Trump becomes first US president to hold UN meeting on religious freedom

ChinaAid

(Washington, D.C.—Sept. 24, 2019) U.S. President Donald Trump called a United Nations meeting, at which he spoke yesterday, highlighting global religious freedom crises.

The Office of the Press Secretary, which handles the president’s official media correspondence, issued a statement yesterday, saying President Trump:

… became the first President to convene a meeting on religious freedom at the UN. He was surrounded by survivors of religious persecution from around the globe, civil society leaders, religious leaders, US business executives, US administration officials (Secretary Pompeo, Ambassador Brownback, and many others), members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), and members of the faith community. Over 130 UN Heads of State and Delegations, as well as UN Secretary Gutierrez, attended the event to hear the President address this crucial issue. 

As many of you know, there is no better time for a meeting like this one. More than 80 percent of the world’s population live in nations where religious freedom is threatened or banned. We see people being persecuted for their religious beliefs at an alarming rate. Right now in China, one million Muslim Uyghurs are imprisoned simply because of their faith. In Iran, the persecution of Christians, Sunnis, Bahai’i, and Jews continues. And in Burma, the military continues to target Rohingya Muslims and Christians with discrimination and violence.

The statement, which ChinaAid President Bob Fu shared on his Facebook page, also contains remarks from President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

International gatherings urging action against religious freedom has become increasingly urgent as persecution rises against people of faith across the globe. Last year, ChinaAid recorded 1 million Christians persecuted within the year 2018, more than 10,000 of whom were Christians. Fu discussed this statistic at a United Nations side event in Geneva on Thursday morning, saying this constituted “a 348% increase” from the 223,200 documented Christians persecuted in 2017. China also routinely persecutes Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, adherents to the spiritual practice Falun Gong, and many other religious beliefs.

ChinaAid would like to thank Trump and Pence and the members of the United Nations for holding this crucial meeting.

ChinaAid exposes abuses in order to stand in solidarity with the persecuted and promote religious freedom, human rights, and rule of law. If you wish to partner with us in helping those persecuted by the Chinese government, please click the button below to make a charitable donation.