Which countries have been recently designated as “Countries of Particular Concern” by the US for severe violations of religious freedom?

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announce the designation of several countries as “Countries of Particular Concern” for engaging in and tolerating particularly severe violations of religious freedom. This list includes Burma, China, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. This action reflects the US’s commitment to advancing the freedom of religion or belief, a core objective of its foreign policy since the enactment of the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998. The designation is aimed at highlighting and addressing significant violations of religious freedom in these countries, which include various forms of abuses against members of religious minority communities, attacks on places of worship, communal violence, and other forms of persecution and intolerance.