The U.S. Department of State has excluded Uzbekistan and Sudan from its Special Watch list for religious freedom, Uzbekistan MFA reports.

“I am pleased to announce that Sudan and Uzbekistan have been removed from the Special Watch List based on significant, concrete progress undertaken by their respective governments over the past year. Their courageous reforms of their laws and practices stand as models for other nations to follow”, noted U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on December 7 in the Press Statement.

Uzbekistan was first included in the list of violators in 2006. In November 2018, the Department of State placed Uzbekistan on a watch list for progress in religious freedom.

Meanwhile, the U.S. listed Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Burma, Iran, China, North Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Eritrea as states of particular concern for violations of religious freedom.

UzA