The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, presented this Thursday the annual report on religious freedom in the world, which denounces persecution against religious minorities in China, Afghanistan, Brimania and even in Saudi Arabia, a great an ally of Washington.
“Unfortunately, the report shows that we have a lot of work to do in many parts of the world, where governments are not respecting the rights of their citizens. Some continue to use laws against blasphemy and apostasy,” Blinken lamented in a press appearance without questions.
Specifically, the US Foreign Minister denounced that China “continues its genocide” against Muslim leaders and other religious groups, citing as an example that more than 1 million people have been detained in internment camps in Xinjiang.
Blinken assured that the Chinese government “harasses” religions that are “outside the doctrine” of the Communist Party, and even Tibetan Buddhist places of worship have been destroyed, Islamic and Taoist Christians.
He also said that religious freedom in Afghanistan “has deteriorated dramatically” since the Taliban took power last year after the US withdrawal, as has limited women’s access to education and work.
Blinken recalled that in March the State Department classified as genoc id the Burmese army attacks against the Rohingya Muslim community in 2017.
And he even referred to a historic ally of the US, such as Saudi Arabia, where he applauded the “recent attempts to increase interreligious dialogue”, but lamented that “in practice any faith that is not Islam is still illegal”.
In addition, he considered that all countries, including the United States and European nations, have to “do more” to combat “the growing forms of hatred” against Jews and Muslims.
Blinken applauded the efforts of some countries, such as Morocco, where he said that there are initiatives to renew the Jewish heritage; Taiwan, where employers can be sued for not allowing a weekly rest day to attend a religious service; or Iraq, where Pope Francis toured the country last year.
“The United States will continue to defend religious freedom in the world. We will continue to work everywhere, with governments, multilateral organizations and civil society to achieve this”, concluded Blinken.
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