“US Department of State positively assessed the state of religious freedom in Uzbekistan” – Religious Committee

The US DOS did not include Uzbekistan in the list of “Countries under special surveillance” that have not made positive changes in terms of religious freedom, the Religious Affairs Committee of Uzbekistan reported.

It is noted that the US DOS monitors the extent to which the countries of the world are following the International Religious Freedom Act adopted by the Congress in 1998. Countries that have not made positive changes in terms of religious freedom are included in the list of “Countries under special surveillance”.

According to the religious committee, Uzbekistan was removed from this list in 2020. Also, it is not listed in 2023.

“It is certainly a positive thing that Uzbekistan was not included in the list of “Countries under special surveillance” in the official statement published by the US State Department on January 4 based on the results of 2023,” the committee said in a statement.

The State Department’s 2023 report named Myanmar, China, Cuba, the DPRK, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as “countries of particular concern” for “allowing very serious violations of religious freedom”.

In addition, Algeria, Azerbaijan, the Central African Republic, the Gambian Islands, and Vietnam have been put on a “special watch list” for their involvement in serious violations of religious freedom.