The US Has Removes Nigeria From Religious Freedom Violators’ List
Nigeria has been removed from the US government’s list of countries that have been sanctioned for “violating religious freedom.”
Nigeria was placed on the US’s “blacklist” in December 2020 for “violating religious freedom.”
The US charge, on the other hand, was portrayed by Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and culture, as a case of “an honest disagreement between the two nations about the reasons for violence in Nigeria.”
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, identified ten countries as “of particular concern” in a statement made on Wednesday, with Nigeria now missing from the religious freedom violators list.
According to President Obama’s State Department, the US is dedicated to fostering religion and faith freedom for all people in all countries. “We continue to see governments harass, detain, threaten, jail, and kill people who are simply trying to live their lives after being convicted,” he says.
“Each year, the Secretary of State is responsible for identifying nations and non-state entities that deserve to be designated under the International Religious Freedom Act for violating religious freedom.”
For having engaged in or allowed “systematic, persistent, and egregious abuses of religious freedom,” 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.”
I’m also adding Algeria, the Comoros, Cuba, and Nicaragua to a Special Watch List of countries that have committed or allowed “serious abuses of religious freedom.”
Finally, I am designating as Entities of Particular Concern 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.”
“Today’s challenges to religious freedom are structural, systemic, and deeply entrenched.” They can be found in every country. They demand a long-term global commitment from everyone who refuses to accept hatred, intolerance, and persecution as the status quo. They require immediate attention from the international community. “
