United States Department of State

The Department of State is the lead institution for the conduct of American diplomacy, a mission based on the role of the Secretary of State as the President's principal foreign policy adviser. Each year, the Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor submits to the U.S. Congress a 5,000-page report on human rights conditions in 196 countries, referred to as the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The Department of State also submits to Congress a yearly Report on International Religious Freedom. Website: www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/