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2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Uruguay

Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion and affirms the state does not endorse any specific religion. Legal statutes prohibit discrimination based on religion. The government’s official commitment to secularism continued to generate controversy between religious groups and political leaders.


Yemen National Day

Release: On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, I offer my warm wishes to the people of Yemen on their 32nd National Unity Day on May 22. The United States welcomes the work of the Presidential Leadership Council and its efforts to support peace.


Release: SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, good afternoon, everyone. It’s a real pleasure to have Foreign Minister Osmani here. We are welcome - welcome to the State Department, welcome to Washington - our newest NATO Ally, but also I am very pleased that we’ve initiated the Strategic Dialogue, which I think will only serve to deepen cooperation, coordination, collaboration between North Macedonia and the United States. We’re very, very pleased to do that.


Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion or belief and separation of government and religion. NGO representatives said the government continued the severe physical abuse of some persons arrested and jailed on suspicion of religious extremism or of participating in Islamic activity not approved...


Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion and prohibits discrimination based on religion. According to Protest and evangelical Christian religious groups, the government made concrete efforts to promote religious tolerance and freedom. Religious groups were generally supportive of government COVID-19 mitigation efforts, and during the year, Prime Minister Timothy Harris praised the cooperation of religious groups in addressing the pandemic.


Release: The constitution provides for the free exercise of all religions. Any religious group seeking official recognition must obtain it through a multistep registration process with the Bureau of Worship (BOW), a unit within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The government has a special relationship with...


Release: The constitution and other laws provide for freedom of religion, including the freedom to change one’s religion, and prohibit discrimination based on religious belief. The government does not require religious groups to register and grants religious groups the right to establish and maintain private...


Release: The below is attributable to Spokesperson Ned Price.


Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion, including the freedom of individuals to change their religion. Religious organizations may register as nonprofit religious institutions with the government or register as corporations, the latter option requiring an application to parliament. On August...


2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Release: The constitutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and each of the country’s two entities - the Federation of BiH (the Federation) and Republika Srpska (RS) - provide for freedom of religious thought and practice, prohibit religious discrimination, and allow registered religious organizations to operate ...


Targeting Hizballah Financial Facilitator’s Abuse of the Business Sector

Release: Hizballah continues to exploit the private sector and commercial activity to fund its illicit and destabilizing activities. The United States is committed to protecting the international financial system from Hizballah’s abuses and to supporting legitimate businesses in Lebanon, Iraq, and the broader...


Release: The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and provides for freedom of religion, subject to limitations to ensure public order, health, and safety or to protect the rights of others. The law does not provide a means for religious groups to acquire legal status. A draft bill to grant them such ...


Release: Crimea. In February 2014, Russian military forces invaded Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 adopted on March 27, 2014, and entitled Territorial Integrity of Ukraine states the Autonomous Republic of Crimea remains internationally recognized as within Ukraine’s ...


Release: The Fundamental Law, the country’s constitution, provides for freedom of religion, including freedom to choose, change, or manifest religion or belief, cites “the role of Christianity" in “preserving nationhood," and values “various religious traditions." The Law prohibits religious discrimination and ...


Release: The constitution prohibits discrimination based on religion; provides for freedom of belief, religion, and worship; and states no one “shall be obligated by coercive measures to declare his or her ideology or beliefs." According to media reports, the Nicaraguan National Police (NNP) and progovernment...


Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion and worship and prohibits discrimination based on religion. According to the most recent data, in 2020 the government granted citizenship to 20,892 descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled during the Inquisition and rejected 163 applicants; 54,160 applications ...


2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Latvia

Release: The constitution provides every person the right to “freedom of thought, conscience, and religion," and it specifies the separation of church and state. By law, eight “traditional" religious groups (seven Christian groups and Jews) receive rights and privileges other groups do not. On Nov. 10, the ...


2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Costa Rica

Release: The constitution recognizes Roman Catholicism as the state religion; the law requires the state to contribute to the Catholic Church’s maintenance. The constitution prohibits the state from impeding the free exercise of religions that does not impugn “universal morality or proper behavior," and it provides...


News Release: Ambassador Marcia S. Bernicat was sworn in today as Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent. A career member of the Foreign Service for 41 years, she was Acting Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) until ...


Release: On behalf of the United States of America, I would like to congratulate all Samoans on the 60th anniversary of your independence on June 1.