U.S Removes Nigeria From ‘Religious Freedom Violators’ List

The United States Department of State yesterday removed Nigeria from its list of religious freedom violators.

It announced its list of designations for state and non-state religious freedom violators, according to a statement from Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The most severe category of designation, called the “Countries of Particular Concern (CPC)” list, includes countries that have engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”

Secretary Blinken had announced that he would include Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan on the CPC list.

Notably missing from the list is Nigeria, a country that the State Department had named as a CPC in previous years.

The statement reads: “Each year, the Secretary of State has the responsibility to identify governments and non-state actors, who, because of their religious freedom violations, merit designation under the International Religious Freedom Act.

“I am designating Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Eritrea, Iran, the DPRK, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.

“I am also placing Algeria, Comoros, Cuba, and Nicaragua on a Special Watch List for governments that have engaged in or tolerated ‘severe violations of religious freedom.’

“Finally, I am designating al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, and the Taliban as Entities of Particular Concern.”

A group, the International Christians Concern (ICC), said Nigeria’s omission comes as a surprise as the situation in the country continues to worsen “for the country’s Christian community”.

In December 2019, the U.S. Department of State included Nigeria for the first time on its Special Watch List for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).

A year later, on December 2, 2020, the U.S. Department of State designated Nigeria as a CPC for engaging in or tolerating particularly severe violations under IRFA.

However, at the same time, it made the CPC designation, the State Department issued a waiver on any related sanctions as required in the “important national interest of the United States,” pursuant to Section 407 of IRFA.

U.S. funding to Nigeria continued to prioritize humanitarian assistance and economic development. In November, the United States and Nigeria co-hosted a meeting of the coalition against the

Islamic State and affirmed their commitment to defeating Boko Haram and ISWAP.

U.S. diplomatic efforts in Nigeria included peaceful conflict resolution programming in regions experiencing high levels of violence as well as monitoring cases of religious prisoners of conscience.