Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released its 2026 Annual Report. The report documents religious freedom conditions throughout 2025 and sets forth U.S. policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and U.S. Congress to advance freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) abroad. 

A year ago, we published an analysis by lawyer Patricia Duval, a member of the FOB Scientific Committee, on the situation that had arisen in Japan with respect to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, formerly known as the Unification Church, culminating in the request for the Church's dissolution.

By Brandon Taylorian — Around the world, states continue to ban religious communities outright, criminalise membership in certain denominations, or impose administrative penalties that effectively prohibit religious practice. While international human rights law – including Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – protects freedom of thought, conscience and religion, a significant number of governments maintain legal frameworks that suppress specific faith groups.

By Alessandro Amicarelli — Two dates–February 28, 1947, and December 19, 1996–50 years apart prompt us to reflect on democratic progress in Taiwan.

February 28, 1947, has become part of the country’s collective memory. That day marked the escalation of tensions between the new rulers from mainland China and the local population. State Monopoly Bureau agents beat a woman selling cigarettes, a man was shot and killed, and what began as a protest turned into a nationwide uprising that led to a massacre. Soldiers intervened, people disappeared, and countless locals lost their lives. For decades, this topic remained taboo, discussed only in hushed tones at home.