<!--

                            _                       _     _
                           | |                     | |   (_)
      _ __   _____      __ | |_ __ _ _ __ __ _  ___| |_   _ _ __   ___
     | '_ \ / _ \ \ /\ / / | __/ _` | '__/ _` |/ _ \ __| | | '_ \ / __|
     | | | |  __/\ V  V /  | || (_| | | | (_| |  __/ |_  | | | | | (__ _
     |_| |_|\___| \_/\_/    \__\__,_|_|  \__, |\___|\__| |_|_| |_|\___(_)
                                          __/ |
                                         |___/

     We create digital marketing strategies and design compelling websites.
                            www.newtarget.com

-->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html  lang="en" dir="ltr" prefix="og: https://ogp.me/ns#">
  <head>
    <title>Violating Rights: Enforcing the World's Blasphemy Laws | USCIRF</title>

    <meta name="generator" content="new target, inc. (www.newtarget.com)" />
    <meta name="generator" content="web design & development by new target, inc." />

    <link rel="manifest" href="manifest.webmanifest" crossorigin="use-credentials">
    <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/favicon.ico">
    <link rel="apple-touch-icon" type="image/png" sizes="57x57" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/apple-icon-57x57.png">
    <link rel="apple-touch-icon" type="image/png" sizes="60x60" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/apple-icon-60x60.png">
    <link rel="apple-touch-icon" type="image/png" sizes="72x72" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/apple-icon-72x72.png">
    <link rel="apple-touch-icon" type="image/png" sizes="76x76" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/apple-icon-76x76.png">
    <link rel="apple-touch-icon" type="image/png" sizes="114x114" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/apple-icon-114x114.png">
    <link rel="apple-touch-icon" type="image/png" type="image/png" sizes="120x120" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/apple-icon-120x120.png">
    <link rel="apple-touch-icon" type="image/png" sizes="144x144" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/apple-icon-144x144.png">
    <link rel="apple-touch-icon" type="image/png" sizes="152x152" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/apple-icon-152x152.png">
    <link rel="apple-touch-icon" type="image/png" sizes="180x180" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/apple-icon-180x180.png">
    <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="36x36" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/android-icon-36x36.png">
    <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="48x48" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/android-icon-48x48.png">
    <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="72x72" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/android-icon-72x72.png">
    <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="96x96" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/android-icon-96x96.png">
    <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="144x144" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/android-icon-144x144.png">
    <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="192x192" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/android-icon-192x192.png">
    <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/favicon-16x16.png">
    <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/favicon-32x32.png">
    <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="96x96" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/favicon-96x96.png">
    <link rel="manifest" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/manifest.json">
    <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#ffffff">
    <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/icons/ms-icon-144x144.png">
    <meta name="theme-color" content="#ffffff">

    <meta charset="utf-8" />
<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-7936802-1"></script>
<script>window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments)};gtag("js", new Date());gtag("config", "UA-7936802-1", {"groups":"default","anonymize_ip":true});</script>
<meta name="geo.placename" content="Washington, D.C." />
<meta name="geo.position" content="38.8951100; -77.0363700;" />
<meta name="geo.region" content="US-DC" />
<meta name="icbm" content="38.8951100; -77.0363700;" />
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.uscirf.gov/publication/violating-rights-enforcing-worlds-blasphemy-laws" />
<meta http-equiv="content-language" content="en" />
<link rel="image_src" href="/sites/default/files/2020-12/website%20image_0.JPG" />
<meta property="og:site_name" content="USCIRF" />
<meta property="og:type" content="Basic page" />
<meta property="og:url" content="https://www.uscirf.gov/publication/violating-rights-enforcing-worlds-blasphemy-laws" />
<meta property="og:title" content="Violating Rights: Enforcing the World's Blasphemy Laws" />
<meta property="og:image" content="https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/website%20image_0.JPG" />
<meta property="og:image:url" content="https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/website%20image_0.JPG" />
<meta property="og:image:type" content="image/jpeg" />
<meta property="place:location:latitude" content="38.8951100" />
<meta property="place:location:longitude" content="-77.0363700" />
<meta property="og:street_address" content="732 North Capitol St NW A714" />
<meta property="og:locality" content="Washington D.C." />
<meta property="og:region" content="Washington D.C." />
<meta property="og:postal_code" content="20401" />
<meta property="og:country_name" content="Washington D.C." />
<meta property="og:email" content="media@uscirf.gov" />
<meta property="og:phone_number" content="(202) 523-3240" />
<meta property="og:fax_number" content="(202) 523-5020" />
<meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" />
<meta property="article:author" content="not yet assigned" />
<meta property="article:section" content="Basic page" />
<meta property="article:published_time" content="2024-04-1019:09:44" />
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Violating Rights: Enforcing the World's Blasphemy Laws" />
<meta name="twitter:url" content="https://www.uscirf.gov/publication/violating-rights-enforcing-worlds-blasphemy-laws" />
<meta name="twitter:image:height" content="320" />
<meta name="twitter:image:width" content="621" />
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/website%20image_0.JPG" />
<meta name="Generator" content="Drupal 9 (https://www.drupal.org)" />
<meta name="MobileOptimized" content="width" />
<meta name="HandheldFriendly" content="true" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no" />
<meta http-equiv="x-ua-compatible" content="ie=edge" />
<link rel="icon" href="/sites/default/files/USCIRF_0.png" type="image/png" />
<script src="/sites/default/files/google_tag/google_tag_4/google_tag.data_layer.js?sbpxq6" defer></script>
<script src="/sites/default/files/google_tag/google_tag_4/google_tag.script.js?sbpxq6" defer></script>


      <link rel="stylesheet" as="style" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Fjalla+One&family=Noto+Sans:ital,wght@0,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&display=swap" />
      <link rel="stylesheet" as="style" href="https://p.typekit.net/p.css?s=1&k=arw1cqj&ht=tk&f=6768.6769.6770.6771&a=13072354&app=typekit&e=css" />
      <link rel="stylesheet" as="style" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Fjalla+One&display=swap" />
      <link rel="preload" as="image" href="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/images/defaultHero.png" />

      <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/default/files/css/css_lkTtgRd33qcA6kpPxPZSR587pM_-7CQQUKRetBYe3FA.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/default/files/css/css_RfGEiTVTG3T12VjwX99Xyal2UB2yOZNQbs_QrfOhis4.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="//stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.1.1/css/bootstrap.min.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/default/files/css/css_qkJ7A_BAv_RjiD5cFHxOKIeK2dtRZDQFdnR1arUPieE.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" media="print" href="/sites/default/files/css/css_Y4H_4BqmgyCtG7E7YdseTs2qvy9C34c51kBamDdgark.css" />




  </head>
  <body class="layout-no-sidebars page-node-6022 path-node page-node-type-page">

    <script>0</script>

    <a href="#main-content" class="visually-hidden focusable skip-link">
      Skip to main content
    </a>
    <noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-TQJ96S2" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>
      <div class="dialog-off-canvas-main-canvas" data-off-canvas-main-canvas>
          <div class="main-search-wrapper">
      <a href="#" class="close-search"><i class="fa fa-times"></i></a>
        <div class="block-layout-region">
    <div class="views-exposed-form block block-views block-views-exposed-filter-blocksearch-results-page-1" data-drupal-selector="views-exposed-form-search-results-page-1" id="block-exposedformsearch-resultspage-1">
  
    
      <div class="content">
      
<form action="/search-results" method="get" id="views-exposed-form-search-results-page-1" accept-charset="UTF-8">
  <div class="form-row">
  



  <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-textfield form-type-textfield js-form-item-search form-item-search form-group">
          <label for="edit-search">Search</label>
                    <input data-drupal-selector="edit-search" type="text" id="edit-search" name="search" value="" size="30" maxlength="128" class="form-text form-control" />

                      </fieldset>




  <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-select form-type-select js-form-item-sort-by form-item-sort-by form-group">
          <label for="edit-sort-by">Sort by</label>
                    
<select data-drupal-selector="edit-sort-by" id="edit-sort-by" name="sort_by" class="form-select custom-select"><option value="search_api_relevance" selected="selected">Relevance</option></select>
                      </fieldset>




  <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-select form-type-select js-form-item-sort-order form-item-sort-order form-group">
          <label for="edit-sort-order">Order</label>
                    
<select data-drupal-selector="edit-sort-order" id="edit-sort-order" name="sort_order" class="form-select custom-select"><option value="ASC" selected="selected">Asc</option><option value="DESC">Desc</option></select>
                      </fieldset>
<div data-drupal-selector="edit-actions" class="form-actions js-form-wrapper form-group" id="edit-actions"><button data-drupal-selector="edit-submit-search-results" type="submit" id="edit-submit-search-results" value="Search" class="button js-form-submit form-submit btn btn-primary">Search</button>
</div>

</div>

</form>

    </div>
  </div>

  </div>

    </div>
  
<header
	id="header" class="header" role="banner" aria-label="Site header">

							<div class="pre-header">
				<div class="container">
					  <div class="block-layout-region">
    <nav role="navigation" aria-labelledby="block-useraccountmenu-menu" id="block-useraccountmenu" class="col-md-12 block block-menu navigation menu--account">
            
  <h2 class="sr-only" id="block-useraccountmenu-menu">User account menu</h2>
  

        
              <div block="block-useraccountmenu" class="clearfix nav">
                      <a href="/annual-reports" class="annual-reports nav-link annual-reports annual-reports nav-link--annual-reports" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/5580">Annual Reports</a>
                      <a href="/user/login" class="policy-recommendations pre-login-btn policy-recommendations pre-login-btn nav-link  policy-recommendations pre-login-btn policy-recommendations pre-login-btn nav-link--user-login" data-drupal-link-system-path="user/login">Login</a>
                      <a href="/about-uscirf/contact-us" class="contact-us nav-link contact-us contact-us nav-link--about-uscirf-contact-us" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/739">Contact Us</a>
                      <a href="" class="search nav-link search search search search search nav-link-" target="_self">Search</a>
                      <a href="https://www.facebook.com/USCIRF/" target="_blank" class="facebook nav-link facebook facebook facebook nav-link-https--wwwfacebookcom-uscirf-">Facebook</a>
                      <a href="https://twitter.com/USCIRF" target="_blank" class="twitter nav-link twitter twitter twitter nav-link-https--twittercom-uscirf">Twitter</a>
                      <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/USCIRF09" target="_blank" class="youtube nav-link youtube youtube youtube nav-link-https--wwwyoutubecom-user-uscirf09">YouTube</a>
                      <a href="https://www.instagram.com/uscirf/" target="_blank" class="instagram nav-link nav-link-https--wwwinstagramcom-uscirf-">Instagram</a>
            </div>
      


  </nav>

  </div>

				</div>
			</div>
			
							<div class="main-header">
				<div class="container">
					<div class="menu">
						  	<a href="/" title="Home" rel="home" class="navbar-brand">
					<img src="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/images/logo.png" alt="Home" class="img-fluid d-inline-block align-top"/>
				
	</a>
<div id="block-mainnavigation" class="block block-we-megamenu block-we-megamenu-blockmain">
  
    
      <div class="content">
      <div class="region-we-mega-menu">
	<a class="navbar-toggle collapsed">
		<span class="icon-bar"></span>
		<span class="icon-bar"></span>
		<span class="icon-bar"></span>
	</a>
	<nav  class="main navbar navbar-default navbar-we-mega-menu mobile-collapse hover-action" data-menu-name="main" data-block-theme="uscirf2020" data-style="Default" data-animation="None" data-delay="" data-duration="" data-autoarrow="" data-alwayshowsubmenu="" data-action="hover" data-mobile-collapse="0">
		<div class="container-fluid">
			<ul  class="we-mega-menu-ul nav nav-tabs">
  <li  class="we-mega-menu-li dropdown-menu left" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="0f2a05e3-990a-4bb5-9982-3762a14ad643" data-submenu="1" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="left" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/about-uscirf/about-us" target="">
      About Uscirf    </a>
    <div  class="we-mega-menu-submenu about-uscirf-submenu" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-submenu" data-submenu-width="" data-class="about-uscirf-submenu" style="width: px">
  <div class="we-mega-menu-submenu-inner">
    <div  class="we-mega-menu-row" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-row" data-custom-row="0">
  <div  class="we-mega-menu-col span12" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-col" data-width="12" data-block="" data-blocktitle="0" data-hidewhencollapse="" data-class="">
  <ul class="nav nav-tabs subul">
  <li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="d5e82cdf-2116-4eb3-a62c-1695f5b57aa2" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/about-uscirf/frequently-asked-questions" target="">
      Frequently Asked Questions    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="c5c1f4b3-15ab-492a-bab5-32b600852340" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/commissioners" target="">
      Commissioners    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="8f22af24-0b6e-4749-b76f-3a4bb2c2a881" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="_self">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="https://www.uscirf.gov/about-uscirf/former-commissioners" target="_self">
      Former Commissioners    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="d539be25-b8bb-414d-8642-b224f324f064" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/about-uscirf/staff" target="">
      Staff    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="aced1b8b-9dde-4154-bbef-890605118ab7" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/about-uscirf/authorizing-legislation-amendments" target="">
      Authorizing Legislation    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="4f752644-1936-4092-a62e-02d4c6f4b084" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/about-uscirf/employment-opportunities" target="">
      Employment Opportunities    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="e9e29f38-9bbb-48b5-8062-e0941c5871f8" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/about-uscirf/contract-opportunities" target="">
      Contract Opportunities    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="681b7cc3-3814-44d5-bcc4-b20b0227a94e" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/resources/other-resources" target="">
      Other Resources    </a>
    
</li>
</ul>
</div>

</div>

  </div>
</div>
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li dropdown-menu" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="b5a747ba-a10f-499d-a8f7-3f07cf4b9fb7" data-submenu="1" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries" target="">
      Countries    </a>
    <div  class="we-mega-menu-submenu countries-submenu" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-submenu" data-submenu-width="" data-class="countries-submenu" style="width: px">
  <div class="we-mega-menu-submenu-inner">
    <div  class="we-mega-menu-row" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-row" data-custom-row="0">
  <div  class="we-mega-menu-col span12" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-col" data-width="12" data-block="" data-blocktitle="0" data-hidewhencollapse="" data-class="">
  <ul class="nav nav-tabs subul">
  <li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="a17cc02b-38db-4d77-a9bb-c70d9a762efa" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/2023-recommendations" target="">
      2023 Recommendations    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="79380619-0c6e-4884-aa9a-7d3636dc6270" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/afghanistan" target="">
      Afghanistan    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="92e9dc0d-63f7-4242-9153-e4fcb088283f" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/algeria" target="">
      Algeria    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="2bcde6ab-c5b0-4674-8fde-0c65c3669ffc" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/azerbaijan" target="">
      Azerbaijan    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="28d6a1f2-65a9-4d02-8c44-c2cb4e17f264" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/burma" target="">
      Burma    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="0f3f0139-1767-4dc6-80bf-b96a42b78150" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/central-african-republic" target="">
      Central African Republic    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="39faa6f5-02e6-4b56-b91a-52d252d73fa7" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/china" target="">
      China    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="a591e552-18f4-41b8-bbba-c3c597c2b82a" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/cuba" target="">
      Cuba    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="20582cde-7f41-41c9-9338-5acbefeb2b71" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/egypt" target="">
      Egypt    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="e50130a8-1992-472c-8c7e-74e0234eccc5" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/eritrea" target="">
      Eritrea    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="52737394-a6cd-4cb8-8b9c-1a5b510e6440" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/india" target="">
      India    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="e6cbf8f7-6c55-4dec-8731-71e1c40d423d" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/indonesia" target="">
      Indonesia    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="c59d236f-7fec-4ed6-bcca-832ea3cb2405" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/iran" target="">
      Iran    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="766dca74-5894-4416-b87c-89adf6d6eddb" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/iraq" target="">
      Iraq    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="24071e9c-ec0b-41aa-8105-0727233450f0" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/kazakhstan" target="">
      Kazakhstan    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="12e7b03b-256a-4b7e-b801-f4b1598f6888" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/malaysia" target="">
      Malaysia    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="d8a67868-9231-47ad-b42d-d976ec8083ad" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/nicaragua" target="">
      Nicaragua    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="d218909d-0971-4745-8c76-175dea18f344" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/nigeria" target="">
      Nigeria    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="c5dc8fd1-b50f-4e31-9331-56295ae2c8c4" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/north-korea" target="">
      North Korea    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="5f401b99-a440-4018-84be-338dce3897d3" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/pakistan" target="">
      Pakistan    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="0c966aac-0d6f-45cc-9138-33d3c447ee1b" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/russia" target="">
      Russia    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="f1787024-52cd-4304-876f-a3f3a3c4b756" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/saudi-arabia" target="">
      Saudi Arabia    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="fb9ab8b1-67b0-44d3-bc99-aff05287c488" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="https://www.uscirf.gov/node/8718" target="">
      Sri Lanka    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="18bb5d4f-8aba-4d46-9ff9-0ffdba1fc008" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/syria" target="">
      Syria    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="6da8f2ef-8a25-4f9c-8965-ea98ed974864" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/tajikistan" target="">
      Tajikistan    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="2651f84a-48bd-439f-bc67-056eefb6ced6" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/turkey" target="">
      Turkey    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="f9837493-22d6-40ca-ba0f-e176023ee254" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/turkmenistan" target="">
      Turkmenistan    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="5f0bb1a3-cec9-4726-b064-fa9712bbe2a4" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/uzbekistan" target="">
      Uzbekistan    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="105050e2-6c05-4aea-bf19-bcc460c700f5" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/vietnam" target="">
      Vietnam    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li dropdown-menu" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="a8895a9a-0e84-4ed6-b6bc-5fb7bf9ed16a" data-submenu="1" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/others" target="">
      Others    </a>
    <div  class="we-mega-menu-submenu" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-submenu" data-submenu-width="" data-class="" style="width: px">
  <div class="we-mega-menu-submenu-inner">
    <div  class="we-mega-menu-row" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-row" data-custom-row="0">
  <div  class="we-mega-menu-col span12" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-col" data-width="12" data-block="" data-blocktitle="0" data-hidewhencollapse="" data-class="">
  <ul class="nav nav-tabs subul">
  <li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="2" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="7bd57fc8-ea27-4e89-9425-d5ed5eb2745a" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/bahrain" target="">
      Bahrain    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="2" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="8573b460-195b-4c08-bbfb-3efc2badd819" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/laos" target="">
      Laos    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="2" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="1f203aaf-21b2-46de-814f-9a7ecb708380" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/countries/sudan" target="">
      Sudan    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="2" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="3e838d5f-e296-45f9-a980-c8717ca02973" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="https://www.uscirf.gov/countries/others" target="">
      Others    </a>
    
</li>
</ul>
</div>

</div>

  </div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
</div>

</div>

  </div>
</div>
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li dropdown-menu" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="c2addf6d-b455-4133-a3ba-f565e2002933" data-submenu="1" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/news-room" target="">
      News Room    </a>
    <div  class="we-mega-menu-submenu newsroom-submenu" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-submenu" data-submenu-width="" data-class="newsroom-submenu" style="width: px">
  <div class="we-mega-menu-submenu-inner">
    <div  class="we-mega-menu-row" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-row" data-custom-row="0">
  <div  class="we-mega-menu-col span12" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-col" data-width="12" data-block="" data-blocktitle="0" data-hidewhencollapse="" data-class="">
  <ul class="nav nav-tabs subul">
  <li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="be019fa1-b2f4-4534-b20e-6ff7fc9a14b1" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/news-room/press-releases-statements" target="">
      Press Releases & Statements    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="c571d558-6e93-4e90-837b-e5e92489441e" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/news-room/op-eds" target="">
      Op-Eds    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="9d5285bc-f7e9-4b86-8fef-6fc87a7ffb5e" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/news-room/uscirf-spotlight" target="">
      USCIRF Spotlight Podcast    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="1eefad2c-c2a7-4e56-825d-8c41122a3eed" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/news-room/media-inquiries/media-inquiries" target="">
      Media Inquiries    </a>
    
</li>
</ul>
</div>

</div>

  </div>
</div>
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li dropdown-menu" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="c7f750bc-430d-40d8-8c45-7e155a21c42c" data-submenu="1" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/events" target="">
      Events    </a>
    <div  class="we-mega-menu-submenu events-submenu" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-submenu" data-submenu-width="" data-class="events-submenu" style="width: px">
  <div class="we-mega-menu-submenu-inner">
    <div  class="we-mega-menu-row" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-row" data-custom-row="0">
  <div  class="we-mega-menu-col span12" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-col" data-width="12" data-block="" data-blocktitle="0" data-hidewhencollapse="" data-class="">
  <ul class="nav nav-tabs subul">
  <li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="0d6ad4aa-4590-43a4-98a3-5add35094223" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/event-type/hearings-and-briefings" target="">
      USCIRF Hearings    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="7ee423c8-9f5d-4cf8-af92-0e4105a1438a" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/event-type/webinars" target="">
      Other USCIRF Events    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="4dab3703-a8f6-48ce-b0d4-52096f9f387e" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="_self">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/event-type/congressional-hearings" target="_self">
      Congressional Hearings    </a>
    
</li>
</ul>
</div>

</div>

  </div>
</div>
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li dropdown-menu" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="3b825d51-3deb-497d-90ab-9026a8d66440" data-submenu="1" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/victims-list" target="">
      FoRB Victims List    </a>
    <div  class="we-mega-menu-submenu prisoners-submenu" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-submenu" data-submenu-width="" data-class="prisoners-submenu" style="width: px">
  <div class="we-mega-menu-submenu-inner">
    <div  class="we-mega-menu-row" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-row" data-custom-row="0">
  <div  class="we-mega-menu-col span12" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-col" data-width="12" data-block="" data-blocktitle="0" data-hidewhencollapse="" data-class="">
  <ul class="nav nav-tabs subul">
  <li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="35fc887e-8d3e-4647-ba12-4a1fd91f7d67" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="_self">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/victims-list" target="_self">
      Frank R. Wolf Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="ee46358a-b8d3-4dad-ba4d-71817c3e44e3" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="https://www.uscirf.gov/forb-victims-list-country-profiles" target="">
      Country Profiles    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="1" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="2da35d98-538c-48bd-94d9-8d278da067e6" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="_self">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/religious-prisoners-conscience/defending-freedoms-project" target="_self">
      Defending Freedoms Project    </a>
    
</li>
</ul>
</div>

</div>

  </div>
</div>
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="c6e9e334-12be-4ffa-a147-219011ced0c0" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/publications" target="">
      Publications    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li annual-reports-main-menu" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="b97b75f2-91c9-406b-ac35-3fb515a5fa2d" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="annual-reports-main-menu" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a href='#' data-drupal-link-system-path="<front>" class="we-megamenu-nolink">
      Annual Reports</a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li contact-us-main-menu" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="08a91ce4-1749-4802-9d63-fec08866060f" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="contact-us-main-menu" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/about-uscirf/contact-us" target="">
      Contact Us    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li facebook-main-menu" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="7f0cde2b-9793-4526-be20-c4b63bc334e3" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="facebook-main-menu" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="https://www.facebook.com/USCIRF/" target="">
      Facebook    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li twitter-main-menu" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="c826de4e-4ce3-4061-ac0a-4302162426ba" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="twitter-main-menu" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="https://twitter.com/USCIRF" target="">
      Twitter    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li youtube-main-menu" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="1e402595-a453-40dd-9943-b009989f8fc4" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="youtube-main-menu" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/USCIRF09" target="">
      YouTube    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li instagram-main-menu" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="74383991-57d2-4ad2-a520-5ec88f2b7081" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="instagram-main-menu" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="https://www.instagram.com/uscirf/" target="">
      Instagram    </a>
    
</li><li  class="we-mega-menu-li search-main-menu active active-trail" data-level="0" data-element-type="we-mega-menu-li" description="" data-id="439a67c9-737f-4e67-b88e-5365dd63ed46" data-submenu="0" hide-sub-when-collapse="" data-group="0" data-class="search-main-menu" data-icon="" data-caption="" data-alignsub="" data-target="">
      <a class="we-mega-menu-li" title="" href="/" target="">
      Search    </a>
    
</li>
</ul>
		</div>
	</nav>
</div>

    </div>
  </div>


					</div>

				</div>
			</div>
			</header>

<div id="main-wrapper">

			<div class="hero">
			  <div class="block-layout-region">
    <div id="block-herointernalpageblock" class="block block-custom-blocks block-hero-internal-block">
  
    
      <div class="content">
      	
	
	
	
  
	<div class="internal_hero_wrapper custom-hero internal-hero-js-adjust">
		<div class="internal_hero" style='background-image: linear-gradient(to right, rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 3%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0), rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) ), url("/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/images/defaultHero.png"); background-position-x: center; background-position-y: center'>


			<div class="wrapper">
				<div class="container">
					<div class="content">
						<h1 class="internal-hero-title">Violating Rights: Enforcing the World's Blasphemy Laws </h1>
						
            <div class="custom-breadcrumb hidden"></div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div>
	</div>

<div id="insertNavHere"></div>

    </div>
  </div>

  </div>

		</div>
	
      
  
			<div id="main" class="container">
              <a id="main-content"></a>
          <div data-drupal-messages-fallback class="hidden"></div><div id="block-uscirf2020-content" class="block block-system block-system-main-block">
  
    
      <div class="content">
      
  
<div class="basic-page">
      





<div class="paragraph-section paragraph-unique-16206" style=""  data-animation="fadeIn" data-animation-delay="0.3">
	<div class="container">
					<div class="single-container row">
				

			<div class="col-md-12">
			


<div class="full-content">
	<p class="MsoNoSpacing text-align-center"><strong>Click here to view the report Violating Rights: Enforcing the World’s Blasphemy Laws</strong></p>

<p>USCIRF’s groundbreaking report examines the enforcement of blasphemy laws worldwide. Blasphemy laws criminalize expressions that insults or offends religious doctrines. Focusing on five-year period of 2014 to 2018, this report provides extensive data and illustrative examples to demonstrate the plethora of ways that governments’ enforcement of blasphemy laws undermines human rights, including freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression.</p>

<p>Key findings from this study include the following:</p>

<ul>
	<li>There are 84 countries across the globe with criminal blasphemy laws on the books as of 2020.</li>
	<li>Researchers, using publicly available sources, found 732 reported blasphemy-related incidents from 2014-2018 across 41 countries, or 49%, of countries with criminal blasphemy laws.</li>
	<li>Of those 732 incidents, 674 were reported cases of state criminal blasphemy law enforcement. Of the 674 cases of state enforcement, mob activity, violence, or threats occurred in 78 cases.</li>
	<li>81% of the cases of state enforcement were in only 10 of the countries: Pakistan, Iran, Russia, India, Egypt, Indonesia, Yemen, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.</li>
	<li>Together, the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions accounted for 84% of the world’s enforcement of blasphemy laws.</li>
	<li>In 43, or 51%, of these 84 countries, researchers did not find a single case of enforcement of criminal blasphemy laws. Researchers found no reported cases of state enforcement of criminal blasphemy laws in Latin America and the Caribbean.</li>
	<li>Of the 732 incidents, 58 were incidents of mob activity, violence, or threats around blasphemy allegations that occurred in situations where there was no state enforcement of the blasphemy law.</li>
	<li>Nearly 80% of the incidents of mob activity, violence, or threats (with or without state enforcement), took place in only four of the countries: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Egypt.</li>
	<li>In just over half the cases of state enforcement, news reports identified the religion or belief of the accused. Of those cases, Muslims accounted for more than half (56%) of the persons arrested, prosecuted, and/or punished for alleged blasphemy crimes. Other groups frequently targeted for criminal blasphemy law enforcement, where identified, included: Christians (25%), Atheists (7%), Baha’is (7%), and Hindus (3%).</li>
	<li>More than one-quarter (27%) of reported cases implicated alleged blasphemous speech posted on social media platforms.</li>
</ul>

<p class="text-align-center"><img alt="[Figure 5. Reported Cases of Criminal Blasphemy Enforcement by State, 2014–2018, page 19]" data-align="center" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" height="467" src="/sites/default/files/cases%20by%20country%20map.JPG" width="837" /></p>

</div>

		</div>
	
			</div>
			</div>
</div>

  
  
   </div>

    </div>
  </div>
<div id="block-taxonomytermview" class="block block-custom-blocks block-taxonomy-term-view">
  
    
      <div class="content">
      
    </div>
  </div>


      		</div>
	</div>


<footer class="footer">
			<div class="container footer-content">
			<div class="footer-info">
				  <div class="block-layout-region">
    <div id="block-footerinformationblock" class="col-md-8 block block-custom-blocks block-footer-information-block">
  
    
      <div class="content">
      <div class="footer-information">
	<div class="footer-logo">
		<a href="/"><img src="/themes/custom/uscirf2020/assets/images/logo.png" alt=""></a>
	</div>
	<div class="footer-info-content">
		<p>United States Commission on International Religious Freedom</p>
		<p>732 N. Capitol Street, N.W., Suite A714 Washington, D.C. 20401</p>
		<p>
      			<a href="tel:(202) 523-3240">Phone:
				(202) 523-3240</a>
            		</p>
		<p>
      			<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#751810111c14350006161c07135b121a03">Email:
				<span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="036e66676a62437670606a71652d646c75">[email protected]</span></a>
      		</p>
	</div>
</div>

    </div>
  </div>
<nav role="navigation" aria-labelledby="block-footer-menu" id="block-footer" class="col-md-4 footer-menu block block-menu navigation menu--footer">
            
  <h2 class="sr-only" id="block-footer-menu">Footer</h2>
  

        
              <ul block="block-footer" class="clearfix nav navbar-nav">
                    <li class="nav-item">
                <a href="/about-uscirf/contact-us" class="nav-link nav-link--about-uscirf-contact-us" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/739">Contact Us</a>
              </li>
                <li class="nav-item">
                <a href="/about-uscirf/privacy-and-copyright-policy" class="nav-link nav-link--about-uscirf-privacy-and-copyright-policy" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/691">Privacy Policy</a>
              </li>
                <li class="nav-item">
                <a href="/sitemap" class="nav-link nav-link--sitemap" data-drupal-link-system-path="sitemap">Sitemap</a>
              </li>
        </ul>
  


  </nav>

  </div>

			</div>
		</div>
	</footer>

  </div>

    

    <script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script><script src="https://use.fontawesome.com/releases/v5.7.2/js/all.js" defer crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<script src="https://use.fontawesome.com/releases/v5.7.2/js/v4-shims.js" defer crossorigin="anonymous"></script>


    <script type="application/json" data-drupal-selector="drupal-settings-json">{"path":{"baseUrl":"\/","scriptPath":null,"pathPrefix":"","currentPath":"node\/6022","currentPathIsAdmin":false,"isFront":false,"currentLanguage":"en"},"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","suppressDeprecationErrors":true,"ds":{"show_viewport_info":0},"google_analytics":{"account":"UA-7936802-1","trackOutbound":true,"trackMailto":true,"trackDownload":true,"trackDownloadExtensions":"7z|aac|arc|arj|asf|asx|avi|bin|csv|doc(x|m)?|dot(x|m)?|exe|flv|gif|gz|gzip|hqx|jar|jpe?g|js|mp(2|3|4|e?g)|mov(ie)?|msi|msp|pdf|phps|png|ppt(x|m)?|pot(x|m)?|pps(x|m)?|ppam|sld(x|m)?|thmx|qtm?|ra(m|r)?|sea|sit|tar|tgz|torrent|txt|wav|wma|wmv|wpd|xls(x|m|b)?|xlt(x|m)|xlam|xml|z|zip"},"data":{"extlink":{"extTarget":true,"extTargetNoOverride":false,"extNofollow":false,"extNoreferrer":false,"extFollowNoOverride":false,"extClass":"0","extLabel":"(link is external)","extImgClass":false,"extSubdomains":false,"extExclude":"","extInclude":"(\\.pdf)","extCssExclude":"","extCssExplicit":"","extAlert":false,"extAlertText":"","mailtoClass":"0","mailtoLabel":"(link sends email)","extUseFontAwesome":false,"extIconPlacement":"append","extFaLinkClasses":"fa fa-external-link","extFaMailtoClasses":"fa fa-envelope-o","whitelistedDomains":[]}},"ajaxTrustedUrl":{"\/search-results":true},"user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"ed45d0af53e3fb9966d95a498282d5fc360d39ce17854b99037dbedf867a83e3"}}</script>
<script src="/sites/default/files/js/js_mPSzGx0HzCH5MtZqpKg2qkCB53kZOIsmwzhCk0eWHsI.js"></script>
<script src="//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/popper.js/1.14.3/umd/popper.min.js"></script>
<script src="//stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.1.1/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<script src="/sites/default/files/js/js_VBy4RcLoNXIGhOFaX34v6DnDqyNCQM6sRFV-7ClSjJY.js"></script>


      <!-- Go to www.addthis.com/dashboard to customize your tools -->
      <script type="text/javascript" src="//s7.addthis.com/js/300/addthis_widget.js#pubid=ra-5f16f2b23ddb5c04"></script>
  </body>
</html>