Washington D.C., Apr 29, 2019 / 16:02 pm
The majority of the world's worst violators of religious freedom are found in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, according to a report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released Monday. The report's introduction focused on abuses against China's Uyghur Muslims.
USCIRF released April 29 its 20th annual report documenting the world's worst violators of religious freedom. With the exception of Cuba- the only majority Christian country listed, other than Russia- all the countries identified as the worst offenders are located in the eastern hemisphere.
"Our goal is not only to call out the offenders, but to provide concrete actions for the U.S. government to take in working with these countries to get off our lists," USCIRF Chair Tenzin Dorjee said in a release accompanying the report.
Each year the group identifies "countries of particular concern" using the criteria of "systematic, ongoing, egregious violations" of religious freedom.