Placing countries that violate religious liberties on a watchlist of the world’s worst offenders is not enough to prevent future violations, according to a panel discussion at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit held in Washington, D.C., this week.

The panel discussed the limitations of the State Department’s tool for combatting global religious persecution with USCIRF Chairman Stephen Schneck saying the country of particular concern (CPC) designation “really only works as an instrument for naming and shaming.”

“Real sanctions, real consequences on the ground in some practical way of effectiveness — that’s just not there in the way that the CPC designations currently work,” Schneck said. “We need to change the CPC designation in such a fashion that it has actionable consequences on the ground.”