The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recently released its annual report on the state of religious freedoms worldwide. For several years, the commission has openly exhibited bias against Azerbaijan, and this year’s report continues to include baseless and subjective claims directed at the country, the Western Azerbaijan Community said in a statement, Azernews reports.

"As in previous years, the authors of the report base their allegations on fabricated reports prepared by radical Armenian nationalists, funded by extremist organizations like the 'All-Armenian Charitable Union' and the 'Aragats Foundation' (L. Khachaturyan, H. Gulyan, S. Bokcheryan), and documents from the disreputable 'Freedom House,' which has been an instrument in the hands of the radical Armenian diaspora, notorious for its anti-Azerbaijani activities.

Another major point proving the commission’s bias is its complete disregard for Armenia, a country that is a primary violator of religious freedoms. According to the commission, Armenia has 'fully ensured religious freedom' despite the country's history of ethnic cleansing, the destruction of over 300 mosques, and hundreds of cemeteries during its occupation of Azerbaijani territories," the statement reads.

The community further emphasized that it is more appropriate for the commission to focus on Armenia’s actions, including the refusal to allow a UNESCO mission to assess the condition of Azerbaijani cultural and religious heritage in the occupied territories.

"We would like to emphasize that such a mission should be directed to Armenia, not Azerbaijan. It would be more appropriate for the Commission to focus on the issue of the Armenian government's refusal to permit a UNESCO mission to assess the cultural and religious heritage of Azerbaijan within Armenia," reads the statement.

The report also includes the disrespectful use of terms like 'Nagorno-Karabakh,' a violation of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

"We condemn the USCIRF's racist actions, which hinder peace and reconciliation in the region. We call on the U.S. side to take appropriate measures regarding the commission's biased and double-standard approach," the statement concludes.