News from May 2023
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Central African Republic
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution establishes the country as a secular state. It also provides for freedom of religion and equal protection under the law regardless of religion and prohibits religious intolerance and “fundamentalism," which is not defined in law. Religious groups are required to register officially...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Malawi
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution prohibits discrimination based on religion and provides for freedom of conscience, religion, belief, and thought.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religious belief, with the stipulation that “religion must not be used as a pretext for drawing in foreign forces or for harming the State or social order.".
International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance’s Solidarity Visit to Lebanon
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: An International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) delegation paid a solidarity visit to Lebanon on April 26-27, 2023 to meet with government and civil society leaders as well as representatives of faith communities. Led by IRFBA Steering Committee Vice Chair Ambassador Robert Rehak of the...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Kiribati
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion. Religious groups with memberships equal to or greater than 2 percent of the population are required to register with the government.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Dominica
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion, including freedom of thought, freedom to practice one’s religion, and freedom from taking oaths contrary to one’s beliefs.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Burkina Faso
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution declares that the country is a secular state. The constitution and other laws provide for the right of individuals to choose and change their religion and to practice the religion of their choice. Religious organizations may register with the government but are not required to register...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Samoa
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for the right to choose, practice, and change one’s religion, and it defines the country as a Christian nation.
Taking Steps to Impose Visa Restrictions on Individuals Involved in Undermining the Democratic Process During Nigeria’s 2023 Elections Cycle
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The United States is committed to supporting and advancing democracy in Nigeria and around the world. Today, I am announcing that we have taken steps to impose visa restrictions on specific individuals in Nigeria for undermining the democratic process during Nigeria’s 2023 elections cycle. These actions are specific to certain individuals and are not directed at the Nigerian people or the Government of Nigeria as a whole.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Saudi Arabia
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: According to the 1992 Basic Law of Governance, the country’s official religion is Islam and the constitution is the Quran and Sunna (traditions and practices based on the life of the Prophet Muhammad). The legal system is based largely on sharia as interpreted by the Hanbali school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Zambia
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution declares the country a Christian nation but also provides for religious freedom and upholds the country’s multireligious composition. It prohibits religious discrimination and provides for freedom of conscience and belief.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Liberia
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for the separation of religion and state and stipulates all persons are entitled to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, except as required by law to protect public safety, order, health, morals, or the rights of others. It also provides for equal protection under the law and prohibits religious tests for office and the establishment of a state religion.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Taiwan
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religious belief. In May, the Legislative Yuan (parliament) passed a law allowing qualified religious groups to change the registration of real estate assets formerly held in the name of individual members. Under the new law, such assets may be held under the...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Somalia
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The provisional federal constitution (PFC) provides for the right of individuals to practice their religion, makes Islam the state religion, prohibits the propagation of any religion other than Islam, and stipulates all laws must comply with the general principles of sharia. Most areas of the country...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Tanzania
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitutions of the union government and of the semiautonomous government in Zanzibar prohibit religious discrimination and provide for freedom of religious choice. Since independence and by tradition, the country has been governed by alternating Christian and Muslim presidents, who then appoint...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Mauritania
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution defines the country as an Islamic republic and designates Islam as the sole religion of the citizenry and state. The law prohibits blasphemy and apostasy and defines them as crimes punishable by death; however, the government has never applied the death penalty for these crimes.
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Venezuela
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: (References to a “regime" or “Maduro regime" below are not intended to indicate that the United States considers such entity a government. In 2019, the Department of State announced the temporary suspension of operations of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas and the withdrawal of diplomatic personnel, and it subsequently announced the opening of the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), located at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia.).
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Mexico
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution provides all persons the right to religious freedom, including the right to engage in religious ceremonies and acts of worship. The constitution declares the country a secular state. Under the constitution, Indigenous communities enjoy a protected legal structure, allowing them some...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Comoros
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution specifies Islam is the state religion and defines the national identity as being based on a single religion - Sunni Islam - but proclaims equality of rights and obligations for all, regardless of religious belief. The constitution also specifies that the principles and rules that regulate...
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Lesotho
By State Newswire | May 16, 2023
Release: The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and provides for freedom of conscience, thought, and religion, including the freedom to change religion or belief and to manifest and propagate one’s religion. These rights may be limited by laws in the interests of defense, public safety, order, morality, or protecting the rights of other persons, provided the limitations are the minimum necessary.