A US body on religious freedom has called upon Secretary of State Colin Powell to issue without delay a list of countries of particular concern (CPCs) with India and Pakistan figuring among them.
In February this year, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended that Powell name as CPCs the following countries that have not yet been designated: Eritrea, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan and Vietnam.
The State Department's 2003 CPC designations were Myanmar, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Iran, Iraq, the People's Republic of China and Sudan.
The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) has specifically directed the secretary of state to designate as CPCs nations in which the government has engaged in or tolerated "particularly severe violations of religious freedom".
CPC designation can happen at any time throughout the year, but designations have not been made since March 2003.
The State Department's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, required by statute to be issued in September of each year, was delayed by several months during 2003.
"This disregard of IRFA requirements represents a serious failure in the conduct of US foreign policy according to law," said commission chair Preeta D. Bansal.
Bansal and three other commissioners had earlier dissented from the commission's recommendation that India be designated a CPC.
"The CPC designations and subsequent actions are vital to advance US protection against severe violations of religious freedom," Bansal said.
A new annual cycle of the IRFA process is set to begin next month.
"Ensuring global respect for freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief and related human rights through the statutorily designated CPC process will further the US administration's campaign against terrorism and its goal of promoting democratic reform," Bansal said.