Arkansas Democrat
Gazette
By Frank E. Lockwood | April 30, 2019
WASHINGTON -- Despite decades of efforts to combat it, religious persecution continues to be a widespread problem, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
In its annual report, released Monday, the independent, bipartisan agency accused 16 nations of engaging in or tolerating "particularly severe religious freedom violations."
The 16 countries with "systematic, ongoing and egregious" religious persecution include 10 already recognized as "countries of particular concern" by the U.S. State Department -- China, Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Eritrea and Burma, plus two former Soviet states: Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
WASHINGTON -- Despite decades of efforts to combat it, religious persecution continues to be a widespread problem, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
In its annual report, released Monday, the independent, bipartisan agency accused 16 nations of engaging in or tolerating "particularly severe religious freedom violations."
The 16 countries with "systematic, ongoing and egregious" religious persecution include 10 already recognized as "countries of particular concern" by the U.S. State Department -- China, Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Eritrea and Burma, plus two former Soviet states: Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.