The Biden administration is adding the Wagner Group, an infamous private Russian military firm, to the list of Entities of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act “based on its actions in the Central African Republic,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday.
In addition, Cuba and Nicaragua were added to the 2022 list of Countries of Particular Concern, meaning they have “engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom.” China, Russia, Iran, Burma, Eritrea, North Korea and Pakistan remain on the list.
Blinken also said he was “placing Algeria, the Central African Republic, Comoros, and Vietnam on the Special Watch List for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.”
“Around the world, governments and non-state actors harass, threaten, jail, and even kill individuals on account of their beliefs. In some instances, they stifle individuals’ freedom of religion or belief to exploit opportunities for political gain. These actions sow division, undermine economic security, and threaten political stability and peace. The United States will not stand by in the face of these abuses,” Blinken said.
The designations are required to be made under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Nations that are named as Countries of Particular Concern could face sanctions, as the US government is required by the law to impose one or more “presidential actions” against those countries unless a waiver is granted or an exception is made because they are already sanctioned.
According to a State Department official, waivers were issued this year to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan because it was determined that “the important national interest of the United States require[d] the exercise of such waiver authority.”
Burma, Cuba, China, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua and Russia were given an exception on a new “presidential action” and are instead considered “dual-hatted,” meaning they were already sanctioned in other areas but are now also considered sanctioned as Countries of Particular Concern.
The Wagner Group now joins other Entities of Particular Concern on the list: al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin and the Taliban.
CNN has done extensive reporting on the Wagner Group’s financing of army recruits in the Central African Republic by hundreds of Russian mercenaries.
“Our announcement of these designations is in keeping with our values and interests to protect national security and to advance human rights around the globe. Countries that effectively safeguard this and other human rights are more peaceful, stable, prosperous and more reliable partners of the United States than those that do not,”