NEW YORK 19 September – In the face of rising religious persecution of people on the grounds of faith or belief, parliamentarians from almost 50 countries concluded an unprecedented summit discussing ways to advance freedom of religion or belief for all. Focused on concrete actions, the gathering resulted in the issuance of advocacy letters to the President of…
The Phnom Penh Post reports that the Cambodian government has set a three-month deadline for Montagnards in Phnom Penh to return home or face being forcibly expelled to Vietnam by authorities, an Interior Ministry official said last week. Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked the Office of the…
In the face of rising religious persecution of people on the grounds of faith or belief, on September 18-19, over 100 parliamentarians from almost 50 countries will assemble in New York City to discuss ways to advance freedom of religion or belief. The event is cosponsored by the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of…
Fiona Bruce – extract from speech on Sustainable Development Goals, House of Commons, 10 September 2015 “Let me turn to the importance of leaving no one behind. Earlier, I read out a list of causes for which people can be left behind, whether due to gender, geography or those in minority groups such as the…
In an interview with ucanews.com on 9 September, following a 10-day visit to the country, Heiner Bielefeldt, the U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, said religious extremism is instilling a climate of fear among Bangladesh’s ethnic and religious minorities, including Christians. The politicisation of religion and a rise in intolerance threaten Bangladesh’s long…
Lord Alton has published his report following Evidence-Taking Sessions With Pakistani Christians – September 2015. The team took evidence from refugees and human rights advocates and also had meetings with UNHCR officials and diplomats in Thailand. “Throughout our meetings with human rights advocates and escapees we heard a number of disturbing accounts of shocking and systematic…
Brian Grim, President of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, argues that freedom of belief is one of three factors significantly associated with global economic growth, according to a study by researchers at Georgetown University and Brigham Young University. Mr Grim also recently spoke at a major international conference in Rimini, Italy, which attracts up to…
Parliamentarians from across Southeast Asia have spoken out against the Burmese authorities’ recent decision to prevent current Member of Parliament U Shwe Maung from running for reelection this November. Calling for the decision to be overturned, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said this week that the move defies basic logic, sets a dangerous precedent for the…
In April 2015, lawmakers successfully proposed a constitutional amendment that, if approved, would reinstate Christianity as the official state religion. This attempt follows Christian leaders’ fruitless efforts in 2013 to submit a similar petition to lawmakers in the Liberian House and Senate. Last month the Muslim leader and peace advocate Sheikh Kafumba Konneh died. He was the…
Benedict Rogers and Andrew Copson are joint authors of a blog published by the Huffington Post: “Freedom of thought, conscience or religion, as set out in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is the most basic right of all – the right to choose what to believe, to practice your beliefs, to…