ACLJ and ECLJ Middle East Developments

Last night we completed work on an 100-page legal and factual analysis regarding the persecution of Christians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.  This work is being done in anticipation of upcoming field meetings by United Nations (UN) human rights officials in Israel.  Our legal staff from the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), as well as a senior team of ACLJ lawyers, has put together an extensive legal analysis regarding violence against Christians that continues to be on the rise in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.  Most recently, the manager of a Christian bookstore in Gaza was killed because of his faith.

We will be traveling to Israel to meet with UN officials and human rights experts in order to protect the human rights and religious liberty of these Christians.  One of the goals of our European affiliate was to become a non-governmental organization (NGO) of the United Nations in order to fight Christian persecution worldwide.  Our efforts have already borne fruit.  We were admitted to the United Nations as an NGO in July 2007.  Six months later, we have been able to arrange for hearings on the issue of Christian persecution in the Middle East, specifically by Hamas and their agents.  Assembling the data and arranging for witnesses has been a monumental task.  As you can imagine, the stakes in this situation are very high. 

We believe in fundamental human rights and human liberty, including religious liberty.  Conversions from Islam to Christianity have been met by death in the Gaza and West Bank.  The Christian populations in those areas have diminished significantly, even in Bethlehem.  In conjunction with UN officials, we are seeking to protect the human rights of Christians in these difficult areas.  We will keep you posted as the hearings begin.