The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has released its annual report highlighting the violations of religious rights in 28 countries.
The 2018 report on religious freedom violations committed last year was released on Wednesday ahead of the 20th anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) in October.
"Sadly, religious freedom conditions deteriorated in many countries in 2017, often due to increasing authoritarianism or under the guise of countering terrorism," said USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark, according to Baptist Press.
"Yet there is also reason for optimism 20 years after the passage of the International Religious Freedom Act. The importance of this foundational right is appreciated more now than ever, and egregious violations are less likely to go unnoticed," Mark added.
The commission is urging the Trump administration to prioritize the implementation of IRFA to protect religious freedom abroad.
In 2016, the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act was passed in an effort to address implementation concerns about IRFA.
"USCIRF also urges the administration to prioritize seeking the release of religious prisoners of conscience abroad, and to work closely with international partners in efforts to promote freedom of religion or belief for all," Mark said, as reported by Baptist Press.
The commission is also recommending a list of 10 Tier 1 countries to be redesignated by the State Department as "countries of particular concern" (CPC) for religious freedom violations.
The nations listed by the commission were Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, according to Religion News Service.
USCIRF also recommended that the department add Central African Republic, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Syria and Vietnam to the list.
Nations that were included in the Tier 2 watch list - those that meet only one or two of the criteria for CPCs - were Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia and Turkey.
It also recommended a list of "entities of particular concern," which included organizations such as the Islamic State, the Taliban and al-Shabaab.
The report also chronicled a list of religious freedom abuses, including the imprisonment of Pastor Andrew Brunson in Turkey, the genocide committed by the ISIS against Christians, Yazidis and Shi'a Muslims in Iraq and Syria, the persecution of Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims Falun Gong practitioners in China and the "ethnic cleansing" of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
It also cited Pakistan's blasphemy laws, Russia's ban on Jehovah's Witnesses and the Nigerian government's failure to prevent the violent acts of Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen.
