Tag: Human rights

Vietnam’s ‘country of concern’ recommendation welcomed

May 3, 2018 Vietnam Human rights, Nguyen Cong Chinh, Religious freedom, USA, Vietnam

The Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) has welcomed the recommendation that Vietnam be designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC). The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said on 25 April that it wanted six more countries, including Vietnam, to be added to the US State Department’s . . . Read More

Nepal ‘should practise what it preaches’ as UN member

May 1, 2018 Nepal Anti-conversion law, Burial, Churches, Elections, Human rights, Minorities, Nepal, Proselytism, Religious freedom, UN

As a newly elected member state of the UN Human Rights Council, Nepal must address its own commitment to the protection of human rights, including freedom of religion and belief, says Christian Solidarity Worldwide. The advocacy organisation highlighted Nepal’s decision in October to criminalise religious conversion and the “hurting of . . . Read More

‘State-sponsored repression’ behind Eritrea’s refugee epidemic

April 24, 2018 Eritrea Abune Antonios, African Union, East Africa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Human rights, Pentecostals, Refugees, Religious freedom, USA

Eritrea remains “one of the worst examples of state-sponsored repression of freedom of religion or belief in the world”, says USCIRF Commissioner. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

“State-sponsored repression” is the reason Eritrea is one of the world’s main sources of refugees, a US human rights commission has heard. The East African country is not at war, nor does it suffer from terrorism, but some estimate that as many as 10 per cent of Eritreans have fled . . . Read More

North Korea, China, Russia and Iran ‘forces of instability’

April 24, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Andrew Brunson, Chechnya, China, Human rights, Iran, Liberia, Mexico, Myanmar, North Korea, Rohingya, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Uyghurs, Uzbekistan, Venezuela

Tibetan Buddhists as well as Uyghur Muslims are among the minority groups that Chinese authorities are clamping down on. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The US State Department has called North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran “forces of instability” in its latest set of country reports on human rights, saying they “violate the human rights of those within their borders on a daily basis”. The 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, published on . . . Read More

Tunisia’s religious freedom curbed by societal pressure – UN Rapporteur

April 23, 2018 Tunisia Ahmed Shaheed, Apostasy, Blasphemy, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Religious freedom, Sharia, Tunisia, UN

The Malik ibn Anas Mosque in Carthage, near the capital Tunis. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Old laws and societal pressure pose the greatest challenges to religious freedom in Tunisia, concluded the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ahmed Shaheed, after a ten-day visit. Though Tunisia’s 2014 Constitution guarantees religious freedom, there is still work to be done to align its laws and . . . Read More

Cuba’s new leader ‘not a reformer’

April 19, 2018 Cuba Catholics, Churches, Communism, Cuba, Fidel Castro, Human rights, Latin America, Miguel Díaz-Canel, Protestants, Raúl Castro, Religious freedom

Raúl Castro, who replaced his brother Fidel as Cuba’s president in 2006, stepped down from the post this week, ending a decades-long rule by his family. His successor, Miguel Díaz-Canel – who up until now was the country’s first vice-president – takes on an historic leadership role by becoming the . . . Read More

‘Extremists given a free hand’ – Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

April 16, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Balochistan, Blasphemy, Human rights, Islamabad, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Minorities, Nadeem Masih, Pakistan, Patras Masih, Quetta, Religious freedom, Sajid Masih, Sawan Masih, UN

Pakistani Christians experience an increase in violence such as a suicide attack on the Bethel Methodist Church in Quetta in December last year that killed more than ten and injured dozens of people. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Two Pakistani Christians were killed and at least three injured in a drive-by shooting on Sunday (15 April) in Essa Nagri, a Christian-majority area in Quetta, capital of the impoverished Balochistan province in the southwest. The victims, aged 19 and 28, had just left a church service when they were . . . Read More

New book rejects Western view that Christians ‘cannot be victims’

April 16, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Africa, Asia, Censorship, Human rights, Middle East

The author of a new book about the persecution of Christians says she wants to “shed light” on the issue because it has become ingrained in Western thinking that “the Christian is not a victim because, historically, he has been an executioner”. Spanish journalist and politician Pilar Rahola told Christian . . . Read More

Kazakhstan asks Christian organisations for info on youth members. Their answer: No.

April 13, 2018 Kazakhstan Children, Human rights, Kazakhstan, Youth

Leaders of registered Christian religious organisations received a letter from the Religious Affairs Department of the West Kazakhstan region last month that demanded the personal data of people under 18 who attend their religious services, Forum 18 reports. The government asked for their full names, ages, place of study and . . . Read More

UN religious-freedom rapporteur to assess Tunisia

April 10, 2018 Tunisia Ahmed Shaheed, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Religious freedom, Tunisia, Women

An old palace in the heart of the medina of the capital Tunis which now houses government offices. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief will assess whether security measures to combat terrorism in Tunisia are limiting freedom of religion. Ahmed Shaheed is scheduled for a 10-day visit the capital, Tunis, and the island of Djerba, where he will discuss human rights issues, including those . . . Read More

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