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UNDER SECRETARY FOR CIVIL SECURITY, DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Office of International Religious Freedom
Our Mission
The Office of International Religious Freedom's mission is to promote religious freedom as a central goal of U.S. foreign policy. We monitor religious persecution and discrimination around the world, recommend and implement policies in respective regions or countries, and develop programs to promote religious freedom.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Samuel D Brownback

Follow on Twitter: @IRF_Ambassador 

 
Overview and acknowledgements
WHY AND HOW THE REPORTS ARE PREPARED
The Department of State submits this annual report to Congress in accordance with section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (PL 105-292), as amended.  This report covers the period January 1 through December 31, 2021.

U.S. embassies prepare initial drafts of country chapters based on input from government officials, religious groups, nongovernmental organizations, journalists, human rights monitors, academics, media, and others.  The Washington-based Office of International Religious Freedom collaborates in the collection and analysis of additional information based 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, completely, and fairly as possible. a position to independently verify all information contained in the reports.  To the extent possible, the reports use multiple sources to increase comprehensiveness and reduce the potential for bias.  The views of any particular source are not necessarily those of the United States government.  The report is designed to highlight examples of government and social actions that typify and illuminate the problems 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 example available._cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ Rather, the goal is to clarify the nature, scope, and gravity of actions affecting religious freedom through illustrative examples.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This report reflects the efforts of hundreds of people at the State Department and U.S. missions abroad.  We thank the dedicated staff of our embassies and consulates for monitoring and promoting religious freedom and for reporting in detail on the status of freedom of belief.  Many of them made great efforts under difficult circumstances to obtain 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 International Religious Freedom Office Director Dan Nadel and Deputy Directors Stacy Bernard Davis and Khashayar Ghashghai.

The editorial team of the International Religious Liberty Report consists of the following:  Editor-in-Chief:  Robert W. Boehme;_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_ Editors:  Cynthia H. Akuetteh, Victoria Alvarado, Brian Bachman, Jessica Brown, Maeve Dwyer, Lisa B. Gregory, David E. Henifin, James A. McVerry, Daniel Merrill, Carol Rodley , Vicente Valle and David Winn; Office of International Religious Freedom Team:  James Alexander, Rory Anderson, Keith Andrews, Nida Ansari, Riley M. Barnes, Mollie Blum, Aaron Bruce, Andre Cadieux, Mariyam A. Cementwala, Howard Chyung, Warren Cofsky, Sean Comber, Gabriel del Bosque, Serena Doan, Nathan George, Benjamin Harbaugh, Cassandra Harris, Razi Hashmi, Gabriella Hensinger, Sameer Hossain, Sarah Krech, Samantha Libraty, Mariah J. Mercer, Leslie Moorman, Tina L. Mufford, Douglas Padgett, Kourtney Pompi, Carson Relitz Rocker, James Schaefer, Robin Schulman, Knox Thames, and Pauletta Walsh. .

In memory of our dear friend and colleague, Daniel T. Fantozzi.