Washington: The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended that the State Department designate 11 countries, including India and Pakistan, as 'countries of particular concern (CPCs)' for violations of religious freedoms.
In its recommendations to Secretary of State Colin Powell, the report said besides India and Pakistan, Burma, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam be designated for "the systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom that the governments are responsible for or have tolerated" under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA).
The State Department has not yet named Eritrea, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan or Vietnam.
"The designation of countries of particular concern is one of the most important human rights acts taken by the US government. We strongly urge the State Department to name those countries that have not yet been designated," said USCIRF Chair Michael K Young.
The Commission has made specific policy recommendations on China, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam, and "we encourage him to give special attention to those recommendations," said Young.
In India, the Commission said, violence, including fatal attacks, against Muslims and Christians continued.
Currently Burma, China, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and Sudan are designated as CPCs. Once a country is designated, the IRFA requires the President to oppose those violations by taking actions specified in the IRFA.
Such measures can vary, ranging from a private diplomatic demarche to sanctions or a waiver of action.