The cause of Christians striving to practise their faith without fear or pressure often advances and retreats in countries outside those where Christians directly live under the most oppression. In London, New York, Strasbourg, Washington, and other centres of deliberation, important developments happen concerning Christians and religious freedom more broadly. This is the page where we consolidate news with an international scope.
EU urged to make religious freedom envoy permanent
Ján Figeľ, the European Union’s Special Envoy for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) outside the EU, has had his 12-month mandate extended by another year, but it should be longer, reports EU news specialist Euractiv. According to Belgium-based Sophia Kuby, Director of European Union Advocacy for religious freedom campaigners […]
IS guilty of genocide, says US Secretary of State
The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has stressed that the actions of the Islamic State (IS) group against Christians, Yazidis and Shia Muslims constitute genocide, and also criticised America’s ally, Saudi Arabia, for religious freedom violations. Tillerson made his “genocide” comments in the preface to the State Department’s annual […]
Blasphemy laws violate human rights in 1/3 nations – USCIRF
Over a third of the world’s countries have blasphemy laws that violate at least one internationally recognised human rights principle, according to a new report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Most blasphemy laws are “embedded in criminal codes” and are “vaguely worded”, with “unduly harsh penalties […]
International Youth Day: Young Christians want to build peace
Ahead of the UN’s International Youth Day on 12 August, which this year has “Youth Building Peace” as its theme, World Watch Monitor takes a look at some of the challenges facing young Christians around the world and how they try to contribute to building peaceful societies. Many of the world’s […]
US nominates new religious freedom ambassador
US President Donald Trump intends to nominate Sam Brownback, a Republican Governor from Kansas, as Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom, the White House has announced. He will become head of the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom which is dedicated to monitoring religious freedom abuses around the world. Religious […]
‘Risk of genocide’ linked with level of religious freedom
Yemen is the country where the risk of genocide, or mass killing, rose most last year, says Minority Rights Group International (MRG) in its 2017 Peoples Under Threat index, which also includes a large number of countries in which it is most difficult to live as a Christian. Nine of […]
G20 ‘missed opportunity’ to tackle major global issue: religious freedom
By not discussing international religious freedom at the G20 summit in Germany last weekend, world leaders failed to address the root cause of major global issues like the migrant crisis, says David Curry, CEO of Open Doors USA. As a result, “we can expect more violence from religious intolerance, a […]
Persecution ‘key driver of displacement’ says UNHCR, voicing concerns about returns
More people are currently displaced through conflict and persecution than at any time since the Second World War. According to the Global Trends report, published by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 65.6 million people were forcibly displaced at the end of 2016. The report noted that the number of refugee returns […]
Archbishop of Canterbury: ‘Conservative attitudes can be passport for misogyny’
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has said that sometimes “[religiously] conservative attitudes are a passport for misogyny, while at other times they are simply inherited attitudes”. His comment came two days after a consultation about Christian women under pressure for their faith, where speakers noted that women living in highly […]
US Commission urges Trump administration to prioritise international religious freedom
An influential US government commission that monitors religious freedom around the world is urging President Donald Trump and his new administration to take concrete steps to make advocacy of universal religious rights a priority in American foreign policy. “Our foreign policy should not simply be about US self-interest – you know, […]