This report assesses the U.S. government’s use of “country of particular concern,” or CPC, designations over the 25 years since the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) was enacted and makes recommendations to improve the effectiveness of these designations.

The requirement to name foreign governments that egregiously violate religious freedom as CPCs and take some action against them is a core component of IRFA. Based on key informant interviews and document and discourse analysis, the report finds that while IRFA has elevated the promotion of religious freedom abroad as a U.S. foreign policy priority and galvanized a global effort to advance this fundamental human right, the CPC mechanism has been more effective at condemning violations of religious freedom than at encouraging foreign governments to change policy. To date, the State Department has issued 19 sets of CPC designations, naming 17 different countries as CPCs 164 times. In the vast majority of cases, however, the designations have not been accompanied by any action specifically directed at the religious freedom violations at issue, limiting their ability to produce improvements. The report evaluates where CPC designations have proven most effective across three situations: collaboration; designations with waivers; and as part of punitive sanctions. It also includes case studies on Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan, including lessons learned from U.S. diplomatic efforts in those countries. The report concludes by recommending steps the State Department and Congress could take to make improvements in the areas of action planning, use of sanctions, use of bilateral agreements, engagement, and accountability.