US designates Saudi Arabia as country with low religious freedom

International human rights organizations have been denouncing human rights and religious freedom violations in Saudi Arabia for years.

International human rights organizations have been denouncing human rights and religious freedom violations in Saudi Arabia for years.

The United States has designated Saudi Arabia as a “country of particular concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998” that has engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, [and] egregious violations of religious freedom.”

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the announcement on Friday, December 20, through the US Department of State website. The press release, titled “United States Takes Action Against Violators of Religious Freedom,” listed multiple countries with poor religious freedom records.

The designation is part of the United States’ work “to promote religious freedom and combat abuses,” says the statement.