Open Doors Europe
28 January 2025
Several members of the European Parliament, diplomats, policymakers, organization representatives, religious leaders, and activists gathered in Brussels to hear the 2025 World Watch report by Opens Doors International. They heard poignant testimonies by survivors of FORB abuses in Cameroun, North Korea, and Pakistan.
Lukas Mandl, MEP Austria, opened by noting the opportunity to confront the EU audience on the subject of FORB, saying, “we have a tendency to believe religion is less important, but we must realize that it is important for many people outside of the EU and it matters more than we may believe.” If there is any amount of persecution, it is always harmful to the core rights of humans. Constantly gathering facts and figures to make reports to draw attention to the effects of persecution remains at the forefront.
Attendees were honored to listen to concrete testimonies and experiences from three survivors of FORB and Human Rights violations.
Co-host Nathalie Loiseau, MEP France, continued, “FORB is an inherent human right, one of those that cannot be violated or broken by the will of a state or a community.” This right inter-relates to other freedoms such as the right to assembly, which rights are recognized legally in binding documents, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “it is our responsibility to not be silent,” and urged us to listen to the stories that would be shared.
The leveraging of AI-powered systems to track, monitor and suppress Christians and other “undesirable” groups was discussed. “We are only starting to understand the impact of these new technologies on vulnerable groups and their human rights. In countries such as Yemen, choosing to convert from Islam may result in a death sentence. We should continue to voice our concerns and never take it as a given that in modern countries, a person can be deprived of life or freedom because of what they believe.” Said Tiffany Barrans, Open Doors International.
Miriam Lexmann, MEP Slovakia, is pleased that the EU is re-establishing the inter-group focusing on religious freedom. It is of particular interest to the whole of EU Parliament to focus on this right. She drew attention to the importance of naming Christians as a highly persecuted group and urged her fellow parliamentarians to look into the usage of Artificial Intelligence in religious persecution. She brought to attention a number of other important points and recommendations.
A mass displacement of 6.2 million people is currently happening in Sub-Saharan Africa. From recent research in northern Nigeria, Christians are denied access to aid given by the EU and other countries. In Nigeria, radical Falani groups are continuing to confiscate land, with an underreport of the real number of displaced people. And Burkina Faso, a once peaceful nation, currently has 2 million displaced people. Tiffany Barans shared four recommendations the EU can implement to address these concerns:
1) Work with humanitarian actors to promote religious literacy to the staff doing aid distribution to prevent discrimination. Ask how aid is being distributed across and if it is being distributed regardless of age, gender, or religiosity?
2) Use negotiations to demonstrate the EU’s commitment to Human Rights. “We urge you to prioritize human rights as an element in these trade agreements.”
3) With urgency, there should be an appointment, permanent appointment, of a special envoy for FORB. Which should come with sufficient support from institutions to investigate how FORB plays into trade and aid distribution.
4) To invite the EU special representative on Human Rights for an exchange of views following his current visit to Pakistan. “We are so encouraged that he is presently there and that his agenda includes discussions on FORB” and other issues.
For more testimonies shared in this meeting, follow the link below.