The European Parliament calls on the Commission to formally condemn the persecution of Christians, in particular by Islamist groups, and to address the matter in a bilateral dialogue with the states concerned.
French MEP Dominique Bilde submitted the proposal, in which she mentions, among other things, the above, in the context of Article143 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament.
In particular, the French MEP points out that, on the 12th of January 2021, the organisation “Portes Ouvertes” published the global index of persecution against Christians for 2020, according to which “340 million Christians are persecuted or discriminated against worldwide because of their faith.” In addition, the number of Christians killed has increased from 2,983 to 4,761, that is a 60% increase in one year.
She also highlights that 91% of Christians were killed in Africa, including Nigeria, where 3,520 Christians were killed.
Furthermore, a report submitted to Jeremy Hunt, then British Foreign Secretary, reveals that in 2019 Christians were the most persecuted religious group in the world and that “in some areas, it is safe to say that the level and nature of persecution shows that the international definition of genocide as defined by the United Nations can be used.”
Dominique Bilde took into account all the above figures in the proposal she submitted to the European Parliament, and, therefore, she calls on the Commission to “formally condemn the persecution of Christians, in particular by Islamist groups, and to address the matter in a bilateral dialogue with the states concerned.”