The Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience submitted this written statement during the 63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, held from 7 September to 9 October 2026, under Agenda Item 3. The statement calls attention to the situation of refugees belonging to The Church of Almighty God and to the risks they face if returned to China.
Drawing on approximately ten years of monitoring and hundreds of cases examined by CAP LC, the statement reports that members identified by Chinese authorities face heavy prison sentences. It also warns that repatriated asylum seekers may be prosecuted not only for their religious activities, but also for having sought asylum or participated in demonstrations critical of China while abroad. The statement recalls a decision adopted by the United Nations Committee Against Torture on 27 July 2021, which recognized a concrete risk of torture or inhuman treatment for believers deported to China.
CAP LC also raises concerns about websites publishing photographs and personal information concerning refugees in several countries, including Italy. The statement presents these disclosures as evidence that refugees have been identified and remain exposed to monitoring and pressure beyond Chinese territory.
A central part of the statement challenges the assumption that individuals who left China with valid documents or passed airport border controls cannot have experienced persecution. CAP LC argues that surveillance databases are neither complete nor instantly coordinated, that local investigations may not appear in national exit control systems, and that corruption can enable the alteration of records or restrictions. A regular departure from China therefore cannot, by itself, exclude past persecution or a future risk.
The statement urges democratic states to reject unfounded objections to asylum applications and to recognize the seriousness of the risks faced by members of The Church of Almighty God. It calls for the granting of asylum to those who have escaped China as an essential measure for protecting human dignity and freedom of religion or belief.
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