Tag: Minorities

Myanmar’s minorities in government talks

January 12, 2016 Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi, Karen, Minorities, Myanmar, Nay Pyi Taw

Political dialogue between Myanmar’s government and eight ethnic minority groups are taking place in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, . Some, if not most, of the ethnic minorities, are Christian, such as the Karen in the south. The at the election in November of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the . . . Read More

US Senate condemns IS sexual violence

December 18, 2015 Iraq, Islamic State, Minorities, USA, Women, Yazidis

The U.S. Senate has “ongoing sexual violence” by the self-proclaimed Islamic State against Christian and other minority women in Iraq. The resolution, , arose from a September hearing at which an Iraqi woman told members of Congress about her escape from sexual enslavement at the hands of an American fighting . . . Read More

Iraqi Patriarch challenges ‘identity law’

November 11, 2015 Iraq Baghdad, Children, Converts, Erbil, Iraq, Louis Raphael I Sako, Minorities, Yazidis

The Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Iraq renewed his opposition this week to an article in the nation’s new national laws requiring minority-faith children to become Muslims if one parent converts to Islam. Describing the new law as both unconstitutional and “unacceptable,” Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako has called on President . . . Read More

UN report focuses on children’s rights

November 5, 2015 Iraq Children, Converts, Divorce, Minorities, Religious freedom, UN

This little girl and her family were forced out of their home in Iraq by the Islamic State.Courtesy Open Doors International States must pay more attention to violations of the rights of children and their parents, particularly minorities and converts, according to the latest report from the United Nations’ . . . Read More

Iraqi Christian MPs challenge their constitution

October 22, 2015 Iraq Children, Constitution, Converts, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Marriage, Minorities, Yazidis

Four Christian members of the Iraqi parliament have called for a change in the law to preserve the religion of dependent children whose fathers convert to Islam, reports Middle East Christian News. As the civil law now stands, children under the age of 18 become Muslim when their father converts. . . . Read More

IS builds army of children

October 8, 2015 Boko Haram, Children, Christina Abada, Iraq, Islamic State, Minorities, Nigeria, Qaraqosh, Syria

The Islamic State is moulding Syrian and Iraqi children into a new generation of militants, reports the BBC. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that more than 50 children under the age of 16 had died fighting for IS so far in 2015, while 19 were used as suicide . . . Read More

SE Asia rights groups sign religion charter

October 6, 2015 Human rights, Minorities, New York, Religious freedom, Southeast Asia

Almost 70 religious and human rights groups met with UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, last week for a conference committed to improving religious freedoms in Southeast Asia. The two-day event – the first of its kind – was co-organised by the Asian Forum for . . . Read More

New initiative encourages FoRB in the Commonwealth

September 28, 2015 Commonwealth, Human rights, Minorities, Religious freedom, UK

A new freedom of religion initiative to encourage Commonwealth parliamentarians to speak out about the issue will launch on 1 October in the UK. The Commonwealth Initiative for the Freedom of Religion or Belief (CIFORB) will be based at the University of Birmingham’s Edward Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding . . . Read More

Obama appoints religious minorities envoy

September 28, 2015 Barack Obama, Central Asia, Iran, Iraq, Minorities, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Syria, USA

President Obama has created a new special envoy position to address the persecution of religious minorities. Knox Thames was appointed to the long-awaited position of special envoy for religious minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia to coincide with the visit of Pope Francis to the White House . . . Read More

Myanmar regulates interfaith marriage

September 23, 2015 Myanmar Buddhist nationalism, Chin, Karen, Ma Ba Tha, Marriage, Minorities, Myanmar

Myanmar’s President has signed a law requiring interfaith couples to seek permission before they can marry. “Under the law, interfaith couples have to notify the local government and post a public announcement of their intention to marry,” reports Al Jazeera. “They will be allowed to wed if there are no . . . Read More

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