Countries of Particular Concern

Religious Freedom Commission Cites Countries of Particular Concern:

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent nine-member advisory body established by Congress, is calling on the State Department to designate 11 countries as 'countries of particular concern' because of 'egregious, systematic, ongoing abuse of the right of religious freedom.'

The countries are Burma, China, Eritrea, India, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam, said Commission Chairman Michael Young during a briefing at the State Department's Foreign Press Center in Washington February 18.

The Commission believes that 'the designation of these countries is one of the most important steps towards the advancement of human rights that the United States takes every year, and we have strongly urged the Department of State to name those particular countries,' he said. He added, however, that there were some dissenting opinions within the Commission about India's designation.

Prediction: our good allies in the war on terror (Saudi Arabia and Pakistan) will not be mentioned. Note: not one of the countries singled out for abuses of religious freedom is a member of the Coalition of the Willing.