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US, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the country has designated China, North Korea, Pakistan, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Myanmar as “Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom”. Mr Blinken has also designated al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS-Sahel, ISIS-West Africa, al-Qa’ida affiliate Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, and the Taliban as “Entities of Particular Concern”. 

Mr Blinken was delivering a press statement in which he stated that advancing the freedom of religion or belief has been a core objective of U.S. foreign policy ever since Congress passed and enacted the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998. Furthermore, Blinken has designated Algeria, Azerbaijan, the Central African Republic, Comoros, and Vietnam as “Special Watch List countries for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.”