Country of Particular Concern


Country of Particular Concern is a designation by the United States Secretary of State of a nation guilty of particularly severe violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and its amendment of 1999. The term "particularly severe violations of religious freedom" means systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom, including violations such as:
Issuing recommendations as to countries it believes should be designated as countries of particular concern for their religious liberty violations is the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, a separate agency created by IRFA to monitor the state of religious freedom around the world. Both entities provide policy recommendations to the president, the secretary of state and US Congress. Its recommendations are not always followed by the Secretary of State.
The latest USCIRF report recommended each of the following nations as a CPC:
These countries are considered Tier 2 countries and are on the watchlist:
In addition, the USCIRF designated the following non-state actors as "entities of particular concern" :