WitnessesVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

On September 16th, Iran's morality police arrested 22-year old Mahsa Amini for wearing improper hijab. The morality police reportedly beat Amini until she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and a stroke. Upon learning of her death days later at a hospital in Tehran, Iranians across the country took to the streets in protest of the government's brutal repression. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran has mandated the hijab in public spaces for women on religious grounds. These laws have been met since that time by peaceful protests, often led by women. Iran's government has put down these protests by force and is actively doing so now.Marjan Keypour Greenblatt, founder of the ARAM Alliance, joins us today to discuss the interconnection between religious freedom and women's rights in Iran.Read USCIRF's 2022 Country Update on IranWith Contributions from:Scott Weiner, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRFMarjan Keypour Greenblatt, Founder, ARAM AllianceVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

Since 2014, the U.S. Department of State has designated Turkmenistan as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC), for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations. After Turkmenistan's President stepped down in March of 2022, his son, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, came to power. Despite hopes of a loosening of these highly restrictive regulations on religious practice, they have remained in place. The Government of Turkmenistan continues to appoint Muslim clerics while also surveilling and dictating all religious practice, and punishing nonconformity through imprisonment, torture, and administrative harassment. Forum 18 News Service editor, Felix Corley, joins us today to discuss Turkmenistan's highly restrictive religious freedom conditions and its imprisonment of religious prisoners of conscience.Read USCIRF's 2022 Annual Report Chapter on TurkmenistanWith Contributions from:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFFelix Corley, Editor, Forum 18 News ServiceVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

In 2018, Kazakhstan arrested a group of men for participating in a WhatsApp group chat about Islam and sentenced them to multiple years in prison on fictitious terrorism and incitement-related charges. Last fall, the UN Working Group issued an opinion that their detention was arbitrary and that they should be released. Although the government of Kazakhstan has released a few individuals related to this case, five men still remain imprisoned.Kazakhstan has regularly engaged with the U.S. government about possible religious freedom reforms, but it continues to severely limit this right through its 2011 religion law. USCIRF recommended in its 2022 Annual Report that the State Department place Kazakhstan on its Special Watch List for severe violations of religious freedom.Freedom Now's Legal Officer, Adam Lhedmat, and Advocacy Director, Matthew Schaaf join us today to discuss the case of the 5 Sunni Muslims who remain imprisoned for discussing their religious beliefs over WhatsApp.Read USCIRF's 2022 Annual Report Chapter on KazakhstanWith Contributions from:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFAdam Lhedmat, Legal Officer, Freedom NowMatthew Schaaf, Advocacy Director, Freedom NowVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF

Since 2020, USCIRF has recommended that Nicaragua be included on the State Department's Special Watch List for severe violations of religious freedom. In 2022, the Nicaraguan government has greatly intensified its oppression of the Catholic Church. Last month, USCIRF released a Country Update on Nicaragua, which highlighted the persecution of the clergy and the elimination of Church-affiliated organizations.USCIRF Researcher, Zack Udin, the author of the new report, joins us today to discuss the deteriorating religious freedom conditions in Nicaragua.Read USCIRF's 2022 Country Update on Religious Freedom in NicaraguaWith Contributions from:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFZack Udin, Researcher, USCIRFDylan Schexnaydre, Victims List and Outreach Specialist, USCIRF

In its 2022 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended the U.S. Department of State redesignate China as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. While the U.S. government designated the Chinese government's ongoing atrocities against Uyghurs as genocide, China continues to severely persecute many different religious groups throughout the country, including Catholic and Protestant Christians. Founder and President of the ChinaAid Association, Dr. Bob Fu, joins us today to discuss the Chinese Communist Party's sinicization policy, its treatment of various Christian communities, and other political and social developments within the country. Read USCIRF's Factsheet on China's 2021 Measures on the Management of Religious Clergy With Contributions from:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFMingzhi Chen, Policy Analyst, USCIRFDylan Schexnaydre, Victims List and Outreach Specialist, USCIRF

August 25 marks the fifth anniversary of the start of the Burmese military's genocidal campaign against the Rohingya people. The violence resulted in thousands of Rohingya dead, hundreds of thousands internally displaced, and millions dispersed throughout the region. On March 21, 2021, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the U.S. government had determined that the atrocities committed against the Rohingya by Burmese authorities constituted genocide. USCIRF Policy Analyst Patrick Greenwalt joins us today to discuss the beginnings of the genocide, the situation of Rohingya inside and outside of Burma, and the steps the international community could take going forward. Read USCIRF's Factsheet on Pursuing Justice and Accountability for the Rohingya Community of Burma With Contributions from:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFPatrick Greenwalt, Policy Analyst, USCIRFDylan Schexnaydre, Victims List and Outreach Specialist, USCIRF

Sri Lanka is an ethnically and religiously diverse country but has had a history of intercommunal violence, most recently heightened in the decade following the end of a civil war in 2009. Conflict among the various ethnic and religious groups has remained at a heightened level in recent years impacting political, social, and economic life in the country, including freedom of religion or belief. Although Sri Lanka is not currently among the countries designated as a Country of Particular Concern or included on the State Department's Special Watch List, USCIRF has documented a number of the country's deteriorating religious freedom conditions. Associate Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University Sharika Thiranagama joins us today to provide background on Sri Lanka's religious communities and to discuss the impact recent political and economic developments have had on religious freedom in the country. Read USCIRF's 2021 Country Update on Sri Lanka With Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFZack Udin, Researcher, USCIRFDylan Schexnaydre, Victims List and Outreach Specialist, USCIRF

Malaysia maintains a unique dual legal system divided into civil and religious courts. In recent decades, the influence of these religious courts, which are based on the Shaf'i school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, have grown, adversely impacting religious freedom. Since 2014, USCIRF has been reporting on Malaysia and most recently in 2022 recommended that the U.S. State Department place Malaysia on its Special Watch List (SWL) for religious freedom violations. USCIRF Policy Analyst Patrick Greenwalt joins us today to provide an overview of Malaysia's legal system and discuss some high-profile cases directly related to freedom of religion or belief.Read USCIRF's 2022 Annual Report Chapter on MalaysiaWith Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFPatrick Greenwalt, Policy Analyst, USCIRFDylan Schexnaydre, Victims List and Outreach Specialist, USCIRF

In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale and unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine, falsely claiming that it aimed to “demilitarize” and “denazify” the country. While many people are broadly aware of the terrible toll that Russia's war has wrought on civilians, there is less awareness about the religious ramifications of the Russian invasion.Ruslan Khalikov and Liliia Pidgorna, two scholars with the Workshop for the Academic Study of Religion in Ukraine, join us today to discuss the impact Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had on religious freedom.Read USCIRF's 2022 Annual Report Chapter on RussiaRead USCIRF's Backgrounder: RussiaWith Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFKeely Bakken, Senior Policy Analyst, USCIRFDylan Schexnaydre, Victims List and Outreach Specialist, USCIRF

USCIRF is mandated by Congress to make independent policy recommendations to the president, secretary of state, and Congress that would help improve religious freedom around the globe. Each year, USCIRF proposes these recommendations in its annual report, highlighting country conditions and thematic challenges. How often are these recommendations acted upon by the U.S. government? USCIRF Supervisory Policy Advisor Jamie Staley joins us today to discuss some of USCIRF's policy recommendations that the U.S. government has implemented over the last year.Check out USCIRF's 2022 Annual Report  With Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFJamie Staley, Supervisory Policy Advisor, USCIRFDylan Schexnaydre, Victims List and Outreach Specialist, USCIRF

Several major political events occurred in South Asia over the last year. The Taliban, whom USCIRF has recommended for years as an “Entity of Particular Concern” (EPC), took control of Afghanistan in August 2021. In April 2022, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from office following political turmoil. And religious nationalist policies at both the state and national level in India continue to impact religious communities. Senior Policy Analyst Niala Mohammad joins us today to discuss recent developments in South Asia, their impact on religious freedom conditions, and USCIRF's policy recommendations.Read USCIRF's 2022 Annual Report Chapter on AfghanistanRead USCIRF's 2022 Annual Report Chapter on PakistanRead USCIRF's 2022 Annual Report Chapter on IndiaRead USCIRF's Afghanistan Factsheet Read USCIRF's Ahmadiyya Muslims FactsheetCheck out USCIRF's FoRB Victims ListWith Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFNiala Mohammad, Senior Policy Analyst, USCIRFDylan Schexnaydre, Victims List and Outreach Specialist, USCIRF

Last month, USCIRF traveled to Abuja, Nigeria and met with Nigerian and U.S. government officials, religious communities, civil society representatives, and human rights defenders to assess religious freedom conditions and discuss threats facing Nigerians of a range of faiths and worldviews. The trip came following the U.S. State Department's November 2021 decision to remove Nigeria's Country of Particular Concern (CPC) designation for engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of international religious freedom after designating it as a CPC for the first time in 2020. Commissioner Fred Davie, who led that that USCIRF delegation, joins us today to discuss his key takeaways from the trip and insight into USCIRF's continued recommendation of Nigeria as a CPC.  Read USCIRF's 2022 Annual Report Chapter on Nigeria With Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFMadeline Vellturo, Policy AnalystDylan Schexnaydre, Victims List and Outreach Specialist, USCIRF

This past spring, USCIRF staff traveled to Turkey and met with religious and nonbelief communities across the country. Numerous issues continue to negatively impact their freedom of religion or belief, including an inability to train clergy, mandatory religion classes, the threat of blasphemy charges, and other forms of discrimination. USCIRF has monitored and reported on Turkey since the late 2000s, recommending it for placement on the Special Watch List (previously known as Tier 2) every year since 2014 and most recently again in USCIRF's 2022 Annual Report. Senior Policy Analyst Keely Bakken, who was part of that USCIRF delegation to Turkey, joins us today to discuss some of the findings of that trip as well as USCIRF's recent policy recommendations.Read USCIRF's 2022 Annual Report Chapter on TurkeyListen to USCIRF's Spotlight Podcast Episode Sivas Massacre and Turkey's Persecution of the Alevi CommunityListen to USCIRF's Spotlight Podcast Episode 50 Years and Counting: The Continued Closure of Halki Seminary in TurkeyWith Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFKeely Bakken, Senior Policy Analyst, USCIRFDylan Schexnaydre, Victims List and Outreach Specialist, USCIRF

On July 5 and 6, the British government will be hosting the 2022 International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in London. The conference will bring together government, civil society, faith, and belief groups to agree on action to prevent FoRB violations and abuses and offer ways to protect and promote religious freedom around the world. British Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief Fiona Bruce joins us today to preview the activities at this year's ministerial and discusses her work with the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) in advancing religious freedom globally.  Learn more about the 2022 International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or BeliefLearn more about IRFBA With Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFDylan Schexnaydre, Victims List and Outreach Specialist, USCIRF

Next week, from June 28 to June 30, the second annual International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit will be held in Washington, DC. The IRF Summit brings together a diverse coalition of NGOs and individuals from all over the world committed to the fundamental right to freedom of religion or belief and aims to increase public awareness and political support for the international religious freedom movement. Former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, co-chair of the IRF Summit, joins us today to preview this year's activities and the Summit's importance for promoting freedom of religion or belief.Check out the IRF Summit websiteWith Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFKirsten Lavery, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRFDylan Schexnaydre, Victims List and Outreach Specialist, USCIRF

USCIRF began monitoring religious freedom conditions in Central African Republic (CAR) in 2013 when the country descended into civil conflict. After seven years of recommending that CAR be designated a country of particular concern, in 2020 USCIRF recommended CAR for Special Watchlist status due to improvements in the situation on the ground—and the next year, in 2021, we no longer recommended CAR for even the Special Watchlist. However, religious freedom conditions in CAR deteriorated in 2021, especially for Muslim minorities, causing USCIRF to return CAR to the list of countries it recommends for Special Watchlist status.John Lechner, an expert in geopolitics and human rights in Africa who recently returned from CAR, joins us today to discuss religious freedom conditions in the country.With Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFJohn Lechner, Expert on security, geopolitics, and human rights in AfricaGabrielle Hasenstab, Communications Specialist, USCIRF

Iran has gone to great lengths to arrest and detain religious minorities, including Christians, Baha'is, Sunni Muslims, Sufis, and spiritualists. The Iranian government has taken it a step further and also targeted those who peacefully dissent from the government's preferred religious views, particularly women, nontheists, and members of the LGBTI community. Amid country-wide protests in Iran over the past several weeks over food subsidies, as well as ongoing multilateral talks in Vienna, Iran is once again in the foreign policy spotlight.USCIRF Supervisory Policy Analyst Scott Weiner with Victims List and Outreach Specialist Dylan Schexnaydre join us today to discuss religious prisoners of conscience in Iran and USCIRF's Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List.Check out the Freedom of Religion or Belief Victim's ListRead USCIRF's Factsheet on Global Overview of Refugees Fleeing Religious PersecutionRead USCIRF's 2022 Annual Report Chapter on IranWith Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFScott Weiner, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRFDylan Schexnaydre, Victims List and Outreach Specialist, USCIRFGabrielle Hasenstab, Communications Specialist, USCIRF

Uzbekistan is one of a handful of countries that has seen dramatic improvements for religious freedom in recent years; however, religious communities are still experiencing high levels of government regulation and repression that is continuing to impact their ability to exercise their freedom of religion or belief.In April 2022, USCIRF sent a delegation to Uzbekistan. Senior Policy Analyst Keely Bakken, who was part of that USCIRF delegation to Uzbekistan, joins us today to discuss the outcome of the trip, recent developments since then, and other areas of possible reform in Uzbekistan. Read USCIRF's report on Uzbekistan's Religious and Political PrisonersWith Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFKeely Bakken, Senior Policy Analyst, USCIRFGabrielle Hasenstab, Communications Specialist, USCIRF

Expedited Removal is the U.S. immigration law process that allows officers in the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, to quickly deport noncitizens who arrive at U.S. ports of entry or cross the border without proper documents, unless the noncitizen can establish a “credible fear” of persecution or torture. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. government has expelled most migrants and asylum seekers who try to enter the United States under a public health authority, referred to as Title 42, rather than under Expedited Removal. Beginning in mid-2021, the Biden administration resumed using Expedited Removal in some cases. It is planning to lift the Title 42 order soon and return to using Expedited Removal more broadly. Elizabeth Cassidy, USCIRF's Director of Research and Policy, joins us today to discuss concerns and recommendations about the treatment of asylum seekers in the Expedited Removal process and its relevance to international religious freedom.With Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFElizabeth Cassidy, Director of Research and Policy, USCIRFGabrielle Hasenstab, Communications Specialist, USCIRF

To combat the human rights and religious freedom violations that have occurred as a result of online hate speech, some social media companies now regulate speech on their platforms. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media platforms often have rules that ban certain types of speech—including hate speech directed at religious communities. However, the excess removal of speech can also impact the right to religious freedom and religious expression of users.Lou Ann Sabatier, Principal at Sabatier Consulting, joins us today to discuss content moderation and its impact on freedom of religion or belief globally.See USCIRF's factsheet Protecting Religious Freedom OnlineWith Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFLou Ann Sabatier, Principal, Sabatier Consulting Kirsten Lavery, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRFGabrielle Hasenstab, Communications Specialist, USCIRF

Since 2020, USCIRF has recommended that India be designated a Country of Particular of Concern, or CPC, due to the Indian government's promotion of Hindu nationalism, and engagement and facilitation of systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. The othering of those that are non-Hindu through the misuse of national and state-level legislation has turned India's diverse and pluralistic society into more of a hostile state for many religious communities, particularly Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Adivasis, and Dalits.Today USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava joins us to discuss the growing climate of intolerance toward non-Hindus in India.Read USCIRF's 2022 Annual Report Chapter on IndiaWith Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFAnurima Bhargava, Commissioner, USCIRF Gabrielle Hasenstab, Communications Specialist, USCIRFNiala Mohammad, Senior Policy Analyst, USCIRF

On April 25, 2022, USCIRF released its 2022 Annual Report, which documents developments in international religious freedom from 2021. The report provides recommendations to enhance the U.S. government's promotion of freedom of religion or belief abroad. This year's report highlights significant regress in countries such as Afghanistan and the Central African Republic (CAR). The report also notes USCIRF recommendations implemented by the U.S. government—including the designation of Russia as a country of particular concern, the imposition of targeted sanctions on religious freedom violators, and genocide determinations for atrocities perpetrated by the Chinese government against Uyghur and other Turkic Muslims and by the Burmese military against Rohingya Muslims.Today we are joined by USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza to discuss this year's Annual Report as well as some of her most memorable experiences as a Commissioner as her tenure on the Commission comes to an end. With Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFNadine Maenza, Chair, USCIRF Kurt Werthmuller, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRFGabrielle Hasenstab, Communications Specialist, USCIRF

According to the Pew Research Center's most recent global data, Christianity's diverse set of traditions comprise the single largest religious group on earth, of some 2.3 billion people—or nearly a third of the world's population. Yet, it has been plainly evident throughout our reporting at USCIRF that many Christian communities around the world face a wide range of hardships for practicing their faith: from social marginalization to governmental harassment to imprisonment to mob violence and even death.Isaac Six, Director of Advocacy for Open Doors USA—an NGO that advocates on behalf of persecuted Christians around the world—joins us today to explain where Christians face the most severe persecution, and the conditions these believers endure. Read USCIRF's latest op-ed on Global Christian Persecution in USA TodayWith Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFIsaac Six, Director of Advocacy, Open Doors USAKurt Werthmuller, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRFGabrielle Hasenstab, Communications Specialist, USCIRF

Article 18 of both the United Nations Human Rights Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects not only the right to believe in and practice a religion and to change religion, but also the right to hold nontheistic beliefs. Despite these protections, many members of nonreligious communities' face government repression, social intolerance, restrictions on freedom of thought, belief and expression, and pervasive discrimination because of their lack of religion or absence of belief in a God.Rachel Deitch, Director of Policy and Social Justice with the American Humanist Association joins us to discuss conditions of non-religious communities around the world.Read USCIRF's Factsheet on Nonbelievers in AfricaWith Contributions from: Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFRachel Deitch, Director of Policy and Social Justice, American Humanist AssociationKirsten Lavery, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRFGabrielle Hasenstab, Communications Specialist, USCIRF

The Rohingya community in Burma have been targeted by the Burmese military (known as the Tatmadaw) with mass killings and rape since 2017, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee the country. Since the military coup in February 2021, the Tatmadaw have employed similar tactics used on the Rohingya against all ethnic and religious communities, as we have noted in past Spotlight episodes. The coup has increased concern among the international community to pursue efforts of justice and accountability for the ongoing abuses against the Rohingya, which U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken officially determined as genocide and crimes against humanity on March 21, 2022.USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava joins us today to elaborate on what the genocide determination means going forward, and on ongoing accountability processes.With Contributions from:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRFAnurima Bhargava, Commissioner, USCIRFKirsten Lavery, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRFPatrick Greenwalt, Policy Analyst, USCIRFGabrielle Hasenstab, Communications Specialist, USCIRF

Founded in 19th century Persia—present day Iran—the Baha'i faith is the second most widespread religion in the world and has communities in most territories and countries across the globe. However, several governments in the Middle East and North Africa region engage in systematic oppression of Baha'is. Iran, Yemen, Qatar, and Tunisia are some of the countries where the situation for the Baha'i community is particularly challenging.Anthony Vance, Director of the Office of Public Affairs for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States, joins us today to tell us about the core beliefs of the Baha'is faith and elaborate on religious freedom conditions for Baha'is in the Middle East.With Contributions from:Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF (writer and host)Anthony Vance, Director of the Office of Public Affairs, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahais (guest)Scott Weiner, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRF (contributing writer)Gabrielle Hasenstab, Communications Specialist, USCIRF (sound design and audio production)

*Special note: This podcast was recorded on March 8, 2022 and only reflects the events that have occurred up to this date* The Russian government has long used religious freedom violations in its efforts to discourage non-conformity and facilitate its brutal occupation of Crimea and the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine. In 2016, the government adopted a series of legal reforms that enhanced the scope and penalties of religion and anti-extremism laws. These legal reforms also increased State jurisdiction over monitoring private electronic communications for the purpose of rooting out extremists and missionaries in Russia.Russia's religious regulation framework has been used to target Jehovah's Witnesses, Crimean Tatar Muslims, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and other groups that are seen as posing a threat to the State's authority. What does this mean for the rest of Ukraine now that it's under attack from Russia? USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst Jason Morton joins us to explain.Check out our other podcast on this topic: “Implications of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Part 1: The ‘Denazification' Narrative” Read USCIRF's report on The Global Persecution of Jehovah's WitnessesRead USCIRF report on The Anti-cult Movement and Religious Regulation in Russia and the Former Soviet UnionRead USCIRF's report on Religious Freedom Violations in the Republic of Chechnya