Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers has attended an event in Parliament to raise awareness of increasing persecution of Christians across the world.
Theresa joined more than other 90 MPs for the launch of Open Doors’ World Watch List top 50 report highlighting countries where Christians are not free to practice their faith.
Its 2023 survey found 312m Christians face very high or extreme levels of persecution and 5,621 were killed for their faith last year. The number one country for persecution was North Korea, up from second place. Other countries high on the watch list include Afghanistan and China.
At the event in Westminster, Timothy Cho spoke about what life is like for Christians in North Korea.
He told MPs: “The [North Korean] regime aims to wipe out every Christian in the country. Christianity itself is seen as a national security risk, and every new piece of legislation targets Christians as the first to be eliminated.”
Theresa, who has previously hosted the annual Watch List launch, said: “It is deeply worrying that yet again, Open Doors research has recorded an increase in attacks on Christians across many countries. Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa a major concern and there are also severe problems in areas of the Middle East.”
"However, there have been some improvements. Several Gulf states, such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, are now promoting a greater tolerance of Christianity than ever before.”
“The Watch List remains an important document and a constant reminder of how Christians in many parts of the world continue to suffer for their beliefs. I want to express my support and solidarity with Christians facing attacks because of their faith. I will continue to raise this crucial issue in Parliament."
Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK and Ireland added: “Since 1993, both the intensity and spread of persecution of Christians worldwide has dramatically increased. In the past 30 years, the number of countries in which Christians face high to extreme levels of persecution has nearly doubled from 40 countries to 76.”
