Tag: Religious freedom

Religious freedom learning platform launched at UN

March 7, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Ahmed Shaheed, Human rights, Jan Figel, Religious freedom, Switzerland, UN

A new website to help promote understanding of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) was launched yesterday in Geneva, Switzerland, at the 37th session of the Human Rights Council. The Sweden-based FoRB Learning Platform provides downloadable resources in 13 different languages, including quick guides to religious rights, movie clips, theological . . . Read More

Rights group tells Russia to ‘properly respect’ religious freedom

March 7, 2018 Russia Don Ossewaarde, Europe, Jehovah's Witnesses, Minorities, Oryol, Religious freedom, Russia, Yarovaya Law

Religious freedom advocate ADF International is today (7 March) filing a third-party brief with the European Court of Human Rights, arguing “for the right to religious freedom to be properly respected in Russia”. (Such a brief is a statement by a third party, usually an NGO or academic, which has . . . Read More

Cuba: Religious-freedom advocate freed after two days’ detention

March 6, 2018 Cuba Churches, Cuba, Human rights, Religious freedom, Santa Clara

A church in Cuba. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A prominent Cuban religious-freedom advocate was released on Friday (2 March) after two days in detention, reports Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). Leonardo Rodríguez Alonso was arrested while on his way home from meetings with human-rights defenders on 28 February, and held without charge in the Provincial Unit for Investigations in the . . . Read More

Religious-freedom violations in education ‘under-reported’

March 1, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Blasphemy, Children, Education, Iran, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Religious freedom

A school compound in East Africa. Many children face bias in education, discrimination and abuse because of their religion or the beliefs of their parents. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A new report highlights the ways in which schoolchildren and their families experience religious discrimination and calls for it to end. The report, ‘Discrimination on the Basis of Religion or Belief in Education’, by advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), explores violations of religious freedom in schools in Myanmar, Iran, . . . Read More

Algeria: two more churches closed, others threatened

March 1, 2018 Algeria Aïn Turk, Algeria, Churches, Kabylie, North Africa, Oran, Proselytism, Protestant Church of Algeria, Religious freedom, Tizi Ouzou

Local authorities in Algeria’s north-western city of Oran have closed two more churches amidst growing pressure on Christians in the Maghreb country. The two churches – L’Oratoire (The Oratory) in Oran’s city centre, and a village church in Layayda (about 40km from Oran) – were sealed off by police on . . . Read More

Malaysian Federal Court refuses four people their right to affirm Christian identity

February 27, 2018 Malaysia Apostasy, Converts, Divorce, Hudud, Islamic extremism, Kuching, Malaysia, Marriage, Religious freedom, Sarawak, Sharia

The Palace of Justice in Putrajaya, Malaysia. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Malaysia’s highest court dismissed an appeal today (27 February) against four appellants who wanted to be formally recognised as Christians. The five judges of the Malaysian Federal Court ruled that in matters of conversion away from Islam, it was necessary for them to consult the Islamic Sharia courts. The president . . . Read More

Nepal’s ‘opportunity’ to review religion laws

February 27, 2018 Nepal Nepal, Religion Law, Religious freedom, UN

Being elected to serve on the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) gives Nepal an “opportunity for a fresh start” by reviewing its commitment to religious freedoms, writes Canadian MP David Anderson in the Kathmandu Post. Election to the UNHRC means the Council is satisfied with a state’s “contribution to the . . . Read More

Amnesty: ‘Discrimination rife in all regions of the world … with deadly consequences’

February 23, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Boko Haram, Censorship, Cuba, Fidel Castro, Fulani herdsmen, Gujrat, Human rights, Iran, Lakshan Dias, Marawi, Mardan, Nadeem Masih, Nawaz Sharif, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Religious freedom, Sri Lanka, Sub-Saharan Africa

Buddhist flags are waved during a mass demonstration against Christianity in Sri Lanka, April 2017. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A review of the human-rights situation in 159 countries during 2017, published by Amnesty International yesterday (22 February), shows that religious persecution continues in the form of threats, attacks, extrajudicial killings and even genocide, while harsh sentences continue to be handed out – sometimes even death sentences – for changing . . . Read More

Saudi Arabia is modernising, but will this mean greater freedom for religious minorities?

February 23, 2018 Saudi Arabia Apostasy, Bibles, Churches, House churches, Houthis, Iran, Islamic extremism, King Salman, Minorities, Mohammad bin Salman, Muttawah, Religious freedom, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sunni, Syria, Wahhabism, Yemen

The political landscape in the strict Islamic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is changing, and quickly. A charismatic crown prince seems determined to modernise his country and even speaks of a shift towards a more “moderate” Islam. But will the changes taking place in Saudi also ease the situation for members . . . Read More

Turkish state blocks election of a new Armenian Patriarch

February 22, 2018 Turkey Armenians, Binali Yildirim, Greek Orthodox, Human rights, Istanbul, Minorities, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Religious freedom, Turkey

For the sixth time since the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923, the government of constitutionally “secular” Turkey has openly intervened in the selection of a new Armenian Patriarch to lead the nation’s largest Christian community. Now estimated at less than 40,000, Turkey’s Armenian community – located primarily in . . . Read More

Catching Our Eye