USCIRF calls for sanctions on RSS, RAW and labels India “country of particular concern”

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended targeted sanctions against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and India’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) over alleged violations of religious freedom. The recommendation was included in the commission’s 2026 annual report, which evaluates religious freedom conditions around the world and offers policy suggestions to the US government.

The report urged the US administration to impose measures such as freezing assets of individuals or entities linked to these organisations and restricting their entry into the United States. According to the commission, the sanctions were recommended for what it described as “responsibility and tolerance of severe violations of religious freedom.”

In addition, the panel again recommended that India be designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act, citing what it called deteriorating conditions for religious minorities. The designation is reserved for countries where governments are accused of engaging in or tolerating systematic and serious violations of religious freedom.

The USCIRF is an independent US government advisory body created under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act to monitor global religious freedom and provide policy recommendations to the president, secretary of state and Congress. Its recommendations, however, are not binding and the US government decides whether to act on them.