EU Envoy’s threat of trade sanctions played crucial role in Asia Bibi’s freedom

EU Envoy on religious freedom, Jan Figel, meets with Asia Bibi's lawyer, Saif ul Malook in Lahore, December 2017. (Photo: Jan Figel)
Freed Pakistani Christian Aasiya Noreen, known to the world now as Asia Bibi, has pleaded for the many others like her accused of blasphemy who, she says, are still “lying in jail for years – their decisions should also be done on merit. The world should listen to them. “The . . . Read More

EU told to strengthen mandate of religious freedom envoy

(Tasr)
The European Union needs to develop an overarching religious freedom policy strategy, and strengthening the mandate of the Special Envoy is an important step towards this, writes CSW’s Amy Shepherd for Brussels-based news site The European Post. The position of the Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) . . . Read More

‘UN must recognise persecution of Christians in Middle East as genocide’

At the moment of the photo taken, ISIS had just been pushed out of the home towns of these Christians. People were hoping and anticipating to return to their towns some day.
The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) is appealing to the United Nations to recognise the persecution of Christians in Iraq and Syria as “genocide”, reports the US-based National Review. The ECLJ, an affiliate of the American Center for Law and Justice, said a “genocide” declaration is necessary to . . . Read More

Fall in Christian refugee admissions ‘suggests Trump has no real interest in religious persecution’

Iraqi Christians who fled Islamic State have found shelter in a church yard in Erbil, Iraq. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
The United States, under President Trump, has admitted 40 per cent fewer Christian refugees in the past year, US broadcaster NBC News has reported. As the Trump administration has implemented stricter policies on immigration and refugees, almost 11,000 Christians looking for a safe place to go were reportedly refused entry to . . . Read More

EU should ‘put people of the world’ first in quest for religious freedom – report

EU should ‘put people of the world’ first in quest for religious freedom – report
Members of the European Parliament (EP) have called on the EU to “put the people of the world before our financial and political interests”, in a report about religious freedom. The Annual Report on Freedom of Religion or Belief 2017, presented by the EP Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or . . . Read More

Religious freedom learning platform launched at UN

Religious freedom learning platform launched at 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

‘Milestone’ as UN votes to create team to collect evidence of IS’s crimes

Desecrated church I in Qaraqosh, Iraq. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Campaigners for Christian and Yazidi victims of the Islamic State group welcomed a vote at the United Nations yesterday (21 September), hailed as a “milestone” in their efforts to bring perpetrators of atrocities to justice. The UN Security Council voted unanimously to create an investigative team to collect evidence of . . . Read More

EU urged to make religious freedom envoy permanent

(Tasr)
Ján Figeľ, the European Union’s Special Envoy for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) outside the EU, has had his 12-month mandate extended by another year, but it should be longer, reports EU news specialist Euractiv. According to Belgium-based Sophia Kuby, Director of European Union Advocacy for religious freedom campaigners . . . Read More

‘We must distinguish between Islam and terrorism’

‘We must distinguish between Islam and terrorism’
Keeping the distinction between Islam and terrorism clear could prevent an ultimate ‘Clash of Civilisations’, an EU diplomat says. “All this hatred and bloodshed is a misuse of religion,” said Ján Figeľ, the European Commission’s first Special Envoy for the promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the EU. . . . Read More

Freedom of religion or belief ‘the defining issue of our time’

Freedom of religion or belief ‘the defining issue of our time’
Over 100 parliamentarians from 60 countries met this week in Berlin for a series of workshops and seminars under the title, “An Embattled Right: Protecting and Promoting Freedom of Religion of Belief”. The second conference of this size after last year’s meeting in New York, it was organised by the . . . Read More