- Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) spoke at the unveiling of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) 2025 Annual Report Tuesday, lauding it as the benchmark publication that documents the suffering of victims of religious persecution around the world.

“No report issued anywhere in the world beats USCIRF’s annual report for accuracy, documentation, and honesty,” said Smith. “USCIRF is truly the U.S. government’s most effective, unbiased, and respected voice for victims of religious persecution worldwide. USCIRF is the linchpin of our government’s effort to promote international religious freedom. The Commission reports and makes recommendations that the State Department should designate countries that have ‘particularly severe violations of religious freedom’ as Countries of Particular Concern, and subject to sanctions. The USCIRF is a genuinely outside force, a valuable and necessary influence on the State Department.”

Smith has been a leading advocate in Congress for international religious freedom, authoring many U.S. laws promoting freedom of religion, such as the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016. The bill updated and enhanced former Rep. Frank Wolf’s landmark 1998 legislation which created the structure of U.S. government’s efforts to promote religious freedom worldwide. Smith is also the author of current legislation to re-authorize the USCIRF (H.R. 1744), and calling on the State Department to name Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern for “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” (H.Res. 220).

Smith particularly thanked the USCIRF for recommending the State Department to determine that Nigeria is a “Country of Particular Concern.”

“Nigeria is ground zero, the focal point of the most brutal and murderous anti-Christian persecution in the world today,” Smith said. “In recent years, well over 90 percent of all Christians killed for their faith throughout the world have been killed in Nigeria–typically well over 4,000 Christians are martyred every year in Nigeria, with rampant impunity or complicity by the government of Nigeria.

“Two weeks ago I chaired a hearing on the situation in Nigeria. One of our distinguished witnesses—Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Diocese of Makurdi, Nigeria—testified that ‘Militant Fulani herdsman are terrorists.  They steal and vandalize, they kill and boast about it, they kidnap and rape, and they enjoy total impunity from the elected officials.  None of them have been arrested and brought to justice.’ ” 

The most recent version of this release may be viewed at:

https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=413588

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