Secre­t­a­ry of State Michael Pompeo announced on Mon­day that the United States had designated Pakis­tan, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turk­m­enistan, Nigeria, Nor­th Korea, Myanmar and Eritrea as “countries of part­ic­ular Concern” (CPC) under its International Religious Freedom Act.

The statement accused these countries of “engaging in or tolerating “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom”.