Religious freedom report flags five new concerning countries

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a Wednesday report recommending that five new countries be flagged as countries of particular concern, including India, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, and Vietnam.

India: The commission flagged India as a country of particular concern after its government expelled hundreds of Muslim citizens and dozens of Rohingya refugees last year. Indian authorities also reportedly detained 40 Muslim and Christian Rohingya refugees, whom they beat, interrogated, and tossed into the ocean in life jackets, according to the report.

Libya: Religious freedom within the country deteriorated in 2025 due to political fragmentation and national insecurity, according to the report. The internationally recognized Libyan government allowed various egregious religious freedom violations, and a rival, unrecognized government functioning on rigid Islamic law also restricted religious expression, the report said. The commission accused the state of carrying out arrests, conducting prolonged detentions, and torturing people over suspected proselytization.

Afghanistan: De facto Taliban authorities continued to enforce rigid and extreme Islamic law against all citizens, but most intensely against women, girls, and religious minorities, according to the report. Religious leaders use corporal punishment, surveillance, and arbitrary detention to enforce Sharia law, according to the commission. Women remain barred from seeking education, speaking publicly, seeking employment, and reciting the Quran privately in their homes, according to the report.

Syria: Religious freedom violations continued despite transitional authorities installed after the country’s 14-year civil war, who promised to reject the ideology of the leaders they overthrew. The new transitional leaders failed to prevent or administer justice for multiple massacres, kidnappings, and other violent acts against religious minorities, including Alawis, Druze, and Christians. Militants conducted door-to-door executions of Alawi civilians and ultimately killed at least 1,500 people in about two days, the report said.

Vietnam: The Vietnamese government continued using national laws against religious minorities and predominantly Christian ethnic groups, according to the report. The government specifically targeted defenders of free religion or members of unregistered religious groups with threats, detention, and imprisonment.

What about Nigeria? President Donald Trump already designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern in November due to the aggressive ongoing Christian persecution. Targeted religious violence killed 21,000 people within the last five years, and about 53,000 total since 2009, according to the independent bipartisan advisory body’s report.

The catastrophe came out of religiously motivated extremist violence, along with festering ethnic and economic tensions, according to the report. Corrupt government and state laws also contribute to the current environment of fear and unchecked religious attacks, the commission said. The commission described several attacks on local churches, along with child kidnappings and illegal executions.

The commission also recommended China’s designation as a country of particular concern over its continued repression of Uyghur Muslims as part of its larger, longstanding effort to quash all independent religious expression. China specifically launched a massive crackdown against Protestant Christian house churches within the country, according to the report.

Dig deeper: Read Onize Oduah’s report from November on Nigerians’ mixed reactions to Trump’s declaration of Christian persecution in their country.