First appearing in 1999, the U.S. Department of State maintains a Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) list that names countries for either engaging in or tolerating ongoing severe violations of religious freedom. There is also an Entities of Particular Concern (EPC) category intended for groups, such as ISIS, which severely violate religious freedom but do not comprise a sovereign state. Since 2016, there has been a Special Watch List (SWL) category for countries that have ongoing violations of religious freedom, but not quite to the extent of a CPC.