Pakistan joins US list of worst religious freedom violators

Burial of victims of a suicide attack on the Methodist Bethel Church in Quetta, Pakistan, on Sunday 17 December 2017 in which at least 9 people were killed. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Pakistan is among the ten countries that appear on the US State Department’s latest list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) for religious-freedom violations, Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, announced in a press statement on Tuesday, 11 December. China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and . . . Read More

UK parliamentary group calls out 27 countries for ‘significant’ religious freedom violations

A church in Bartella, a town near the Iraqi city of Mosul, after Islamic State militants left the area in October 2016. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
A “Commentary on the Current State of Freedom of Religion or Belief” presented by a group of British parliamentarians today, 10 December, highlights 27 countries where people’s religious freedom has been denied and abused in the past year. The report, presented by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International . . . Read More

Uzbekistan says religious freedom ‘progressing’, despite new restrictions

Legislators in Uzbekistan's Lower House have to sign off a series of reform bills that will improve the human rights situation in the country. (Photo: Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images)
Uzbekistan is progressing towards rapid transformation, including political, economic, and importantly, religious freedom,” said the deputy chairman of the Uzbek Senate yesterday (25 July) at a side event to the first Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom currently being held in Washington DC. “Uzbekistan is progressing towards rapid transformation, including political, . . . Read More

Uzbek police accused of targeting Christian women with sexual violence

Christian women in Uzbekistan meet for a meal and to pray together. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Women belonging to a Protestant church in the western Uzbek city of Urgench face threats, harassments and sexual violence from local authorities, according to regional news agency Forum 18. The news agency highlighted the case of Nargiza Khusainova, who was reportedly walking in the streets in January when she was . . . Read More

Uzbek pastor might face criminal charges after police repeat raids on his home

Members of Pastor Kim's church were, like these Christians elsewhere in Uzbekistan, having a meal together to celebrate Easter when the first police raid took place. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
An Uzbek Baptist pastor, who is already serving at home a two-year sentence for having religious books, might now be facing criminal charges. Police raided Pastor Stanislav Kim’s flat in Urgench, north-western Khorezm Region, twice last month, on Easter Sunday (8 April) and a week later (15 April), while the . . . Read More

North Korea, China, Russia and Iran ‘forces of instability’

Tibetan Buddhists as well as Uyghur Muslims are among the minority groups that Chinese authorities are clamping down on. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
The US State Department has called North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran “forces of instability” in its latest set of country reports on human rights, saying they “violate the human rights of those within their borders on a daily basis”. The 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, published on . . . Read More

Uzbek Christians report continued state pressure, despite recent UN criticism

Uzbek Christians report continued state pressure, despite recent UN criticism
State harassment against Baptists in Uzbekistan has continued despite the UN’s recent criticism of the country’s religious rights records. UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom or Religion or Belief, Ahmed Shaheed, said: “Law changes and a strong political will are needed if Uzbeks are to freely practise their faith” when he . . . Read More