IIRF Updates

Syria-Germany: Strengthening cooperation in the field of crisis response
Report by R. Fawaz, Syran Arab News Agency

On the front lines for religious freedom in Latin America
(Note: This interview was originally posted on IIRF volunteer Bruce Barron’s Substack page.) If you visit the website of OLIRE, the Observatorio de Libertad Religiosa en

The hidden reach of arrests, sentences, and abductions
This report from the IIRF, drawing from the VID, maps these under-reported but deeply consequential forms of persecution.

Seeing the hidden patterns: Subnational insights from the Violent Incidents Database
Violations of religious freedom are often described at the national level, as major events tied to authoritarian regimes or regions gripped by conflict. But the

The state of global religious freedom violations against Christians
The IIRF, in partnership with GCR, released a January 2025 report on the global Christian community’s experiences of violence and persecution.

The leading non-Christian targets of religious violence
The IIRF has published a report using its VID, highlighting the ten countries with the most documented incidents of violence against religious groups other than Christians between November 2022 and November 2024.
Statements
Religious Freedom News

New Edition of the World Watch List 2024
Open Doors International launches a new edition of the study of the reality of persecuted Christians around the world with the World Watch List 2024.

Call for papers to participate in ISFORB Conference 2024
IIRF extends the invitation to participate in the Fourth International Conference ISFORB, on the main topic “Propagation and (de)conversion: Conflict of individual and group rights?”

OAS commemorates the International Religious Freedom Day
The IIRF welcomes and congratulates the Organization of American States for including Religious Freedom as a topic of interest.

Free to burn sacred texts? A reflection on the Quran burning cases
Article written by Arie de Pater, IIRF European Representative. Recently, several Quran’s have been burnt or desecrated in Denmark and Sweden. Some claim that these

EU: The 10th Anniversary of the EU Guidelines on FoRB
Ten years ago, the European Council adopted Guidelines on the Promotion and Protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). These guidelines explain what FoRB

Has the African Union done enough to advance FoRB and curb religious persecution?
This 2021 factsheet published by the USCIRF documents instances of religious freedom violations, including of a violent nature, against Muslims in Africa.