Source description last updated: 25 January 2022

In brief: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a bipartisan agency of the US federal government that monitors the situation relating to freedom of religion or belief in other countries.

Coverage on ecoi.net:

Annual reports, special reports, country updates, policy briefs, factsheets

Covered quarterly on ecoi.net for countries of priorities A, B and C, annual report also for D and E.

Mission/Mandate/Objectives:

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) describes itself as “an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government agency created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), as amended. [...]

USCIRF's nine Commissioners are appointed by either the President or Congressional leaders of each political party, supported by a non-partisan professional staff. While USCIRF is independent from the State Department, the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom is a non-voting member.”

Among other activities, USCIRF “[m]onitors Religious Freedom Conditions Abroad through research, travel, and meetings with foreign officials and international partners, representatives of independent human rights groups and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), religious leaders, victims of persecution, and others.”

It “[i]ssues an Annual Report & Other Publications that asses foreign countries that violate religious freedom in a systematic, ongoing, and/or egregious manner; highlight thematic issues affected religious freedom abroad; evaluate U.S. policy; and make recommendations to the U.S. government” (USCIRF website: About Us, undated).

Funding:

US federal budget

Scope of reporting:

Geographic focus: States the USCIRF recommends that they should be designated as “countries of particular concern” or “Special Watch List” countries by the US Department of State (USDOS)

Thematic focus: Violations of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion/belief, including violations such as torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; prolonged detention without charges; abduction, disappearance, and detention of persons; or other serious denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of persons

Methodology:

As USCIRF explains, it obtains information about violations of religious freedom using methods including: “visiting selected countries in order to observe facts on the ground, meeting regularly with foreign officials, religious leaders and groups, victims of religious intolerance, and representatives of civil society, nongovernmental organizations, government agencies, and national and international organizations, and keeping abreast of credible news reports” (USCIRF website: Frequently Asked Questions, undated). No further information could be found on the research methodology of USCIRF’s country updates, policy briefs, factsheets and special reports authored by USCIRF staff analysts.

The key findings and analysis presented in USCIRF’s Annual Reports “are based on a year’s research by USCIRF, including travel, hearings, meetings, and briefings, and are approved by a majority vote of Commissioners, with each Commissioner, under the statute, having the option to include a statement with his or her own individual views” (USCIRF: Annual Report 2021, April 2021, p. 1 and USCIRF: Annual Report 2020, April 2020, p. 2).

Special reports authored by external researchers may be based on field observations (see, for example, USCIRF: Shari’ah Criminal Law in Northern Nigeria, Dezember 2019, p. 59), interviews with victims and other stakeholders and a review of laws, court documents and literature (USCIRF: Uzbekistan’s Religious and Political Prisoners, October 2021, p. 8-9 and USCIRF: Shari’ah Criminal Law in Northern Nigeria, Dezember 2019, pp. 59-60).

Language(s) of publications:

English

All links accessed 25 January 2022.