ACLJ Finds Half of the Nations Up for Review at This UN UPR Session Have Significant Instances of Persecution of Christians

Christians all around the world practice their faith with the knowledge that they could be arrested, beaten, or even killed. To provide a voice for persecuted Christians, we just filed, through our international affiliate, the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), seven reports with the U.N. detailing the persecution Christians face on a daily basis.

Recently we told you how we used the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the U.N. to detail the scourge of human trafficking in the Netherlands, Ecuador, Brazil, and South Africa. As we continue to shed light on human rights violations around the world, we found that half of the 14 nations up for review this session had significant instances of persecution of Christians. We submitted seven UPR reports shedding light on the persecution of Christians in India, Indonesia, Algeria, Morocco, the Philippines, Tunisia, and Bahrain.

In its 2022 World Watch List, Open Doors listed India as the 10th worst place for Christians to live. We have told you how anti-conversion laws in India are used to target Christians. Christians are routinely charged under these laws and attacked by Hindu nationalist mobs simply for peacefully practicing their faith. As we noted in our UPR on India:

At least 486 distinct instances of persecution were recorded in 2021 alone, a nearly seventy-five percent increase from 2020. About 371 of these cases occurred in the states that have anti-conversion laws. According to one report, 102 instances of threats, violence, or prosecution under the anti-conversion laws occurred in Uttar Pradesh, 90 in Chhattisgarh, 59 in Karnataka, 44 in Jharkhand, and 38 in Madhya Pradesh. Many of these instances follow a similar pattern: a mob harasses Christians who are peacefully pracitising their faith and then, when the police show up, instead of arresting individuals in the mob who have been harassing the Christians, the police arrest the Christians.

In Indonesia, Christians are arrested under blasphemy laws; and since 2004, more than 150 people have been convicted under these laws. Additionally, under Indonesian law, the Forum Kerukunan Umat Beragama (FKUB) has the power to authorize the construction of new houses of worship and has used this authority to close down Christian churches. As we detailed in our report on Indonesia:

[T]he FKUB has been weaponized by the majority Muslim population to restrict the religious freedoms of minority religions, particularly Christians. Membership of the FKUB in each province is proportionate to the percentage of worshippers. This gives control to the majority religion. This power has been used by the majority religion, mainly Muslim, to use their veto power to prevent other religious organisations from constructing houses of worship and has resulted in the closures of more than 1,000 Christian churches.

In Algeria, it is a crime to carry out activities that are seen as “shaking the faith of a Muslim.” Under this law, simply talking about Jesus to a Muslim or handing out religious literature can result in being arrested or fined. In one story we highlighted in our report on Algeria, a Christian pastor was arrested for distributing religious literature:

In March of 2021, an Algerian court convicted and sentenced in abstentia a pastor and another Christian to two years in prison and a fine of 500,000 Algerian dinars (US $3,745) for “shaking the faith of a Muslim”. According to the judgement, the pastor was sentenced for “distributing publications or any propaganda undermining the faith of a Muslim”. Both Christians appealed their conviction. As a result of the appeal, on 2 June 2021, a judge revised the sentence to one year in prison and reduced the fine to 200,000 dinars (US $1,494).

Morocco has essentially created two classes of Christians, foreign Christians and Moroccan Christians. While foreign Christians are generally permitted to practice their faith without trouble, Moroccan Christians feel pressured to keep their faith hidden. In addition, anti-proselytizing laws are used to discourage Christian churches run by foreigners from welcoming in Moroccan citizens. As we stated in our report on Morocco:

Even though arrests rarely occur these days, Moroccan Christians still feel restricted from publicly attending church and participating in Christian rituals such as baptisms, weddings and funerals. According to one report, “[i]f a Moroccan enters a church, one of two things can happen; either a policeman sitting in front of the church arrests him or her, or the cleric in charge of the church asks the person to leave . . .”. One Moroccan Christian noted that “We have our own Moroccan rites. I have no interest in praying in other language[s] or other programs. In my own country, I don’t want to be a guest in a church”.

In the Philippines, Islamic extremists and ISIS-affiliated groups have carried out attacks against Christians, particularly in the Bangsamoro region. The following is just one example from our report of the violence Christians in the Philippines are experiencing:

In January of 2019, ISIS claimed responsibility for two bombs that detonated at a Roman Catholic cathedral. The blasts were set off during a Sunday Mass killing 20 people and injuring more than 100.

In Tunisia, Christians are persecuted by their neighbors, coworkers, and even their own family members. In our report, we told the story of a family of Christians who were harassed by their neighbors and beaten.

In March of 2020, a Christian family near the capital of Tunisia was harassed by their Muslim neighbours. One family member was dragged out of the home by their hair and repeatedly punched. When the family tried to report the incident to the police, the police only questioned them about their Christian faith and did not seem to care about the attack. Even after the woman who was beaten submitted a medical charge to the police, the police only interrogated her about how she had obtained religious books and what church she attended.

In Bahrain, Sharia law serves as the “principal source for legislation.” As we detailed in our report on Bahrain, “[T]he use of sharia law is extremely problematic and is inherently discriminatory against non-Muslims especially in family matters.” Furthermore, Bahrain also has blasphemy laws which can be used to discriminate and target Christians. However, we also noted how Bahrain has begun to take positive steps toward promoting religious liberty:

In 2018, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa created the King Hamad World Centre for Peaceful Co-Existence which has held conferences promoting interfaith dialogue. That same year, Bahrain also announced that they would create an ambassador at-large for the purpose of promoting religious freedom and peaceful coexistence.

These countries must take immediate action to reform their discriminatory laws and protect the right to religious freedom for all. No one should have to live out their faith with the fear of being arrested, beaten, or even killed.

We will continue to advocate for persecuted Christians all around the world by bringing attention to these human rights violations.