US religious freedom panel renews call to blacklist India over alleged persecution of minorities.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended that India be added to a religious freedom blacklist for the fourth year in a row, citing worsening conditions for religious minorities under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. The panel also called on the Biden administration to add Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria, and Vietnam to its blacklist, and for the redesignation of several countries, including China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia, for human rights violations. The USCIRF's recommendations are not binding, and there is little expectation that the State Department will adopt them.