US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo
The United States on Monday placed Nigeria on a religious freedom blacklist, paving the way for potential sanctions against the country if it does not improve on its record.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated Nigeria, for the first time, as a "Country of Particular Concern" for religious freedom.
Other countries on the blacklist include China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, Myanmar, North Korea, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Pompeo announced the inclusion of Nigeria in the religion violations list on his twitter handle. It reads,
"Today the US designates Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, the DPRK, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as countries of concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for engaging systematic, ongoing, egregious religious freedom violations.
"The US is unwavering in its commitment to religious freedom. No country or entity should be allowed to persecute people with impunity because of their beliefs. These annual designations show that when religious freedom is attacked, we will act," he had said.
But in swift reaction, the Nigerian government through the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Muhammed, faulted the United States for adding Nigeria to a religious freedom blacklist, which contains countries with severe religious violations.
The Minister explained that the allegation, by the United States, of engaging in systematic and egregious religious freedom violations was faulty.
This was contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by Segun Adeyemi, Special Assistant To The President (Media) Office of the Minister of Information and Culture.
Mohammed described the allegation as “a case of an honest disagreement between the two nations on the causes of violence in Nigeria” He further said that ”Nigeria does not engage in religious freedom violation; neither does it have a policy of religious persecution. Victims of insecurity and terrorism in the country are adherents of Christianity, Islam and other religions,” the Minister added. He also explained that “Nigeria jealously protects religious freedom as enshrined in the country’s constitution and takes seriously any infringements in this regard.”
Nigeria's information & Culture Minister, Lai Muhammed
Although Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, did not elaborate on the reasons for including Nigeria, which has a delicate balance between Muslims and Christians, U.S. law requires such designations for nations that either engage in or tolerate "systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom."
India, which is having a growing relationship with Washington, escaped the blacklist. Last year the country was infuriated by a recommendation from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to include the secular but Hindu-majority nation over what it called a sharp downward turn under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Areas of concern
Pompeo removed from a second tier watchlist both Uzbekistan and Sudan, whose relations with the United States have rapidly warmed after the ousting of dictator Omar al-Bashir and its recent agreement to recognize Israel.
On Nigeria, an annual State Department report published earlier this year took note of concerns both at the federal and state levels. It pointed to the mass detention of members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, a Shi'ite Muslim group that has been at loggerheads with the government for decades and was banned by a court. Nigeria has been widely criticized for its treatment of the movement, including in a 2015 clash in which about 350 shiites members were allegedly killed by the military.
The State Department report highlighted the arrests of Muslims for eating in public in Kano state during Ramadan, when Muslims are supposed to fast during daylight hours. It also took note of the approval of a bill in Kaduna state to regulate religious preaching.
Improve or face sanctions
While the designations relate to government actions, the State Department has already listed Nigeria's Boko Haram as a terrorist group. The militants began an insurgency in 2009 in northeastern Nigeria that has since spread to neighboring countries, killing more than 36,000 people and forcing 3 million to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.
Under U.S. law, nations on the blacklist must make improvements or face sanctions, including losses of U.S. government assistance, although the administration can waive actions. Religious freedom has been a core issue for Pompeo and Trump, who count on strong evangelical Christian support and have often played down other human rights concerns among allies.
In a bipartisan effort as Trump exits, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a resolution Monday that asks the United States to put a priority on repealing blasphemy laws around the world. The resolution noted that more than 70 countries had blasphemy laws on the books and voiced alarm over Pakistan, where minorities have frequently been targeted, as well as about attacks on secularist writers in Bangladesh.
The House also unanimously approved a resolution calling for an end to Iran's "state-sponsored persecution" of the Baha'i community and urged the immediate release of detained members of the faith.
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