On Friday, the Biden administration joined a number of infamous terrorist groups on a list of groups that violate religious freedom. This list now includes a recognized Russian paramilitary group.
The Wagner Group’s operations in the Central African Republic have earned it the designation of “entity of extraordinary importance,” according to foreign minister Antony Blinken. The Afghan Taliban, Boko Haram from Nigeria, al-Shabab from Somalia, and two affiliates of the Islamic State are also included on the list.
Blinken stated, “Our announcement of these selections is consistent with our principles and interests in preserving national security and promoting human rights globally. The United States can count on allies that uphold these and other human rights more than those that do not for their peace, stability, prosperity, and dependability.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, heads the Wagner group, whose mercenaries have been charged with various human rights violations throughout Africa, especially in the Central African Republic, Libya, and Mali, by Western nations and UN experts.
The appointment on Friday does not instantly result in US sanctions, but it does make the targets subject to punishment for infringements on their right to practice their religion. The Wagner Group and the other “Companies of Very High Concern” are already the focus of a number of US penaltiesIn addition to his naming of the Wagner Group and the others, Blinken identified China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan as “countries of particular concern” for religious freedom violations.
All of those countries that Blinken said have “committed or tolerated particularly serious violations of religious freedom” were previously on the list.
Blinken also put Algeria, the Central African Republic, the Comoros and Vietnam on a “special watch list” for religious freedom violations, meaning they could eventually be hit by US sanctions if their track records in the region don’t improve.
