If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it.- 1 Cor 12:26
The loss of fundamental rights such as freedom of religion does not happen overnight. Imagine roof tiles being blown away by strong winds one or two at a time – until one realizes there is no longer any cover. These winds take the form of authoritarian governments, terrorist networks, or fundamentalist religious leaders goading lynch mobs.
Based on ACN’s evaluation of country reports and regional analyses, there are areas where protections to religious freedom are either gone or under threat.
There are also areas that may potentially affect an individual’s religious freedom, and are classified as “under observation.” These observations are being taken seriously after having identified similar concerns in certain countries. that have resulted to systematic and egregious attacks from governments. The COVID`-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem, with states leveraging the situation by taking control over their citizens.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the situation started as attacks by local criminal gangs that progressed to an affiliation to a transnational Islamist network. Currently, jihadist groups have made the region a territory for over two dozen actively operating groups in 14 countries, including affiliates of the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.
In North Korea, the regime attacks any individual or group that dares to challenge Kim Jong-Un’s rule. The treatment of Christians is particularly severe. Religious freedom is practically non-existent.
In China, Regional Analysis reveals that “the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has one the most pervasive and effective state-run engines of religious control currently in operation anywhere in the world.” More than a million, mostly ethnic Uyghurs in Xinjiang Province have been subjected to “re-education programs.”
Common to all countries with religious freedom under threat is the profound impact on women. In Pakistan, women and girls, most especially those belonging in the “wrong religion,” are denied of any human right. They are abducted, raped, and forced into slavery as sex workers and manual laborers.
