As Religious-Based Violence Rises, What Needs To Be Done To Stop It?
(ANALYSIS) This coming Aug. 22, the United Nations will mark the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, a day set aside to step up its efforts to combat intolerance, discrimination and violence against persons based on religion or belief.
Establishing the day was a direct response to the ever-growing issue of violence based on religion or belief globally, including in its most severe manifestations of international crimes, such as crimes against humanity, war crimes and even genocide. However, such violations and violence continue, too often unabated, empowering the perpetrators.
News from around the world gives little hope in the prospects of addressing violence based on religion or belief. In India, Muslims and Christians have been subjected to extreme forms of repression and violence. In China, Uyghur Muslims are forced into labor after years of forced indoctrinations. In North Korea, any expression of religion or belief can send you into gulags.
In Afghanistan, Shias continue to be targeted in places of religious significance. In Nigeria, attacks against Christian women and girls and their forced conversion and child marriage continue to be perpetrated with impunity.
In Iran, the Baha’i communities are deprived of basic human rights. The list only goes on. Such violations and violence vary between regions, but too often amount to international crimes such as genocide and crimes against humanity, and as such, should trigger a litany of responses, including to prevent and punish the crimes.
Indeed, nations have several obligations to address such violations. For example, the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) imposes duties on nations to prevent and punish the crime. International agreements require nations to protect freedom of thought, conscience, religion and minority rights, including the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion or to use their own language.
Freedom of religion or belief is further protected in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court requires States to criminalize genocide and crimes against humanity (including religious persecution) and prosecute those responsible for such crimes.
Despite international legal obligations and political commitments such as the Responsibility to Protect, which aim to address such violence, very little is being done to act on the promises and turn the tide on current trends.
What is needed?
Monitoring: Violations and violence based on religion or belief must be monitored, assessed and used to inform the governments’ responses to these acts. Each situation is different and requires tailored responses depending on the nature and severity of the violations and crimes. However, such monitoring is rarely performed by nations. At the same time, countries rarely act on civil society organizations’ reports. Without their own monitoring and without relying on external reports, countries leave themselves vulnerable and unable to respond to threats posed by violence based on religion or belief.
Criminal accountability: Impunity is one of the strongest early warnings and indicators of further crimes. Impunity occurs when an individual or group commits a crime but faces no consequences. Investigations and prosecutions can be effective tools, especially if used in conjunction with outreach and education to the affected communities. Such criminal accountability should also apply to corporations which benefit from such crimes.
Targeted sanctions: Economic tools, such as freezing assets and travel bans, can limit the ability of perpetrators to commit or continue such violations. Indeed, many international crimes would not be possible if only such economic sanctions were imposed early enough. Some countries, including the United Kingdom, have used targeted sanctions against violators of freedom of religion or belief; however, it remains rare.
Education: It is not enough to target only the few perpetrators; educating entire populations is a must. Such education on international legal standards, whether on the right to freedom of religion or belief, minority rights (but also all other rights which are usually affected by default), is the only way to ensure greater protection, implementation and enforcement.
Cooperation and collaboration: The power of cooperation and collaboration cannot be ignored. This is also where the Article 18 Alliance (formally known as the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA)) can play a key role. The Alliance is a network of countries dedicated to promoting freedom of religion or belief globally. The next Ministerial meeting of the Alliance will be in Prague in November 2026, and it must be used to create a plan for action and revive commitments to the victims/survivors of violations and violence based on religion or belief.
These are only a few steps which are key to turn the tide on violations and violence based on religion or belief. However, too often, they are deprioritized or ignored.
The failure to act now will require us to pay the price in the future, including the price of human lives which could have been saved. Victims/survivors must be at the center of the efforts to combat violations and violence based on freedom or religion or belief.
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab is a human rights advocate, author and co-founder of the Coalition for Genocide Response. She is on X @EwelinaUO.