United States Commission on International Religious Freedom | 11 Dec 2019

Recently, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has raised concern over Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), 2019.

This concern is related to the provision of granting citizenship based on religion in CAB, 2019.
Earlier in August, 2019 USCIRF had also issued a statement against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and a mob lynching incident in Jharkhand.

In 2016, a Bill was introduced to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. However, it lapsed with the dissolution of the 16^th Lok Sabha.
- Subsequently, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 is has been introduced in the Parliament in December 2019.
The 2019 amendment Bill provides for an exception for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, with regard to qualification for citizenship.

It is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), 1998. It monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad.
USCIRF uses international standards to monitor religious freedom violations globally, and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress.
USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and Congressional leaders of both political parties.
- Their work is supported by a professional, nonpartisan staff. USCIRF is separate from the State Department, although the Department’s Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom is a non-voting ex officio Commissioner.
Its recommendations are not binding and acts only as a conscience-keeper for the two branches in the US government — the legislature and the executive.

USCIRF releases International Religious Freedom report annually. The Report consists of country-wise chapters.
The 2019 report on India discussed mob-related violence, religious conversion, the legal status of minorities and government policies.
It has placed India on its Tier 2 category for engaging in or tolerating religious freedom violations that meet at least one of the elements of the “systematic, ongoing, egregious” standard for designation as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).