"Their religious books are banned. They are denied access to education. Their cemeteries are desecrated. Blasphemy and proselytization of Muslims is punishable by death," he said.
Pompeo criticized Russia's categorization of Jehovah's Witnesses as "terrorists," the confiscation of their property, and the threats to their families. He spoke against the Burmese military's violence against Rohingya Muslims, saying hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee or to live in overcrowded refugee camps.
China also drew criticism from Pompeo, who said, "The Chinese Communist Party has exhibited extreme hostility to all religious faiths since its founding. The party demands that it alone be called God."
Brownback added: "China has declared war on faith. We've seen increasing Chinese Government abuse of believers of nearly all faiths and from all parts of the mainland."
"They've increased their repression of Christians, shutting down churches and arresting adherents for their peaceful religious practices," said Brownback, predicting this will affect China's standing domestically and around the world.
China's government has made "intense persecution" normal for many religious believers, including Falun Gong practitioners, Christians, and Tibetan Buddhists, Pompeo said.
The State Department added a special section to its report on China to discuss the country's treatment of its Uyghur Muslim population in Xinjiang autonomous region.
Brownback went into more detail on problems in other countries. He objected to Eritrean authorities' continued house arrest of Eritrean Orthodox Patriarch Antonios, detained since 2006, and the detention of hundreds of other "prisoners of conscience." The Turkish government continues to keep closed the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople's Theological School of Halki, he said.
According to Brownback, religious leaders in Nicaragua report "constant surveillance, intimidation and threats."
"The national police assault priests in full daylight, revealing the government's contempt for any religious leaders they view as a threat to their authority," he said.
In Brownback's view, the Trump administration has made religious freedom a top priority and fought "for people of all faiths."
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"We will not stop until we see the iron curtain of religious persecution come down; until governments no longer detain and torture people for simply being of a particular faith or associated with it; until people are no longer charged and prosecuted on specious charges of blasphemy; until the world no longer believes it can get away with persecuting anyone of any faith without consequences," he said. "We will not stop."
Pompeo noted the upcoming second annual Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, to be held in mid-July, expected to draw up to 1,000 people.
He said the first ministerial was "truly a stunning show of unity – people of all faiths standing up for the most basic of all human rights." It inspired follow-up conferences in the United Arab Emirates and Taiwan.
The State Department's International Religious Freedom Fund, launched to support victims of persecution and to "give groups the tools to respond," has received millions of dollars, he reported.
Pompeo said the State Department is elevating its Office of International Religious Freedom and its Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, effective immediately. These offices will now report directly to the undersecretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights.
Tony Perkins, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, welcomed the report. He said the State Department should not use pre-existing sanctions or indefinite wavers because these "provide little or no incentive for governments of CPC-designated countries to reduce or halt egregious religious freedom violations."