WASHINGTON (AP) _ The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom says China, North Korea and Saudi Arabia are still among the world’s worst persecutors of people of faith.

The just-released 2010 report also keeps Iran, Burma, Sudan, Eritrea and Uzbekistan on the commission’s list of “countries of particular concern” for violating religious rights.

The panel recommends that Iraq, Nigeria, Vietnam, Pakistan and Turkmenistan be added to the list, so that the U.S. State Department can consider possible sanctions against their governments.

The commission says while persecution is government policy in places like China, North Korea and Saudi Arabia, other nations like Nigeria and Egypt have failed to prevent attacks on religious minorities.

The panel’s report also criticizes the current and former administrations in Washington for doing far too little to make basic religious rights universal.