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Thailand called to release detained Vietnamese Montagnard refugees

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The Montagnard-people are persecuted because of their faith but getting asylum in neighbouring countries is difficult. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Thailand should release the group of ethnic minority refugees and asylum seekers, mostly Christians, arrested last week during a crackdown just outside the capital Bangkok, rights groups say. Most of the 181 refugees detained are Montagnards, an indigenous group from Vietnam who face “harsh persecution if they are returned to . . . Read More

China has transformed Xinjiang into a ‘mass detention camp’ – UN

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China's government has had an "anti terror" campaign in majority-Muslim Xinjiang region - meaning increased surveillance, arrests and detention. (Photo: JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)
The United Nations has raised alarm over the tens of thousands of Uyghur Muslims being held in detention centres in Xinjiang, northwest China. In a report last Thursday, the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said the Chinese government had “transformed the autonomous region of the Uyghurs into . . . Read More

China: More church closures as Party tightens rules for its religious members

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St Joseph's Church in Beijing.
One of China’s largest “house churches” in Beijing has been threatened with closure by the government following its refusal of a request to install cameras in the church building, reports Reuters. Zion Church received a letter from the city authorities in April, asking it to install 24 closed-circuit video cameras . . . Read More

‘Disappeared’ lawyer receives award for dedication to China’s religious freedom

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‘Disappeared’ lawyer receives award for dedication to China’s religious freedom
A Chinese human rights lawyer who fell foul of the authorities for his support of oppressed communities, including Christians, was awarded the Shahbaz Bhatti Freedom Award on 29 August, the Epoch Times reports. The whereabouts of the lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, have not been publicly known since August 2017, so the . . . Read More

Myanmar’s blocking of aid to Kachin ‘may amount to war crime’ – report

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An elderly Kachin woman looks for shelter after fleeing fighting between Myanmar's army and Kachin rebels in December 2011. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Myanmar has blocked humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of forcibly displaced people in the ongoing war in northern Kachin state – for over seven years – says humanitarian group Fortify Rights in a new report. “Consecutive governments and the military have wilfully obstructed local and international aid groups, denying . . . Read More

Historic link shown between economic stress and violence to minorities

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A Christian farming community in Kandhamal is vulnerable to not just economic shocks but also violence. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
There is a connection between economic stress and the violence directed at minority groups, says Mark Koyam, Assistant Professor in Economics at the US-based George Mason University. His research shows “that economic insecurity and weak political institutions give rise to persecution and violence against minority groups”, he explains in a . . . Read More

Religious freedom violations in Asia increasing – UN rapporteur

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Pakistani Christians experience an increase in violence such as a suicide attack on the Bethel Methodist Church in Quetta in December last year that killed more than ten and injured dozens of people. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Religious freedom in Asia is “eroding”, with an increase in religious fundamentalism across much of the continent, according to the UN’s religious freedom rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed. Shaheed spoke during an event, hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Club in Thailand’s capital Bangkok, on the back of the 4th Southeast Asia Freedom of Religion or Belief Conference. “Freedom . . . Read More