USCIRF recommends that the US Department of State designate India as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’: Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai
Says the time has come to shine a bright light on India’s unrelenting persecution of people of Kashmir
WASHINGTON ( WEB NEWS )
Secretary General of the Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai says the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended that the US Department of State designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern,” and “to impose targeted Sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for severe violations of Religious Freedom by freezing those individuals’ assets and/or barring their entry into the United States under Human Rights-related financial and Visa authorities, citing specific religious freedom violations.”
In a statement issued on twitter, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai said that the time has come to shine a bright light on India’s unrelenting persecution of people of Kashmir.
Earlier on 2nd October 2024, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released the report about India which highlights how throughout 2024, individuals have been killed, beaten, and lynched by vigilante groups, religious leaders have been arbitrarily arrested, and homes and places of worship have been demolished. These events constitute particularly severe violations of religious freedom. It describes the use of misinformation and disinformation, including hate speech, by government officials to incite violent attacks against religious minorities and their places of worship.
It further describes changes to and enforcement of India’s legal framework to target and disenfranchise religious minorities, including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and several state-level anti-conversion and cow slaughter laws.
In its 2024 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern,” or CPC, or engaging in systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.
It is worth mentioning here that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion or belief.