The Biden administration is adding the Wagner Group, an infamous private Russian military firm, to the list of Entities of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act “based on its actions in the Central African Republic,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday.In addition, Cuba and Nicaragua were added to the 2022 list of Countries of Particular Concern, meaning they have “engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom.” China, Russia, Iran, Myanmar, Eritrea, North Korea and Pakistan remain on the list.Blinken also said he was “placing Algeria, the Central African Republic, Comoros, and Vietnam on the Special Watch List for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.”“Around the world, governments and non-state actors harass, threaten, jail, and even kill individuals on account of their beliefs.According to a State Department official, waivers were issued this year to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan because it was determined that “the important national interest of the United States require[d] the exercise of such waiver authority.”Burma, Cuba, China, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua and Russia were given an exception on a new “presidential action” and are instead considered “dual-hatted,” meaning they were already sanctioned in other areas but are now also considered sanctioned as Countries of Particular Concern.Countries that effectively safeguard this and other human rights are more peaceful, stable, prosperous and more reliable partners of the United States than those that do not.”He added that the US welcomes the opportunity to meet with governments to discuss practices that “do not meet international standards and commitments, and to outline concrete steps in a pathway to removal from these lists.”The Biden administration is considering designating the Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organization amid ongoing efforts to impose costs on Russia for the Ukraine war, a US official told CNN this week."