HomeReportsOffice of International Religious Freedom…2018 Report on International Religious Freedom hide 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom Office of International Religious Freedom The annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom – the International Religious Freedom Report – describes the status of religious freedom in every country. The report covers government policies violating religious belief and practices of groups, religious denominations and individuals, and U.S. policies to promote religious freedom around the world. The U.S. Department of State submits the reports in accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Translations In this section / Overview and Acknowledgements Overview and Acknowledgements Why and How the Reports are Prepared Acknowledgements Country Reports Africa (Sub-Saharan) East Asia and Pacific Europe and Eurasia Near East (Middle East and North Africa) South and Central Asia Western Hemisphere Appendix A: Universal Declaration of Human Rights Appendix B: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Appendix C: Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief Appendix D: Religious Freedom Commitments and Obligations From Regional Bodies and Instruments Appendix E: Department of State Training Related to the International Religious Freedom Act – 2018 Appendix F: Department of Homeland Security and the International Religious Freedom Act Appendix G: Overview of U.S. Refugee Policy – 2018 Overview and Acknowledgements Why and How the Reports are Prepared The Department of State submits this annual report to the Congress in compliance with section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-292), as amended. This report covers the period between January 1 and December 31, 2018. U.S. embassies prepare the initial drafts of country chapters based on information from government officials, religious groups, nongovernmental organizations, journalists, human rights monitors, academics, media, and others. The Office of International Religious Freedom, based in Washington, collaborates in collecting and analyzing additional information, drawing on its consultations with foreign government officials, domestic and foreign religious groups, domestic and foreign nongovernmental organizations, multilateral and other international and regional organizations, journalists, academic experts, community leaders, and other relevant U.S. government institutions. The State Department’s guiding principle is to ensure that all relevant information is presented as objectively, thoroughly, and fairly as possible. Motivations and accuracy of sources vary, however, and the Department of State is not in a position to verify independently all information contained in the reports. To the extent possible, the reports use multiple sources to increase comprehensiveness and reduce potential for bias. The views of any particular source are not necessarily those of the United States government. The report is designed to spotlight examples of government and societal action that typify and illuminate issues reported in each country. Specific inclusions or omissions should not be interpreted as a signal that a particular case is of greater or lesser importance to the U.S. government, or that a case is the only available example. Rather, the goal is to shed light on the nature, scope, and severity of actions impacting religious freedom through illustrative examples. Acknowledgements This report reflects the efforts of hundreds of people in the Department of State and at U.S. missions abroad. We thank the dedicated staff at our embassies and consulates for monitoring and promoting religious freedom, and for chronicling in detail the status of freedom of belief. Many of them went to great lengths under difficult circumstances to acquire the information in this report. The reports were produced under the direction of Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, with guidance from Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) Senior Bureau Official Michael G. Kozak, Deputy Assistant Secretary Scott Busby, Deputy Assistant Secretary Roger Carstens, Deputy Assistant Secretary Michael Kelleher, and Special Advisor Knox Thames. The editorial staff of the International Religious Freedom Report consists of the following: Editor-in-Chief: Robert W. Boehme; Senior Editors: Victoria Alvarado, Brian D. Bachman, Daniel T. Fantozzi, Lisa B. Gregory, James A. McVerry, Carol Rodley, and Vicente Valle; Office of International Religious Freedom Director Daniel L. Nadel and Deputy Director Khashayar Ghashghai; the office’s professional, editorial and support staff: Carter Allen, Eun Si Aum, Riley M. Barnes, Tanner Barton, MacKenzie Bills, Chelsea Brint, André Cadieux, Mariyam A. Cementwala, Howard Chyung, Warren Cofsky, Sean Comber, Stacy Bernard Davis, Gabriel del Bosque, Cassandra Harris, Sameer Hossain, Lambrini Kolios, Sarah Krech, Samantha Libraty, Peter G. Martin, Emilia McManus, Mariah J. Mercer, Daniel Merrill, Douglas Padgett, Kourtney Pompi, Robin Schulman, Victoria L. Thoman, Pauletta Walsh, Chelsea M. Whitaker, and Melika M. Willoughby; and Technical Coordinator: Geoffrey Palcher. Special thanks to Laura Conn in the Office of the Legal Advisor, and to Cory Andrews, Aaron Bruce, Carol Finerty, and Cabell Willis in DRL’s Office of Policy Planning and Public Diplomacy for their contributions. Country Reports Africa (Sub-Saharan) Angola Côte d’Ivoire Guinea-Bissau Namibia South Africa Benin Democratic Republic of the Congo Kenya Niger South Sudan Botswana Djibouti Lesotho Nigeria Sudan Burkina Faso Equatorial Guinea Liberia Republic of the Congo Tanzania Burundi Eritrea Madagascar Rwanda The Gambia Cabo Verde Eswatini Malawi Sao Tome and Principe Togo Cameroon Ethiopia Mali Senegal Uganda Central African Republic Gabon Mauritania Seychelles Zambia Chad Ghana Mauritius Sierra Leone Zimbabwe Comoros Guinea Mozambique Somalia East Asia and Pacific Australia Indonesia Mongolia Samoa Tuvalu Brunei Japan Nauru Singapore Vanuatu Burma Kiribati New Zealand Solomon Islands Vietnam Cambodia Laos Palau Taiwan China (Includes Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Macau) Malaysia Papua New Guinea Thailand Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Marshall Islands Philippines Timor-Leste Fiji Micronesia Republic of Korea Tonga Europe and Eurasia Albania Cyprus Iceland Monaco Slovakia Andorra Czech Republic Ireland Montenegro Slovenia Armenia Denmark Italy North Macedonia Spain Austria Estonia Kosovo Norway Sweden Azerbaijan Finland Latvia Poland Switzerland Belarus France Liechtenstein Portugal The Netherlands Belgium Georgia Lithuania Romania Turkey Bosnia and Herzegovina Germany Luxembourg Russia Ukraine Bulgaria Greece Malta San Marino United Kingdom Croatia Hungary Moldova Serbia Near East (Middle East and North Africa) Algeria Iraq Lebanon Qatar United Arab Emirates Bahrain Israel, West Bank, and Gaza Libya Saudi Arabia Western Sahara Egypt Jordan Morocco Syria Yemen Iran Kuwait Oman Tunisia South and Central Asia Afghanistan India Maldives Sri Lanka Uzbekistan Bangladesh Kazakhstan Nepal Tajikistan Bhutan Kyrgyz Republic Pakistan Turkmenistan Western Hemisphere Antigua and Barbuda Chile El Salvador Mexico Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Argentina Colombia Grenada Nicaragua Suriname Barbados Costa Rica Guatemala Panama The Bahamas Belize Cuba Guyana Paraguay Trinidad and 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2018 Appendix F: Department of Homeland Security and the International Religious Freedom Act Appendix G: Overview of U.S. Refugee Policy – 2018 Tags Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Human Rights and Democracy Office of International Religious Freedom Back to Top Close 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom Build a Custom Report 01 / Select a Year 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 02 / Select Sections Select All Sections 03 / Select Countries You can add more than one country or area. Select all Deselect all Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan The Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon The Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Tibet Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam West Bank Western Sahara Xinjiang Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Build Your Custom Report