3/27/2025 Nigeria (International Christian Concern) — The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its annual report on Tuesday, providing an update on the status of religious freedom worldwide.
Hundreds of religious freedom advocates, including International Christian Concern (ICC) staff and members of Congress, gathered on Capitol Hill for the report's release.
In USCIRF’s latest report, the commission maintained most of its recommendations from 2024, advising the U.S. Department of State to list 16 countries as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) and 12 others for its Special Watch List (SWL). These designations potentially carry severe penalties and are used to encourage countries to improve their treatment of religious groups. USCIRF also recommends that the State Department designate seven entities as Entities of Particular Concern (EPC) for their egregious violations of religious freedom.
Among USCIRF’s list for EPCs is Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist group that has been responsible for
tens of thousands of Christian deaths in northern Nigeria. The State Department included Boko Haram in its 2023 EPC designations but failed to address the Nigerian government’s own religious freedom violations by refusing to designate it as a CPC. USCIRF has recommended Nigeria for CPC status since 2009, a designation that has become a point of tension in recent years.
USCIRF’s report also calls for the State Department to designate Afghanistan, India, and Vietnam as CPC — countries left off the State Department’s most recent CPC designations.
Notably, USCIRF recommended Azerbaijan for the lower tier SWL designation despite having recommended it for CPC designation in 2024. USCIRF Commissioner Vicky Hartzler, a former member of Congress, expressed dissent with the Commission’s decision to recommend Azerbaijan for an SWL designation, stating she believes “the designation of Country of Particular Concern is more fitting.”
The report also celebrated international religious freedom successes from 2024, including the State Department securing the release of 135 political prisoners in Nicaragua and the release of American Pastor David Lin from two decades of imprisonment in China.
“ICC is particularly grateful for USCIRF’s focus on the persecution of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world,” said McKenna Wendt, ICC’s advocacy manager. “USCIRF’s report is an invaluable resource for the international religious freedom community. I enjoyed reading about the great successes of the last year while building toward a future in which religious freedom flourishes across the world.”
Since 1995, ICC has served the global persecuted church through a three-pronged approach of assistance, advocacy, and awareness. ICC exists to bandage the wounds of persecuted Christians and to build the church in the toughest parts of the world.
