Tag: Human rights

Eritrea releases at least 35 Christians from prison

July 20, 2018 Eritrea Asmara, Eritrea, Human rights, Prisons, Religious freedom

A residential neighbourhood in the capital Asmara. More than 35 Christians were released from jail this week. (Photo: David Stanley)

Eritrea released at least 35 Christians from prison earlier this week, reports the Eritrean news site Asmarino Independent. The prisoners, among them 11 women, were released on bail from Mai-Sirwa prison, just outside the capital Asmara. While five were able to leave on Tuesday (17 July), the remaining 30 were . . . Read More

UK bishops urge government to put money where mouth is on religious freedom

July 16, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Human rights, Religious freedom, Tariq Ahmad

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

Catholic bishops in England and Wales have urged the British government to ensure its foreign policy reflects its written pledges to defend religious freedom around the world. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales filed a submission to the House of Commons Inquiry promoting Human Rights around the world. . . . Read More

Myanmar: Peace talks resume but ethnic autonomy not on the agenda

July 12, 2018 Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi, Chin, China, Churches, Human rights, Kachin, Karen, Ma Ba Tha, Minorities, Myanmar, Myitkyina, Panglong, Rakhine, Rohingya, Sanctions, Tatmadaw

Myanmar's defacto leader Aung San Suu Kyi leaves the 2016 Panglong Conference. (Photo: AUNG HTET/AFP/Getty Images)

A third round of peace talks are taking place in Myanmar this week between armed ethnic groups and government forces, but the military has ruled out discussions on the autonomy that ethnic groups crave. The six-day meeting, which has been dubbed the 21st century ‘Panglong Conference’ after the historic 1947 . . . Read More

North Korea tells US to drop ‘anachronistic human rights racket’

July 9, 2018 North Korea Bibles, Donald Trump, Human rights, Kim Jong-Un, North Korea, Prisons, Religious freedom, Torture, USA

North Korea has called on the United States to stop its “anachronistic human rights racket” as talks continue between the two countries, AP reports. The US House of Representatives recently promised that “complete, verifiable, and irreversible human rights improvements” in North Korea were a necessary part of any deal, while . . . Read More

Laos: Law on associations ‘skewed to target religious minorities’

July 9, 2018 Laos Churches, Human rights, Laos, Religious freedom, Southeast Asia

Buddhists meeting in their temple in Laos are often exempt from meeting requirements under the Decree of Association. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A law that came into effect in Laos last November “has already been skewed to target religious minorities, especially in rural areas”, according to Mission Network News (MNN). The Decree on Associations requires all groups, whether religious or otherwise, to acquire government approval for holding meetings and other activities. It . . . Read More

Kazakhstan: 69 punished for practising faith in first half of 2018

July 5, 2018 Kazakhstan Baptists, Human rights, Jehovah's Witnesses, Kazakhstan, Kostanay, Missionaries, Pentecostals, Religion Law, Religious freedom, Sunni

Courts in Kazakhstan prosecuted at least 69 individuals, religious communities or organisations for religious activities in the first half of this year, according to Oslo-based news service Forum 18. Punishments included fines of up to four months’ average salary (US$1,400) and three-month bans on activities such as distributing religious literature or . . . Read More

UK appoints religious freedom envoy

July 4, 2018 Human rights, Religious freedom, Tariq Ahmad, Theresa May, UK

The UK has appointed a Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief to “promote inter-faith respect and dialogue internationally”, according to a press release by the UK government. Following his appointment today, Lord Tariq Ahmad, who is also Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN at the . . . Read More

Reconciliation with Ethiopia could improve human rights in Eritrea – UN rapporteur

July 2, 2018 Eritrea Abiy Ahmed, Churches, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Human rights, Prisons, Religious freedom, UN

As relations between Ethiopia and its neighbour Eritrea show signs of improvement, the UN’s rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea has called for the momentum to be used to improve human rights conditions in the country. “While peace is being negotiated, while rapprochement is happening, one would make sure that . . . Read More

Religious freedom ‘essential goal’ in normalising relations with Sudan – US commission

June 28, 2018 Sudan Churches, Darfur, Human rights, Khartoum, Minorities, Religious freedom, Sanctions, Sudan, Terrorism, USA

While church properties were returned to the SCOC, other church bodies like SPEC are also in conflict with the government over the ownership of their properties in Bahri (Khartoum North) and Omdurman. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A new report highlights the lack of religious freedom in Sudan and says improvements in this area remain “an essential goal” for the US before relations between the two countries can be fully normalised. A delegation from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan advisory body, . . . Read More

Religious and secular groups unite to declare freedom of belief is a right

June 28, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Europe, Human rights, Religious freedom

If they're not Lutheran, evangelical women in Eritrea have to pray together in secret. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

An alliance of religious and secular charities has launched an online campaign to raise awareness of the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). “Believe it or not, it’s my right!” is the slogan of the movement launched on Tuesday 26 June by the European Platform against Intolerance and Discrimination . . . Read More

Catching Our Eye