India is the world’s largest democracy and home to a great diversity of faiths, the US said on Tuesday. Ned Price, a spokesperson for the US Department of State, stated to reporters: “India of course, is the world’s largest democracy. It’s home to a great diversity of faiths. Our annual report on international religious freedom outlines some of the concerns we’ve taken note of when it comes to India. And we continue to carefully monitor the religious freedom situation in all countries and that includes India.”
“We encourage and will continue to encourage the Indian government to hold its commitment to protecting religious freedom for all,” Price added.
“We engage officials regularly on steps they can take to advance religious freedom. As the world’s two largest democracies, the United States and India, we’re also committed to an enduring project,” he said.
This declaration was made following the Biden administration’s publication of a list of nations that have been blacklisted under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a statement, said, “Finally, I am designating al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam Wal-Muslimin, the Taliban, and the Wagner Group based on its actions in the Central African Republic as Entities of Particular Concern.”
According to a statement made by the US Department of State, Blinken also stated that China, Russia, Iran, Burma, Eritrea, North Korea, and Pakistan remain on the list of nations of “Particular Concern,” along with Cuba and Nicaragua.
“Today, I am announcing designations against Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, the DPRK (North Korea), Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” Blinken said in a statement.
“I am also placing Algeria, the Central African Republic, Comoros, and Vietnam on the Special Watch List for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom. Finally, I am designating al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam Wal-Muslimin, the Taliban, and the Wagner Group based on its actions in the Central African Republic as Entities of Particular Concern,” Blinken was quoted as saying in the statement.
The US’s declaration of these designations is consistent with its values and objectives to safeguard national security and promote human rights around the world. This and other human rights are better protected in nations that do so, and these nations are more stable, prosperous, and dependable allies of the United States.
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