Country of Particular Concern

A Country of Particular Concern (CPC) is a designation by the United States Secretary of State of a country responsible for particularly severe violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998 and its amendment of 1999. The term "particularly severe violations of religious freedom" means systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom, including violations such as:a) Torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; b) Prolonged detention without charges; c) Causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction or clandestine detention of those persons; or d) Other flagrant denials of the right to life, liberty, or the security of persons. Nations so designated are subject to further actions, including economic sanctions, by the United States.