Tag: UN

Pakistani Christian asylum seekers in Thailand ask for help

December 4, 2018 Asylum seekers, Bangkok, Human rights, Imran Khan, Migrants, Minorities, Pakistan, PTI, Refugees, Thailand, UN

Death, disease, starvation, and continuous living in hiding from immigration authorities to escape permanent imprisonment in stinking dungeons – this is what life has become for many stateless Pakistani Christians stranded in Thailand for years now. Several heroic Thai locals have come forward to help sustain these starving asylum seekers, . . . Read More

CAR: Two priests among dozens massacred as Islamic militants raid church compound

November 23, 2018 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bangui, Central African Republic, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Seleka, UN, UPC

In Central African Republic, violence reached another peak last Thursday as dozens were killed in the small town of Alindao, in the south-east of the country. On 15 November, armed men believed to be members of a Séléka off-shoot known by its French acronym UPC (Unité pour la Paix en . . . Read More

‘Next time we will not survive’ – Middle East Christian refugee

November 12, 2018 Aleppo, Batnaya, Beirut, Hasakah, Iraq, Islamic State, Kirkuk, Lebanon, Middle East, Mosul, Qaraqosh, Raqqa, Refugees, Syria, UN

Boy outside a tent in a refugee camp in Lebanon. (Photo: World Vision)

As many as 80% of Syria’s Christians have left their country since the start of the civil war in 2011, while 50% of Iraq’s Christians have been uprooted since 2006, according to a report produced by Christian charities Open Doors International, Served and Middle East Concern last year, which said the . . . Read More

Malaysia’s ‘deep-seated tensions’ exposed by MP’s call for religious freedom

November 7, 2018 Malaysia Apostasy, Catholics, Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia, Proselytism, Putrajaya, Raymond Koh, Religious freedom, UN

A Malaysian Catholic MP’s call last month for the government to sign the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief has highlighted the “deep-seated tensions between ultra-conservative Muslims and the new government”, says the director of Malaysia’s Religious Freedom . . . Read More

Iraq: More than 200 mass graves with thousands of bodies discovered

November 6, 2018 Iraq Anbar, Iraq, Islamic State, Kirkuk, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Syria, UN

Syrian forces excavate a site, said to be a mass grave, in the west of Raqqa governorate in December last year. (Photo: Getty Images)

More than 200 mass graves containing the remains of thousands of people killed by Islamic State have been discovered in northern and western Iraq, according to a UN report released on Tuesday, 5 November. The report by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and UN Human Rights Office documents . . . Read More

Eritreans still suffering despite peace deal with Ethiopia, says priest

October 29, 2018 Eritrea Abune Antonios, Asmara, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Human rights, Mussie Zerai, Religious freedom, UN

Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Cathedral in Asmara, Eritrea. (Photo: David Stanley)

An Eritrean priest has called on the international community not to close their eyes to the reality of what is happening in his country, reports the Catholic news site Agenzia Fides. While bilateral relations with countries in the region are improving, the harassment of religious groups at home continues, Fr. Mussie . . . Read More

Sri Lanka: Sharp increase in violence against Christians

October 29, 2018 Sri Lanka Buddhist nationalism, Constitution, Hindu nationalism, RSS, Sri Lanka, UN

Buddhists visiting a temple in Sri Lanka. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Christians in Sri Lanka have experienced a sharp increase in attacks this year, with 67 reported cases between January and September, according to the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL). September saw the highest number of cases, with 12 documented attacks. Comparatively, in the first five months of . . . Read More

‘If the UN does not stand for Asia Bibi, what does it stand for?’

October 25, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, Religious freedom, UN

Asia Bibi is finally free, almost one decade after she was first imprisoned. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

An opinion piece published in the Washington Examiner has criticised the United Nations for failing to speak out against Pakistan’s treatment of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman on death row for blasphemy against Islam since 2010. The article, written by New Jersey-based William Mahoney, contrasts the UN’s response to France’s . . . Read More

Religious freedom key to ensuring other human rights, say UN rapporteurs

October 24, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Ahmed Shaheed, Human rights, Minorities, Religious freedom, UN

Desecrated church in Qaraqosh, Iraq (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The level of religious freedom in a country is a good indicator of its general human rights situation, UN special rapporteurs said at an event at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday, 22 October. “Infringements on freedom of religion or belief serve as the early warning signs of . . . Read More

Burmese Christians detained, ordered not to pray in churches

October 17, 2018 Myanmar Chin, Kachin, Myanmar, Shan, UN

A military group in Myanmar has detained ethnic minority Wa and Lahu Christians and ordered them to pledge that they will not pray in churches but only in their homes, Catholic news agency UCAN reports. One hundred Wa Christians, who signed a statement giving a guarantee, have since been released, . . . Read More

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