CSW Impact Report 2014

Impact Report 2014

Upholding religious freedom for all

Fact ¾ of the world’s population live in countries with severe restrictions on their religious freedom

Who are we?

CSW is a Christian advocacy organisation working for religious freedom for all.

We work in over 20 countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, defending the right to religious freedom.

The right to freedom of religion or belief is one of the most widely violated human rights in the world. We’re working to challenge and change the laws, behaviours and policies which lead to abuses of that right.

Almost every country in the world has promised to protect, respect and fulfil the right to freedom of religion or belief through the international human rights framework. Yet the reality is that in many of these countries religious minorities are harassed, targeted, imprisoned, tortured or even killed because of their religion.

That’s why we exist: to stop this injustice.

Through our advocacy we uncover the truth of religious freedom abuses happening on a daily basis and hold world leaders accountable to their promise to protect this right. We support, train and stand in solidarity with people facing religious freedom violations.

We have over three decades of experience advocating for religious freedom with politicians around the world, and we’ve earned a reputation for providing credible and trustworthy information which informs policy decisions and practical action.

“I have long admired CSW’s work in championing the cause of religious freedom throughout the globe.”

Congressman Frank Wolf

MY STORY:

CSW special ambassador, rev stuart windsor, giving evidence to the UN commission of inquiry on north korea

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What is advocacy?

Fact In 2014, we’ve travelled to meet victims of religious freedom violations in 12 countries.

Our advocacy for freedom of religion or belief involves speaking up for, defending the cause of, supporting and empowering those suffering because of their faith.

The primary way in which we work is through advocacy, which we do in conjunction with the campaigning, prayer and encouragement carried out by our supporters. CSW’s advocacy aims to influence the legislation, policies, attitudes and behaviours which reinforce religious discrimination and persecution.

Our advocacy work consists of: Documenting and raising awareness of religious freedom violations - we regularly visit the countries we’re working in to gather first-hand evidence of human rights violations. Our reliable, respected, evidence-based reports raise awareness of religious freedom violations, and the suffering of those affected, among politicians, the media and others who are best placed to take action.

Influencing key decision-makers - we challenge, encourage and equip those in positions of authority, whose policies or actions affect the oppressed, to bring about change. In the UK we regularly brief parliamentarians and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Having offices in Brussels, London and Washington DC and a regular presence in Geneva means that we are also able to work closely with the European Union’s External Action Service, other EU bodies, the United Nations and the US State Department.

Empowering victims of human rights abuses - we provide victims of religious freedom violations with a safe international platform from which their testimonies and requests can be heard, and train them in how to document and present evidence of human rights abuses, so they are equipped to advocate for themselves.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.

Proverbs 31:8

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Fact

WHY DO YOU WORK FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOR ALL?

“Freedom of worship is a universal human right around the world, and all countries need to pay attention to that.”

Freedom of religion or belief is now considered a ‘human rights priority area’ for the UK government.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend Justin Welby

Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says ‘everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion’, regardless of the religion or belief they choose or whether they have no religious beliefs at all.

Advocating for religious freedom for all isn’t something that goes against CSW’s Christian beliefs and heritage. It’s because we follow Christ that we are committed to religious freedom for everyone, no matter what they believe.

As a Christian organisation we cannot ignore the suffering of other religious groups. Injustice is injustice, regardless of which religion it is being inflicted upon, and because we follow a God of justice we must act.

At the heart of everything CSW does is Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which declares that ‘everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance’.

Freedom of religion or belief is one of the most basic freedoms we have, giving us the right to live out our personal beliefs peacefully. It is also an essential element of free societies, allowing other human rights such as freedom of expression to flourish.

That’s why it’s vital that we defend and uphold it.

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What are your highlights from the past year?

“i was honoured to be appointed to the uk foreign OFFICE’s advisory committee on freedom of religion or belief, IN recogniTION OF THE importance OF CSW’S VOICE ON religious freedom.”

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive, CSW

Fact After 30 years, the Christian community in Callqui, Peru, received justice for the victims of the massacre of six young men during a prayer meeting.

The last 12 months have seen religious freedom issues hit the headlines in a way we’ve never experienced before.

I’m delighted that the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office have designated religious freedom as one of their key human rights priority areas. It’s a testament to the dedication and perseverance of my team that we’re now seeing over three decades of religious freedom advocacy bearing fruit in the importance given to religious freedom concerns in the public square. It’s been encouraging to see political and Church leaders speaking out boldly in support of those suffering for their faith.

It was a personal privilege to attend the UK Prime Minister’s Easter reception where I shared my concerns about the suffering of persecuted Christians around the world, and particularly in the Middle East. I also had the opportunity to accompany a parliamentary delegation to Egypt as their religious freedom advisor. The country has seen such turmoil in the last few years, and my prayer is that true freedom would emerge for the people of Egypt.

I can’t look back on the past year without thinking of the role CSW played in campaigning for the release of Meriam Ibrahim who was sentenced to death for apostasy in Sudan. Over 60,000 people took part in our campaign for her release and advocacy staff in London, Brussels and Washington DC worked tirelessly to ensure her unconditional release and acquittal. What a wonderful moment it was to see her arrive safely in the USA along with her family!

As always, none of our work would be possible without the commitment of our supporters in giving, campaigning and praying for our work. I’m truly grateful for their support.

Mervyn Thomas Chief Executive

MY STORY:

CSW’s Chief Executive, Mervyn Thomas, discussing religious freedom concerns with the UK Prime Minister, Rt. Hon David Cameron MP, at the downing street easter reception.

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Documenting religious freedom violations isn’t just about producing glossy reports; it’s about presenting credible evidence and clear recommendations to the people with the power to effect change.

When we launched our report, Indonesia: Pluralism in Peril, at the start of 2014, it was the culmination of over 15 years’ work on Indonesia’s religious freedom situation. But we didn’t want to produce a report that would just sit on bookshelves. Our aim was to draw attention to our concerns about the rising religious intolerance that is threatening Indonesia’s longhistory of religious pluralism.

Why is IT so important to document religious freedom abuses?

MY STORY:

Launching this groundbreaking report in the UK and European parliaments, we were joined by an Indonesian multi-faith delegation who shared their personal experiences of religious intolerance.

Together we called on the international community to take action to ensure that Indonesia’s future isn’t defined by the actions of extremists who threaten Indonesia’s religious communities.

Fact Our comprehensive Vietnam report was used to brief the UN Special Rapporteur before his visit to Vietnam.

“We in India thank friends in CSW for making the Thunderclap possible, and everyone across the globe who supported us in focusing attention on justice for the victims of the anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal, Orissa. “ Joh

Through the report and testimonies of our delegation we made recommendations to representatives of the Indonesian government, as well as the international community, to ensure they protect and uphold religious freedom.

n Dayal and Fr Ajay Singh,

During the first half of 2014, we produced reports covering the religious freedom situations in 11 countries including Pakistan, Vietnam, China, Mexico, Nepal, India, Sudan and Egypt.

Raising awareness, based on accurate information and hard facts, is a vital part of CSW’s work of challenging and changing the laws and policies which reinforce religious discrimination. Our recommendations, based on solid evidence, are essential to ensure the lasting change we want to see.

“Thank you for all CSW has done to be a voice of voiceless.

Even though my government still delay justice for us, the voice of truth never died.”

“I welcome CSW’s timely report and hope that its recommendations are implemented. Indonesia has a strong tradition of pluralism and it is our prayer that this remains the case so that there is true freedom of religion for Ahmadi Muslims, Shia Muslims, Christians and indeed all Indonesians.”

Rafiq Hayat, National President, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK

esia Rev Favor Bancin, Indon

Since the attack on Joseph Colony in Pakistan in 2013, which devastated an entire Christian community, CSW has worked to raise awareness of rising religious intolerance and is working to tackle the root causes of religious freedom issues there.

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India

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60,000 100

170

people campaigned

religious freedom violations documented

for Meriam Ibrahim’s release from prison.

media outlets quoted CSW,

in the first half of 2014 in cuba, which we used to counter the government’s claims that religious freedom is protected in Cuba.

including BBC News, The Sunday Times, Huffington Post and the Independent

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DELEGATION

the first ever delegation of church leaders still living in cuba to Washington DC, to reveal the truth of the harassment and targeting of religious groups.

pages in our groundbreaking Indonesia report launched in the UK parliament and at the European Union.

hours of continuous prayer

for Gao Zhisheng’s release from prison.

400,000 people displaced by Boko Haram’s campaign of terror in Nigeria

CSW responded with a week of prayer for Nigeria and weekly prayer updates.

10,000 people took part in our Operation 18

on the UK government to take campaign in 2013 calling action for the rights of converts.

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days in 2014 spent at the UN Human Rights Council

100,382

people reached on social media through CSW’s first Thunderclap to support victims of communal violence in India on Kandhamal Day.

advocating for freedom of religion or belief.

840

cards and letters sent by CSW supporters to encourage Christians in prison in Vietnam.

150

churches in the UK

heard the latest religious freedom developments from CSW speakers in 2014.

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ADVOCACY TRAINING WORKSHOPS

GIVEN IN 12 COUNTRIES

1,400

84

the percentage of MPs in the UK who have been contacted by CSW supporters

to raise religious freedom concerns.

people receive CSW’s weekly prayer email

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to pray for religious freedom in over 20 countries.

Commissions of Inquiry set up by the UN in the last 18 months to investigate human rights abuses, including religious freedom violations.

Fact

Fact …” e p o h s u e v a g e g n a h “This exc forum on

How have you influenced the United Nations?

gional W’s South Asia re CS in t an ip ic rt Pa unal violence. countering comm

“Thank you because CSW continues to be at work, not only fo us, but in continuingr to keep the eyes of the world open to t religious persecutiohe in Cuba. Thank you.” n

Omar and Kenia

The establishment of an UN Commission of INQUIRY on Eritrea is a key step towards justice for those suffering.

“Your prayer is a beautiful gift to your brothers and sisters in Iran.” exile

During 2014 CSW has been part of the human rights reviews of Turkey, Laos, Iran and Egypt at the UN.

Matthew Jones, Public Affairs Team Leader Although it can seem removed from the situation for the victims, what happens at the UN is vital in drawing international attention, holding those responsible accountable for their actions and securing justice for the victims of human rights violations. During the course of the year we’ve given oral testimonies to the Human Rights Council on a wide range of countries including Iran, Burma, Syria, China, Mexico, Nigeria, Vietnam and North Korea.

May 2014 was an historic moment in our work on Eritrea when the UN agreed to establish a UN Commission of Inquiry into the human rights situation in the country. The human rights situation in Eritrea is one of the most serious in the world, yet one of the least reported. When CSW addressed the HRC we argued that there is “...compelling evidence of violations of such gravity as to constitute crimes

Gude Perez, Cuba

Iranian Christian

“A Commission of Inquiry will give many Eritreans the chance to tell their story at an international level. Beyond that, it’s our hope that it will lead to an international justice process that will hold the Eritrean regime to account.”

against humanity” and we urged the Human Rights Council to establish a Commission of Inquiry to further investigate these crimes.

Only a handful of countries, with some of the worst human rights situations in the world, have been the focus of such an Inquiry – it’s one of the most serious steps the UN can take to hold a country to account. Eritrea has refused to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea – not even allowing her to visit the country – and hasn’t implemented recommendations from its first Universal Periodic Review (a four-yearly peer review of a country’s human records). An Inquiry will not only expose the gross human rights violations currently taking place in Eritrea, but would also contribute towards ending the appalling suffering of the Eritrean people.

MY STORY:

Matthew Jones, Public Affairs Team Leader, speaking about Eritrea at an event at the UN Human Rights Council

living in

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How have you helped others use their voice?

Our pioneering South Asia project, funded by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, is leading the way in bringing together activists from across the region to share experiences and develop creative ways to advocate for freedom of religion or belief in their own countries.

Increasingly our work involves training victimsurvivors and activists on how to document and report on religious freedom violations, and how to raise such issues with people of influence.

For instance, a lawyers group from India submitted a UPR submission during Bhutan’s Universal Periodic Review, following the UN advocacy training they received as part of this project.

During 2013/14 we facilitated a regional project to network and share experiences and best practice between human rights defenders from across South Asia. As a result of the project we have seen an increased sense of solidarity between human rights activists in the region. The members of this network have gone on to collaborate and advocate for the rights of religious minorities in not just their own countries but the wider South Asia region.

In 2014 we hosted a consultation of journalists from across the region who met to discuss ways in which reporting on religious freedom issues in the region especially hate speech and communal and targeted violence - could be strengthened. Just days after the conference, one of the participants of the conference wrote an editorial in a leading Nepali newspaper, calling for religious freedom in the new constitution being drafted in Nepal.

Fact We’ve trained 190 people in Cuba in the last year and our advocacy training is now being rolled out by local partners and church leaders.

“This exchange gave us hope and we found [a] number of friends/ organisations really concerned about the problem... but it was CSW’s professional attitude which impressed us.”

“CSW is playing very important role for peace building and freedom of religion in South Asia through a very dedicated team. We are also thankful to the UK Government for their support.”

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Participants in CSW’s South Asia Regional forum

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What difference did your supporters’ campaigning make?

Act: Join us in upholding religious freedom for all by visiting www.csw.org.uk

Our supporters made it possible for us to reach over 100,000 people on Facebook and Twitter to stand in solidarity with victims of religious violence in India – without them, the message wouldn’t have been heard.

As part of our justice and solidarity campaign, we engaged with our US-based supporters to lobby their members of Congress in advance of the Indian Prime Minister’s first visit to the US. The aim of the campaign was to encourage members of Congress to raise the issue of justice for victim-survivors of communal and targeted violence in India during talks with Prime Minister Modi. This is just one of many lobbying actions our supporters have been involved in this year.

They’ve also campaigned for the release of Christians in prison in Iran and urged the UK government to take the lead on action on North Korea.

are singled out for particular targeting when they convert from another religion.

We were also overwhelmed with the support given to our Operation 18 campaign on behalf of those who

Without the powerful combination of prayer, advocacy and public campaigning, we wouldn’t have seen Meriam’s release from prison.

And let’s not forget the amazing support given to our urgent campaign for Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese Christian sentenced to death for apostasy. We mobilised over 45,000 people to pray urgently for Meriam and her family. Over 60,000 took part in our campaign for her release, and in our first ever US campaign action, members of Congress in every US state were contacted to help get Meriam and her family to safety.

“We in India thank friends in CSW for making the Thunderclap possible, and everyone across the globe who supported us in focusing attention on justice for the victims of the anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal, Orissa.”

John Dayal and Fr Ajay Singh, India

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So, what’s next?

Our vision is of a world where everyone is free to choose their beliefs, to hold and practise any religion they like, or none at all

But when we look at the flood of information that comes to our advocacy team every week, with evidence of increasing restrictions on religious freedom around the world, there’s a great deal for us to do before that vision becomes reality.

Equipping our partners and building capacity A key priority in 2015 will be building on the success of our project in South Asia and developing our work to equip local activists, and share experiences between our partner organisations in the region.

In East Asia we will be looking to pilot an exchange between religious freedom campaigners in Burma and Indonesia. We’ll continue to document and report on religious freedom in our countries of focus, including translating our Indonesia and Vietnam reports into local languages so they can be better used by our local partners.

Retuning the conversation During 2015 our Retune campaign will be seeking to find creative ways to tackle the issue of hate speech and working with local partners to help them implement action on the ground. We believe that expressions of religious hatred are at the root of many religious freedom violations, and now is the time to tackle the problem.

Seeking justice for victims of violence MY STORY:

at our conference, pUrsue justice 2014, michelle chaudhry (a csw partner in pakistan) shared her passion for defending religious minorities and her vision for her work.

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As religious minorities continue to be the victims of violence in many of the countries where we work,

we’ll continue to work for justice for victims of religion-related violence. We’ll continue to challenge the culture of impunity that exists in so many cases of religion-related violence, working to see the perpetrators held to account and the root causes of the violence tackled to bring about lasting change. In India we’ll be continuing to seek justice for victims of communal violence through work with local partners and lobbying within the international community.

Inspiring international action As the global political landscape develops, we will be seeking new ways to engage with international institutions and governments around the world to bring about lasting change. We’ll be increasing our advocacy efforts at the UN, particularly with the Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea, and working with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief in his work to engage UN member states on religious freedom issues. As we look to elections in the UK, we will be working with our supporters to lobby parliamentary candidates to ensure religious freedom remains a focus for the British government. Our advocacy teams will be working to ensure that religious freedom is given attention in the elections in Burma and Nigeria, and will be looking to ensure that the new Indonesian President works to stem the tide of religious intolerance and extremism in the country. As the constitutional drafting process gathers pace in Nepal, we’ll continue to give input into the wording so that religious freedom is enshrined in the new constitution.

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Where does your money come from?

What do you spend it on?

Churches (10%) Trusts (9%)

Individuals/other (43%)

Regular giving (28%)

FCO (1%)

As an advocacy organisation, over 8o% of our expenditure is dedicated to our core work of research, advocacy and awareness raising.

A significant proportion of that expenditure is invested in our advocacy staff, investing in them and enabling them to undertake fact-finding visits to gather evidence of religious freedom abuses.

Although we are not an aid organisation, we also use about 5% of our expenditure on giving small amounts of aid, or making grants to partners in the countries in which we work. For example, we gave £15,000 of aid to our partner in Colombia which

Legacies (8%)

Governance 2%

Without the gifts of our supporters the work we do wouldn’t be possible.

As with every year, we were very grateful for the generosity of supporters, churches and trusts for the provision of funds that enable us to undertake our work. Over 6,000 individuals, 300 churches and 80 trusts and businesses donated to CSW during 2013.

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Regular giving remains a vital element of our income, with over 2,600 people supporting us on a regular basis.

For the first time, we also received funds from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office to enable us to run our most ambitious advocacy project yet in south Asia.

helps fund a Project Coordinator overseeing a project to document human rights violations against the church, as well as the cost of training local partners.

This is a vital component of our work, without which it would be impossible for us to have produced accurate information to brief parliamentarians etc.

To see a full set of audited accounts for 2013, please visit www.csw.org.uk/impactreport

Fundraising (11%) Aid/grants (5%)

Act:

Research and advocacy (45%) Raising awareness (37%)

Help us uphold religious freedom for all by making a donation at www.csw.org.uk/giving

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CSW Strategic Leadership Team: Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive Andy Dipper, Chief Operations Officer Adesina Adesanya, Finance Director Daniel Sinclair, Communications Director Bill Lowe, Head of Fundraising

President: Jonathan Aitken Patron: The Baroness Cox of Queensbury Board of Trustees: Chairman: David Taylor

CSW Special Ambassador: Rev Stuart Windsor

Deputy Chairman: Franklin Evans

Other Members: Dr Peter Bibawy Anne Coles Michael Gibbons Simon George Nigel Grinyer The Rev Chris Jones Hector Mackenzie David Shearman Sarah Snyder

Christian Solidarity Worldwide is an organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.

Board of Reference: Shola Ameobi, David Amess MP, Lord Anderson of Swansea, His Grace Bishop Angaelos, Lord Ashbourne, Lord Bates of Langbaurgh, The Rev Preb Richard Bewes, The Rev Lyndon Bowring, Viscount Brentford, Alistair Burt MP, Lord Clarke of Hampstead, Gerald Coates, The Rt Rev Chris Cocksworth, The Rev David Coffey, The Rev John Coles (New Wine), The Rt Rev Chris Edmondson, Roger Forster,

Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE, Andy Hawthorne, The Rt Rev and Rt Hon David Hope (KCVO), Simon Hughes MP, Canon J John, The Rt Rev Thomas McMahon (RC Bishop of Brentwood), The Rev Mark Melluish (New Wine), The Rt Rev Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, The Rt Rev Patrick O’Donoghue, The Earl of Powis, Andrew Reed, Rev David Shoshanya, The Rev Martin Smyth, The Most Rev Dr John Sentamu (Archbishop of York), Julian Speroni, Sir Peter Vardy DL, Phil Wall, Paul Weaver, Ian White, Dom Timothy Wright OSB.

PO Box 99, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 3YF, United Kingdom T: +44 (0)20 8329 0022 F: +44 (0)20 8942 8821 E: admin@csw.org.uk www.csw.org.uk

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