U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan commission of the United States federal government. It reviews religious freedom abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress. The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 created it. Its annual report, due by 1 May, names the countries it recommends for designation; its 2020 report recommended Egypt for the State Department's Special Watch List, and the reports of 2023, 2025 and 2026 did the same.
Key facts
- By the International Religious Freedom Act, approved 27 October 1998
- Nine, three each named by the President, the Senate and the House
- Two years, and no more than two terms
- Due by 1 May; the 2026 report is dated March 2026
- Recommended for the Special Watch List
Origin
The International Religious Freedom Act, Public Law 105-292, was approved on 27 October 1998. Besides the commission it established an Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom within the Department of State and a Special Adviser within the National Security Council. The commission describes its mandate and reports as different from, and complementary to, those of the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom.
The statute sets a termination date, which Congress has moved several times; as the Legal Information Institute showed 22 U.S.C. 6436 in October 2026, it was 11 December 2026, set by an amendment of 2 September 2026.
Commissioners
Under 22 U.S.C. 6431 the commission consists of the Ambassador at Large, who sits ex officio without a vote, and nine other members, United States citizens who are not paid officers or employees of the United States. The President appoints three. The President pro tempore of the Senate appoints three, two on the recommendation of the Senate leader of the party that is not the President's and one on the recommendation of the other party's leader; the Speaker of the House appoints three on the same pattern.
A term is two years, and no one serves more than two. At the first meeting after 30 May each year the members elect a Chair and a Vice Chair, who must have been appointed by officeholders of different political parties. Six voting members are a quorum.
In October 2026 the commission's website listed nine commissioners, with Asif Mahmood as Chair and CeCe Heil as Vice Chair; the report of March 2026 had listed seven, with Vicky Hartzler as Chair.
The annual report
Under 22 U.S.C. 6433 the commission reports to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress by 1 May each year with its recommendations for United States policy. Its primary focus, as the 2026 edition puts it, is two groups of countries: those the commission recommends the State Department designate as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) under the act, and those it recommends for the Special Watch List (SWL). A majority vote of the commissioners approves it.
The 2026 report, dated March 2026, assesses 29 countries over the calendar year 2025. It recommends 18 for CPC designation, two to stay on the Special Watch List, and nine to be added to it, Egypt among them.
What it has said about Egypt
The commission's 2017 chapter on Egypt gives the history of its own recommendations: Tier 2 from 2002 to 2010, a Country of Particular Concern from 2011 to 2016, and Tier 2 again in 2017. The 2020 report recommended Egypt for the Special Watch List, and the reports of 2023, 2025 and 2026 did the same.
The reports count the permits issued under the church construction law of 2016. The 2025 report puts the total at 3,453 since the law's adoption, with roughly 2,300 legalisation requests not yet acted on; the 2026 report says a Cabinet-appointed committee approved 160 permits in October 2025, for a total of 3,613, with roughly 2,000 requests still pending. A country update of April 2026, "State Restrictions on Religious Freedom in Egypt", repeats the figure of 2,000 and restates the Special Watch List recommendation.
The 2026 report's recommendations on Egypt are to include it on the Special Watch List; to raise the repeal of Article 98(f) of the Criminal Code with the Egyptian government; to integrate religious freedom into security cooperation and foreign assistance; and to have embassy officials hold roundtables in Upper Egypt on approvals of houses of worship. To Congress it recommends a hearing on religious freedom in Egypt before the next designation of Foreign Military Financing, and delegations to Egypt in 2026 to raise, among other issues, implementation of the 2016 law.
The International Religious Freedom Act is approved, establishing the commission.
The commission begins recommending that Egypt be designated a Country of Particular Concern, which it does until 2016.
The commission returns Egypt to its Tier 2.
The annual report recommends Egypt for the Special Watch List.
The 2026 annual report again recommends Egypt for the Special Watch List.
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