Charles Collins
Oct 23, 2019
MANAGING EDITOR

In this April 16, 2017, photo Christian militiamen stand guard during Easter mass in Qaraqosh, outside Mosul, Iraq. (Credit: Maya Alleruzzo/AP.)

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Religious freedom has deteriorated in several countries during the first half of 2019, according to a statement published Oct. 22 by the British Foreign Office.

The relatively short statement was a follow up to the 2018 Human Rights and Democracy Report published by the British government in June. The statement gave an updated assessment of the 30 “priority countries” in which the Foreign Office had noted particular concern about human rights issues, and felt “the UK can make a real difference.”
The 30 human rights priority countries are: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burundi, Central African Republic, China, Colombia, North Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Libya, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

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British government notes ‘deterioration’ of religious liberty in several countries