Due to COVID-19, many of us have had to stay away from church, unable to gather normally as the body of Christ as a dangerous virus threatened the lives of many. This has been strange for us, and yet, it is too often the daily life for fellow Christians around the world. Even after the danger of the pandemic passes, …
OPEN THE INTERNET TO EVERYONE
Internet freedom is the next frontier of human rights. Free expression on the internet is under assault. Although technology and information have spread across the globe, there is a dangerous trend of governments limiting internet access. In 2019 Freedom House published a report documenting that law enforcement in 47 countries arrested people for posting political, social or religious speech online. …
Modern-day slavery: China abuses Uyghurs in detention camps and forced labor
In Xinjiang, authorities have detained more than 1 million Uyghurs in detention camps. It is the largest mass internment of an ethnic-religious minority group since World War II. A new report issued by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute states that between 2017 and 2019, more than 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred from the Xinjiang autonomous region to work in factories across …
Seeking Justice for Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief
There are continuing acts of intolerance and violence based on religion or belief against individuals, including against persons belonging to religious communities and religious minorities around the world, and the number and intensity of such incidents, which are often of a criminal nature and may have international characteristics, are increasing. That is why the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution A/RES/73/296, …
Ambassador Sam Brownback to receive 2020 Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Award
The third annual Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Award celebrates an outstanding leader who is working to advance freedom of religion or belief by standing up to oppression in the pursuit of freedom of religion, belief, or conscience. 21Wilberforce Founder and President, Randel Everett, announced that the award will be presented to Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback. Ambassador …
Long Road to Freedom: from war torn Afghanistan to refugee youth advocate in Kansas City
Mariya Goodbrake, Founder and Director of Global FC, recalls her family’s personal journey from war torn Afghanistan, displaced in Iran then India, finally to secure a better future in Canada through the resettlement system. Caught up in the web of conflicting cultures, beliefs and expectations between her Afghan Muslim heritage and the West, her sense of identity and belonging faced …
Freedom Matters
Freedom matters to members of the house church movement, the Falun Gong, the Tibetan Buddhists and Uyghur Muslims in China that are persecuted by the China Communist Party. Freedom matters to Baha’is, Christians, Sunni and Sufi Muslims, and reformers among the Shiite Muslim majority suffering persecution in Iran. Freedom matters to historic Yezidi, Christian and other communities in Iraq and …
Elderly Chinese Believers Forced to Choose Between Faith or Survival
Even though China’s economy has been severely affected by the coronavirus, and many residents suffer financial difficulties, the CCP threatens to take away the last means of survival from elderly believers—government-issued subsidies. To keep them, they must stop believing in God. A Catholic from Fuzhou city in the southeastern province of Jiangxi has been receiving monthly 250 RMB (about $ …
Alarming Global Religious Freedom Trends & Developments
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recently released 2020 Annual Report is intended to focus the attention of U.S. government policymakers on the most severe violations of religious freedom globally. The report identifies countries that USCIRF finds meet the statutory criteria for the State Department to designate as “countries of particular concern” (CPCs) or include on its …
The Chinese Communist Party has Persecuted Falun Gong for 21 Years
On the 21st anniversary of the start of persecution by the CCP against citizens who practice Falun Gong, we share the story of a model Chinese citizen who was repeatedly jailed and tortured. I am Yu Ming and this is my story. With no formal education or funds from family or investors, I had become a successful businessman in the …