Tag: Human rights

Pakistani Christian asylum seekers in Thailand ask for help

December 4, 2018 Asylum seekers, Bangkok, Human rights, Imran Khan, Migrants, Minorities, Pakistan, PTI, Refugees, Thailand, UN

Death, disease, starvation, and continuous living in hiding from immigration authorities to escape permanent imprisonment in stinking dungeons – this is what life has become for many stateless Pakistani Christians stranded in Thailand for years now. Several heroic Thai locals have come forward to help sustain these starving asylum seekers, . . . Read More

‘Complex labyrinth of “legal” restrictions’ for religious communities in Azerbaijan

November 12, 2018 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, Baku, Human rights, Religious freedom

Azerbaijan’s government continues to claim its “tolerance” but restrictions of freedom of religion and belief, censorship of religious literature and jail sentences for prisoners of conscience are ongoing, Forum 18 reports. According to Forum 18’s recent survey, the exercise of freedom of religion and belief in the country is impinged . . . Read More

China: Cultivate ‘patriotic’ clergy, Henan officials told

November 2, 2018 China Catholics, Chengdu, China, Churches, Fujian, Fuzhou, Henan, Human rights, Police, Proselytism, Religious freedom, Sichuan, Sinicisation, Three-Self Patriotic Movement

Local government officials in China’s central Henan province are being encouraged to cultivate “patriotic” clergy for leadership positions in the Catholic Church, according to a document outlining how to implement the new religion regulations. The guidelines, published in a confidential document titled ‘Supervision and Self-Inspection Framework for Implementing the Central . . . Read More

Eritreans still suffering despite peace deal with Ethiopia, says priest

October 29, 2018 Eritrea Abune Antonios, Asmara, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Human rights, Mussie Zerai, Religious freedom, UN

Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Cathedral in Asmara, Eritrea. (Photo: David Stanley)

An Eritrean priest has called on the international community not to close their eyes to the reality of what is happening in his country, reports the Catholic news site Agenzia Fides. While bilateral relations with countries in the region are improving, the harassment of religious groups at home continues, Fr. Mussie . . . Read More

‘If the UN does not stand for Asia Bibi, what does it stand for?’

October 25, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, Religious freedom, UN

Asia Bibi is finally free, almost one decade after she was first imprisoned. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

An opinion piece published in the Washington Examiner has criticised the United Nations for failing to speak out against Pakistan’s treatment of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman on death row for blasphemy against Islam since 2010. The article, written by New Jersey-based William Mahoney, contrasts the UN’s response to France’s . . . Read More

Religious freedom key to ensuring other human rights, say UN rapporteurs

October 24, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Ahmed Shaheed, Human rights, Minorities, Religious freedom, UN

Desecrated church in Qaraqosh, Iraq (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The level of religious freedom in a country is a good indicator of its general human rights situation, UN special rapporteurs said at an event at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday, 22 October. “Infringements on freedom of religion or belief serve as the early warning signs of . . . Read More

Vietnam frees Catholic blogger but upholds 20-year sentence for another activist

October 22, 2018 Vietnam Catholics, Human rights, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, Vietnam

Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (L), also known as 'Mother Mushroom', stands trial at a courthouse in the central city of Nha Trang on June 29, 2017. (Photo: Getty Images)

A Vietnamese Catholic blogger arrived in the United States last week after she was released from jail unexpectedly, reports the Catholic news site UCAN. Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, also known as “Mother Mushroom”, was sentenced in June last year to ten years in prison for posting what police described as . . . Read More

Sudan releases shipment of Bibles held in port for six years

October 2, 2018 Sudan Bibles, Churches, Human rights, Omar al-Bashir, Sudan, UN, USA

Bibles in Sudan are hard to come by with a government stopping the distribution, and with conflict raging in several parts of the country. such as in South Kordofan's Nuba mountains. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The Sudanese government has cleared a shipment of Bibles believed to have been held in Port Sudan for six years. The Arabic-language Bibles were released two weeks ago and transported to the capital, Khartoum, after years of appeals by church leaders, a local source told World Watch Monitor. “Since 2011, . . . Read More

Nepal’s criminalisation of conversion a ‘direct infringement’ of religious freedom

September 20, 2018 Nepal Anti-conversion law, Churches, Human rights, Minorities, Nepal, Religious freedom

The clause in Nepal’s constitution that prohibits religious conversions was added to “protect Hinduism at the expense of other religions”, says advocacy group CSW, on the third anniversary of the amended constitution. As World Watch Monitor reported, Nepal’s Christian minority feared that the so-called “anti-conversion” measure, which came into force . . . Read More

Vietnam uses ‘national security’ to detain rights activists, UN told

September 19, 2018 Vietnam Catholics, Human rights, Nguyen Van Dai, Religious freedom, UN, Vietnam

Vietnam has been accused of “misinforming” the international community about the human rights issues in the country. The president of the Paris-based Vietnam Committee on Human Rights, Vo Van Ai, speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, condemned the alleged “brutal crackdown on freedom of expression, association, peaceful . . . Read More

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