13 European NGOs urge China, Iran and Russia to release prisoners from a dozen religious groups in light of the COVID-19 threat

13 European NGOs urge China, Iran and Russia to release prisoners from a dozen religious groups in light of the COVID-19 threat

HRWF (10.12.2020) – Thirteen human rights NGOs call upon the authorities of China, Iran and Russia to release religious prisoners under threat of being infected by COVID-19. These are the three countries that have the highest number of believers of all faiths behind bars, according to Human Rights Without Frontiers’ (HRWF) database of FoRB prisoners which documents thousands of individual cases.

Joint letter to President of Algeria on Freedom of Religion or Belief in Algeria

Joint letter to President of Algeria on Freedom of Religion or Belief in Algeria

We write as an informal group of organizations and individuals who are scholars, religious leaders and human rights advocates. We are from many faiths or acting in a secular capacity, representing a high degree of diversity. While there is very little we agree on theologically, or politically, we all agree on the importance of religious freedom for all faiths and none.

China’s violations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

China’s violations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

In effect, millions of Chinese children have had their inherent right to freedom of religion wrestled from their grips in contravention of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. China has shut out children from attending any church services or activities in Zhejiang, in Xinjiang the Chinese Communist Party separates Uighur children from their parents and stops Tibetan buddhist children from receiving religious education. The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief stressed that, “Every individual child is a rights holder in his or her own capacity as recognized in Article 14 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.”

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