USCIRF released its 2021 Annual Report documenting developments over the past year, and providing policy recommendations to enhance the U.S. government’s promotion of freedom of religion or belief abroad. In its report, USCIRF also monitored public health measures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and their impact on religious freedom.

USCIRF’s independence and bipartisanship enables it to unflinchingly identify threats to religious freedom around the world. The 2021 Annual Report recommends 26 countries for designation as either a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) or to be placed on the State Department’s Special Watch List (SWL). The report also highlights important global developments and trends related to religious freedom including political unrest leading to religious freedom violations, blasphemy laws, and global antisemitism.

USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin joins us to elaborate on some of the key elements of the 2021 Annual Report.

You can find the full report here.

Featuring:
Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF
Gayle Manchin, Chair, USCIRF