U.S. Stays Vigilant on Religious Freedom Conditions Worldwide

Washington, DC, October 9:
The US Department of State acknowledged receipt of the India report from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). It further stated that the US continues to keep tabs on the religious freedom situation worldwide. It should be noted that the USCIRF is a "independent commission" and is "not a part of the State Department." This point was further emphasized by Federal Spokesperson Matthew Miller.

We have reviewed the report, so yeah. An impartial body, USCIRF advises both the executive and legislative branches on matters of policy. During a news briefing on Tuesday, Miller clarified that the entity in question is not associated with the State Department or the Executive Branch.

In a recent report on India, the US Commission for Religious Freedom called on the State Department to sanction certain persons and institutions and identify India as CPC. In response to a media query, Miller made these remarks.

"I think as you know, after careful review in December of last year, the Secretary assessed that India did not meet the threshold for designation as a Country of Particular Concern, but we continue to carefully monitor the religious freedom situation in every country, including India," a spokesperson for the State Department said.

In its report, the USCIRF said that religious freedom in India was violated. The report on religious freedom in India was panned by the Ministry of External Affairs on October 3, calling it "malicious," further damaging the credibility of USCIRF.

Additionally, it criticized USCIRF, claiming that it is a politically motivated, "biased organisation" that perpetuates false information and promotes a "motivated narrative" regarding India.

A lot of people know what we think of USCIRF, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. It is an agenda-driven, prejudiced group. It promotes an agenda-driven narrative about India and persists in distorting the facts. A representative from the MEA, Randhir Jaiswal, issued a statement in which he rejected the findings, calling it "malicious" and adding to USCIRF's reputation.

The MEA also asked USCIRF to stop wasting time on "agenda driven efforts" and instead focus on US human rights issues.

We strongly advise USCIRF to stop engaging in agenda-driven initiatives. The USCIRF should focus its efforts on domestic human rights issues instead of wasting time on foreign affairs, the statement continued.