United Nations assigns August 22nd as a day for “commemorating the victims” of religious persecution. According to several reports no religious group is facing more persecution than the Christians.

Any act of violence against people belonging to religious minorities cannot be accepted, said Jacek Czaputowicz when he introduced the draft for the new initiative to fight religious persecution at UN’s General Assembly in May. Czaputowicz serves as the minister of foreign affairs in Poland. 

The international day will aim to honor the victims and survivors of persecution who often remain forgotten. We hope that it will help combat hate crimes and acts of violence related to religion or belief, and will further strengthen inter-religious dialogue, he added.

Genocide

UN indicates that one third of the world’s population suffers from some form of religious persecution. 

The resolution does not relate to any specific religion or belief, but to all victims of violence. It seeks to raise awareness of the importance of respect for religious diversity, says Czaputowicz. 

A report made for the British authorities half a year ago, points out how persecution against Christians in some places has reached “genocide levels”.  Persecution of Christians in the Middle East is one example.

Christians face being “wiped out” from parts of the Middle East, says the report. It specifically mentions Palestine where less than 1.5 percent of the population are Christians. In Iraq the Christian population has dropped from 1.5 million in 2003 to less than 120,000 today.

Evidence shows not only the geographic spread of anti-Christian persecution, but also the increasing severity, writes bishop Philip Mounstephen in the report that was presented through BBC in May.

Asleep

Britain’s former Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, says he thinks governments have been “asleep” over the persecution of Christians. 

The role of missionaries has been controversial and has led some people to stay away from this topic. What we have forgotten in that atmosphere of political correctness is actually that the Christians that are being persecuted are some of the poorest people on the planet, says Hunt to BBC. 

You can read more about the UN’s religious persecution day here: https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12147.doc.htm 

BBC’s article on the religious persecution report made for the British government can be found here: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48146305

By Steinar Opheim