‘UN must recognise persecution of Christians in Middle East as genocide’

At the moment of the photo taken, ISIS had just been pushed out of the home towns of these Christians. People were hoping and anticipating to return to their towns some day.
The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) is appealing to the United Nations to recognise the persecution of Christians in Iraq and Syria as “genocide”, reports the US-based National Review. The ECLJ, an affiliate of the American Center for Law and Justice, said a “genocide” declaration is necessary to . . . Read More

‘Lack of religious freedom anywhere is a threat everywhere,’ Sam Brownback tells religious freedom summit

Christian leaders in Iran have said that pressure on Christians increases every year around Christmas but that this year it is particularly severe. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
The US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback, urged government and faith leaders, and civil society, to work together to enhance global religious freedom, at the opening of the first-ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington DC yesterday (24 July). In his opening words, Brownback, who was appointed in . . . Read More

US religious freedom report shows ‘no progress’ in Myanmar

Displaced Kachin residents cross the Malikha river on 26 April to escape the fighting between the Kachin Independence Army and the Myanmar government troops. (Photo: ZAU RING HPARA/AFP/Getty Images)
Myanmar, Saudi Arabia and Iran are among the countries criticised for their religious-freedom records in the US State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report for 2017, launched yesterday (29 May) in Washington DC. The report references the violence against the predominantly Muslim Rohingya ethnic group in Myanmar, whose situation is still . . . Read More

Religious freedom reduces terrorism, says US ambassador Brownback

Sam Brownback was confirmed as Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom in January.
If countries want less terrorism within their borders, they should give religious freedom to their people, says US religious freedom ambassador Sam Brownback. During a policy hearing in Washington DC on Wednesday (9 May), he said one country that had been a “bad actor” for a long time was now . . . Read More

Report: UN weakness on religious freedom undercuts its authority on human rights

Dressed in the saffron colour, groups such these are promoting the nationalist cause for India to be a Hindu-nation. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
The UN cannot strengthen, promote and protect human rights if it does not prioritise religious freedom, a report published by the Washington-based human rights alliance, ADF International has argued. The 73-page report, titled “Anti-Conversion Laws and the International Response”, claims that “some UN entities, especially special rapporteurs, have highlighted the . . . Read More

USCIRF wants 6 more countries on US Govt’s religious-freedom watch list

USCIRF wants 6 more countries on US Govt’s religious-freedom watch list
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) wants six more countries to be added to the US State Department’s religious-freedom watch list. The Central African Republic, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam should become ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ (CPCs) – a designation the US government uses to describe countries . . . Read More

Brownback: Now is a ‘critical moment’ for religious minorities

Sam Brownback was confirmed as Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom in January.
The US Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom has called for politicians to work more closely together towards greater religious freedom around the world, reports the Catholic News Agency. “We are at a critical moment for the future of religious minorities globally. It is more dangerous now than any time in . . . Read More

Religious freedom ‘most important foreign relations topic’ – Sam Brownback

Religious freedom ‘most important foreign relations topic’ – Sam Brownback
Newly appointed head of the US Office of International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback, made his first public appearance at a gathering this week of Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders meeting to discuss a shared commitment to protecting religious minorities in the Muslim world, reports the Catholic News Agency. “I think . . . Read More

US installs Sam Brownback as religious freedom ambassador

Sam Brownback was confirmed as Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom in January.
The US Senate has confirmed Sam Brownback as the new head of the Office of International Religious Freedom. Brownback is the first ambassador under the US’s revised International Religious Freedom Act, which affirms a commitment to international religious freedom as a foreign relations policy. Brownback, 60, ran for president in . . . Read More