“There is a need for action” regarding religious freedom

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the International Day in Remembrance of Victims of Violence Based on Religion or Belief.

August 22 marks the fifth anniversary of the International Day in Commemoration of Victims of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, which was established by the UN General Assembly in 2019. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) recently interviewed Dr. Ewelina Ochab, a lawyer, author and human rights activist who came up with the idea and helped to gain support from states for the establishment of the day of remembrance.

In September 2017, Dr. Ochab participated in an international conference organized by ACN on the reconstruction of the Nineveh Plains following the destruction of Christian villages by the Islamic State (IS). That same year, inspired by people's testimonies and spurred by the ongoing violence against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq, Dr. Ochab called on the international community to act. “I drafted the proposed resolution and started contacting states to support and implement it,” she recalls.

The road was arduous and required extensive research and coalition building to gain the necessary votes. Dr. Ochab recalls that ACN “was supportive from the beginning, also reaching out to states and politicians and trying to build consensus that this is indeed necessary.”

UN members from the US, Canada, Brazil, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Nigeria and Pakistan were the main sponsors and worked on the draft before submitting it to the UN General Assembly. Dr Ochab says: “As we worked to create the day, not only were the memories of the horrific atrocities against Yazidis, Christians and other religious minorities still fresh in the minds of members, but also the knowledge that similar attacks were still taking place in many other parts of the world. It was very clear that more needed to be done to ensure that we paused and focused on the pervasive violence.”

The proposed resolution was eventually submitted to the General Assembly by Poland, Dr. Ochab's home country. With the support of more than 80 countries, UN General Assembly member states recognized the urgent need to focus more on the issue of violence based on religion or belief, and an International Day to Commemorate Victims of Violence Based on Religion or Belief was established on August 22, 2019. “They are no longer invisible victims or survivors,” says Dr. Ochab. “This day belongs to all victims and survivors of violence based on religion or belief – past, present and future. This day should encourage them and give them the strength to work for change.”

Although the anniversary was five years ago, Dr. Ochab warns that sufficient, concrete measures have not yet been taken: “The situation has not improved and there are still far too many examples of religious violence around the world. From Darfur to the Democratic Republic of Congo, from Nigeria to Cameroon and Nagorno-Karabakh, and the list is far from over. In Iraq, too, the situation of minorities is deteriorating ten years after the atrocities of IS and the future looks bleak.”

As documented in the World Religious Freedom 2023 report, published by ACN for the 25th time, violence based on religion or belief continues to escalate around the world. As ACN noted when the UN first announced it, the June 22 holiday should be a first step towards an internationally coordinated plan of action by the UN and its member states to end religious persecution.

Dr. Ochab agrees and believes that commemoration must be accompanied by action: “The international day itself can educate, but states must do more to actually prevent such violence. Without action, this will not succeed. We need strong mechanisms to identify early warning signs and risk factors, and comprehensive strategies to respond to them. We must ensure that all such crimes are investigated and prosecuted, and we must ensure that victims get the help they need. Five years later, very little has been done in this regard. We need an action plan with clear goals and clear deadlines – and we must implement it step by step, without excuses.”