Breaking Down the State Department’s IRF Designations

Pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the U.S. Department of State designates Countries of Particular Concern, places countries on its Special Watch List, and designates Entities of Particular Concern. As part of this mandate, USCIRF makes recommendations to the administration, including the State Department, regarding which countries and entities deserve designation on these three lists based on systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.On today’s 100th episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Chair Nury Turkel joins us to discuss the State Department’s most recent designations and assess how they match up with USCIRF’s recommendations.With Contributions from:Nury Turkel, Chair, USCIRFElizabeth Cassidy, Director of Research & Policy, USCIRFVeronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF