Mixed Bag as State Adds Cuba, Nicaragua, Excludes Nigeria, India from Watch Lists

State Department officials this week released without fanfare their designations of nations determined to be Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) for Religious Freedom. The annual release also included countries placed on the Special Watch List (SWL) or determined to be Entities of Particular Concern as defined under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

Countries determined to be CPCs include Burma (Myanmar), China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. This status is for engaging in or tolerating “particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”

Those countries placed on the SWL are Algeria, the Central African Republic, Comoros and Vietnam. Those placed on the SWL are found to have engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom.

A third category, Entities of Particular Concern to the United States, are non-state actors engaging in violations. These include Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, Yemen’s Houthis, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Hayat Tahir al-Sham, Jama’at al-Islam wal-Muslimin and the mercinary Wagner Group based on its activities in the Central African Republic.

Addition of Cuba and Nicaragua as CPCs is a critical move as the two governments move to repress those in vocal opposition to their rule. In November, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) held a hearing examining the deterioration of the religious freedom climate in Nicaragua as specific actors and communities are under siege due to the actions of leftist President Daniel Ortega.

There are glaring omissions. Even though the Taliban and Boko Haram are both listed as EPCs Afghanistan and Nigeria, in which they respectively operate, are not considered to be CPCs. Nor were they placed on the SWL. There are reasons that both nations should have been listed as CPCs. First, Nigeria has prompted several concerns regarding the use of blasphemy laws in recent years, as detailed in a USCIRF fact sheet released in October.

A State Department spokesperson told the Washington Times that Nigeria “did not meet the legal threshold to justify Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern or their inclusion on the Special Watch List.”

USCIRF Commissioner and former Congressman Frank R. Wolf told Lela Gilbert of The Washington Stand that “Congress should exercise its oversight authority to ensure that religious freedom is a policy priority in Nigeria & support appointing a Special Envoy for both Nigeria & Lake Chad Basin.”

Second, recent reporting covering  the plight of Christians in India have been making their way to the Indian Supreme Court appear not to be reaching the eyes and ears of the State Department.

“The State Department’s failure to designate India is inexplicable given their own reporting of the country’s religious freedom violations,” USCIRF Vice Chairman Abraham Cooper said of the decision not to designate India. “Their documentation shows that India’s violations are systematic, ongoing & egregious.”

USCIRF also maintains a victims database of 40 people currently incarcerated in India for reasons of religion or belief.

In a press release, USCIRF shared its outrage over the omission of both Nigeria and India from these designations. The statement accuses the State Department of turning a blind eye to the particularly severe religious freedom violations in these countries which has been documented by the State Department itself.

These glaring omissions were not the only countries that the State Department decided not levy official CPC or SWL concerns over. USCIRF also recommended the following countries to be placed on the SWL: Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkey and Uzbekistan. The State Department did not take action on these recommendations.

In an additional twist, the State Department determined that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan would receive waivers due to “the important national interest of the United States required the exercise of such waiver authority.” In layman’s terms there is concern by the State Department that the designations could have a negative impact on relations between the United States and these nations.

The listing of Wagner for activities in the Central African Republic drew attention, while the Russian mercenary group’s controversial presence in Mali wasn’t addressed. In 2021, UN experts documented how civilians including “journalists, aid workers and minorities” have been violently harassed and intimidated by “Russian Instructors”. Rebels within the Central African Republic have also committed abuses.

What should we take away from these designations? It appears that the State Department wanted to release these decisions in as low key a way as possible. In 2021, designations were released in a press event with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom Rashad Hussein. This year there was no fanfare or publicity.

The additions of Cuba and Nicaragua are important. The decision not to list Nigeria or India will draw the most attention among those active in highlighting persecution concerns. The listing of Wagner as an EPC could bring some new interest by those who monitor militant movements and private military contractors about their activities. They should see this as a way to hold them accountable. That being said, this year’s State Department list is a mixed bag for advocates of International Religious Freedom.