One event I have been privileged to attend each January is the launch of the Open Doors World Watch List.
A fixture in the parliamentary calendar; the 2024 Open Doors World Watch List reminds us that one in seven Christians globally are facing high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith.
Almost 100 parliamentarians were in attendance, including the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, and we heard from people who have seen such injustices in Iran, India and West Africa.
Their voices represented the 365 million Christians globally being persecuted because of their beliefs.
This year’s World Watch List covers the 50 countries in which it is most dangerous to be a Christian, where some 317 million people face very high or extreme levels of persecution and discrimination.
North Korea, where pressure in all walks of life for Christians remains at the maximum level, retains its place at the top of the list.
Christians risk arrest, imprisonment and even immediate execution if they are discovered by the authorities.
In the face of such repression, secret Christians are reportedly sharing food with neighbours as the country feels the effects of shortages.
Across the border, authorities in China take a similar attitude to the freedom of faith.
The largest number of churches closed down by the state took place in China with ‘house churches’ being a particular target, in part due to authorities taking advantage of Covid-19 pandemic measures. This freedom is now over for Christians in China.
Since last September, all state-approved religious organisations have been made to follow stricter regulations, which include encouraging support for the Chinese Communist Party.
We know the Chinese authorities are using new technology to enforce conformity; we have seen the use of digital persecution in the oppression of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang.
Open Doors have highlighted the growth of surveillance and censorship through emerging technology and a growing number of patent filings in China are about technology which helps to identify deviant or abnormal behaviour; of which the communist authorities would include participation in Christian worship.
These are just some of the moving accounts highlighted in the World Watch List which only go to reinforce the importance of Britain being a vocal advocate on the world stage for the freedom of religion or belief.
Soon after the launch of this year’s World Watch List the Americas, Caribbean & Overseas Territories Minister confirmed in Westminster Hall that the issues highlighted by Open Doors are of the highest importance to Government.
Ministers are right to continue to work through all available methods to call out persecution and to defend the right of freedom of religion for all.
Henry Smith MP
