Persecution on grounds of religious faith as a global phenomenon /Ο διωγμός βάσει θρησκευτικής πίστης ώς παγκόσμιο φαινόμενο

Persecution on grounds of religious faith is a global phenomenon that is growing in scale and intensity. Reports including that of the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on ‘Freedom of Religion and Belief’ (FoRB) suggest that religious persecution is on the rise,¹ and it is an “ever-growing threat” to societies around the world.² Though it is impossible to know the exact numbers of people persecuted for their faith, based on reports from different NGOs,³ it is estimated that one third of the world’s population suffers from religious persecution in some form, with Christians being the most persecuted group. 

This despite the fact that freedom of religion and belief is a fundamental right of every person. This includes the freedom to change or reject one’s own belief system. The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in Article 18 defines religious human rights in this way:

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights)⁴

Despite the fact that the UDHR is foundational to the UN Charter which is binding on member states, and that ‘the denial of religious liberty is almost everywhere viewed as morally and legally invalid’, in today’s world religious freedom is far from being an existential reality.⁵

The Review Terms of Reference called for ‘persecution and other discriminatory treatment’ to be researched. In the absence of an agreed academic definition of ‘persecution’ the Review has proceeded on the understanding that persecution is discriminatory treatment where that treatment is accompanied by actual or perceived threats of violence or other forced coercion.

* Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians, April 2019.