Advocating for South Koreans sentenced in DPRK
On 8 April 2024, the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), PeaceCorea, and the Korea Evangelical Fellowship (KEF) submitted a joint report to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations (UN), ahead of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva is where human rights violations around the world are considered. One of the processes is called Universal Periodic Review. The HRC evaluates every country over a 4 year period. The WEA contributes written submissions to highlight religious persecution as part of this process. It is an opportunity to have global attention focused on violations of religious freedom.
million
Christians who suffer persecution
Christians who suffer persecution
0
Christians killed every day for their faith
0
Christians imprisoned every day for their faith
0
Christian churches attacked every day
0
*Open Doors’ 2023 World Watch List
Are we effective? Yes!
- Because of WEA advocacy, one South Asian government changed their policies to take a "soft approach" to evangelicals. This allows our brothers and sisters to worship in freedom.
- When Afghanistan was overtaken by the Taliban, the WEA was able to rescue at-risk Christians and mobilize churches in surrounding countries to support refugees and help them find permanent homes in asylum countries.
- WEA advocacy helped change the government policy in a country in the MENA region that now allows evangelical churches to be registered and operate legally.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, one East Asian country closed evangelical churches and blamed them for spreading disease. WEA advocacy got the government to reverse this policy and admit that the churches were not at fault.
- The WEA Advocacy team recently made an oral statement at the UN Human Rights Council about a North African country that would not allow any churches to open. A diplomat from that country contacted us immediately to report that the foreign affairs minister was watching. Within 2 days, the head of the WEA National Evangelical Alliance in that country was invited to meet with government officials to start the process to re-open churches.
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