{"id":14918,"date":"2021-04-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-23T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/23-04-2021\/international-religious-freedom-report\/"},"modified":"2021-04-23T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T00:00:00","slug":"international-religious-freedom-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/23-04-2021\/international-religious-freedom-report","title":{"rendered":"International Religious Freedom Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong><u>In News<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">Recently,<strong> <\/strong>the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has <strong>released its annual report.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong><u>About the Report<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">The report is known as the <strong>International Religious Freedom Report<\/strong> and describes the <strong>status of religious freedom<\/strong>, government policies violating religious belief and practices of groups, religious denominations and individuals, and U.S. policies promoting religious freedom.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Focus: <\/strong>The report\u2019s primary focus is on<strong> two groups of countries<\/strong>:<\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Country of Particular Concern<\/strong>: It is a <strong>designation <\/strong>by the US Secretary of State of a nation engaged in severe <strong>violations of <\/strong>r<strong>eligious freedom under IRFA 1998<\/strong>.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Special Watch List (SWL): <\/strong>\u00a0A \u201cSpecial Watch List\u201d country is one that is deemed not to meet all of the CPC criteria but <strong>engages in or tolerates severe violations of religious freedom. <\/strong><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">This country category was established in the Frank R. Wolf International <strong>Religious Freedom Act of 2016<\/strong> which amended the IRFA to provide the U.S. Government with new tools, resources, and responsibilities to advance and promote international religious freedom. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Entities of Particular Concern: <\/strong>The report also includes USCIRF\u2019s recommendations of violent non-state actors for designation by the State Department as \u201c<strong>entities of particular concern,\u201d or EPCs.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong><u>Major Concerns Highlighted In India\u2019s Case <\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Citizenship Amendment Act: <\/strong>The key concerns of the 2021 report include the <strong>Citizenship Amendment Act <\/strong>which went into effect in early 2020 and fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslim refugees from South Asian countries meeting certain other criteria. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Delhi\u2019s riots: <\/strong>The report says, \u201cMobs sympathetic to Hindu nationalism operated with impunity,\u201d and used \u201cbrutal force\u201d to attack Muslims in Delhi\u2019s riots in February 2020. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>National Register of Citizens (NRC): <\/strong>The USCIRF also alleged that in conjunction with a proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) requiring all residents to provide documentation of citizenship, the CAA could subject Muslims, in particular, to statelessness, deportation or prolonged detention.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>\u00a0Prohibition of interfaith marriage: <\/strong>Efforts to prohibit interfaith marriage \u2013 such as those in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh &#8211; are also highlighted as a concern. <\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">These efforts targeting and delegitimizing interfaith relationships have led to attacks and arrests of non-Hindus.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Tablighi Jamaat Markaz: <\/strong>In an apparent reference to the Tablighi Jamaat Markaz in March 2020, the USCIRF says, \u201cAt the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, disinformation and hateful rhetoric &#8211; including from government officials \u2013 often targeted<strong> religious minorities, continuing familiar patterns<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Abrogation of Article 370: <\/strong>The unilateral abrogation of Article 370 in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and activities aftermath.<\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">The shutdown of the internet for nearly 18 months\u2014the longest-ever shutdown in any democracy\u2014and other restrictions on communications caused significant disruption and limited religious freedom.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Amendment in the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA): <\/strong>In September 2020, the FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) was amended to place further restrictions on NGOs, including reducing the amount of foreign funds that could be used for administrative expenses and requiring that accounts be held in a government-designated bank.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong><u>Recommendations<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">It<strong> <\/strong>assesses religious freedom violations and progress during the calendar year <strong>2020 in 26 countrie<\/strong>s and makes independent recommendations for U.S. policy. <\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">USCIRF has recommended the following <strong>14 countries<\/strong> be designated a <strong>Country of Particular Concern(<\/strong>CPCs)\u00a0 and 12 countries for the <strong>Special Watch List (SWL <\/strong>in 2021 as depicted in the <strong>image.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">A second recommendation was for the administration to <strong>promote interfaith dialogue<\/strong> and the <strong>rights of all communities<\/strong> at bilateral and multilateral forums \u201csuch as the ministerial of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/website\/blog\/details\/338\"><strong><span style=\"color:#1155cc\">Quadrilateral [the Quad]<\/span><\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Recommendation for India: <\/strong>It recommended State Department to put <strong>India on a list (\u2018Countries of Particular Concern\u2019 or CPCs<\/strong>) for the worst violations of<strong> religious freedoms in 2020 and <\/strong>\u00a0impose targeted sanctions on Indian individuals and entities<\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">The Trump administration had rejected the USCIRF recommendation to designate India a CPC last year when it released its own determinations in December. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong><u>Conclusion &#038; Way Forward<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">India should not be a &#8216;<strong>country of particular concern,<\/strong>&#8216; or CPC. It is the world&#8217;s largest democracy, and it is governed by a pristine constitution. It is diversity personified and its religious life has been its greatest historic blessing<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">India must always <strong>resist allowing political and intercommunal conflict t<\/strong>o be exacerbated by religious tensions. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"Table\" style=\"border-collapse:collapse; border:none; width:624px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color:#fff2cc; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:1px solid black; vertical-align:top; width:624px\">\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong><u>US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">It is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission created by the 1998 <strong>International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).<\/strong> <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">It monitors the <strong>universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad<\/strong>. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">It uses international standards to monitor religious freedom violations globally and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>USCIRF recommendations<\/strong> are <strong>non-binding<\/strong> to the State Department<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong><u>What is Religious Freedom?<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">Freedom of religion or belief is an expansive right that includes the freedoms of thought, conscience, expression, association, and assembly.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong><u>Right to Freedom of religion in India <\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">The Indian Constitution allows individuals the freedom to live by their religious beliefs and practices as they interpret these. In keeping with this idea of religious freedom for all, India also adopted a strategy of separating the power of religion and the power of the State<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><strong>Constitutional Provisions <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">Article 25 -Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">Article 26\u00a0 Freedom to manage religious affairs<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">Article 27-Freedom to pay taxes for promotion of any particular religion<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\">Article 28-Freedom to attend religious instruction or worship in certain educational institutions<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial,sans-serif\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/international\/india-should-be-a-country-of-particular-concern-for-religious-freedom-us-commission\/article34379418.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color:#1155cc\">Source :TH<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In News Recently, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has released its annual report. About the Report The report is known as the International Religious Freedom Report and describes the status of religious freedom, government policies violating religious belief and practices of groups, religious denominations and individuals, and U.S. policies promoting religious freedom. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[58,30,50],"class_list":["post-14918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-art-and-culture","tag-gs-2","tag-important-international-institutions"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/3046590current-affairs (1).jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}