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Church of Scientology National Affairs Office Joins Letter Calling on the State Department to Redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.
Please note that this letter was coordinated by the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, which was founded and is co-chaired by Scientologist and Scientology lobbyist Greg Mitchell.
www.baptistpress.com
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25 August 2021
The Honorable Antony Blinken
Secretary
U.S. Department of State
2201 C St NW Washington, DC 20520
[email protected]
Letter Calling on the State Department to Redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern
Dear Secretary Blinken:
We, the undersigned, are a group of individuals and organizations that advocate for human rights and freedom of religion and belief around the world. We represent diverse religious, non-religious, and ethnic backgrounds but are united in our goal of promoting freedom of religion or belief for all. As you prepare to designate Countries of Particular Concern for nations who have “engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” we ask that you redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
Nigeria faces multiple intertwining crises, which have all worsened over the last year. Where these crises involve violations of religious freedom, they are egregious, systematic, and ongoing. The Nigerian government now appears to be simply unwilling to stop terrorists in the Northeast who continue to target and murder both Christians and Muslims who reject their extremist ideology, and who are increasingly affiliated with militants in the Northwest and Middle Belt. A recent study reported that at least 3,462 Christians have been murdered for their faith in 2021, a number which has nearly surpassed those killed in all of 2020. Priests are regularly kidnapped, and churches and mosques regularly destroyed. If the Nigerian government will not provide security, cycles of retaliatory violence are likely to increase.
Militant groups have targeted Christian and Muslim schools with abductions, disproportionately targeting girls and Christian students. The state response to the attacks on schools has been to close them. Most recently Kaduna state authorities ordered 13 schools shut after the abduction of 140 students from Bethel Baptist High School. The United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, estimates that more than 1,120 schools are closed across northwestern Nigeria. According to conservative estimates armed men have abducted at least 950 students for ransom since December 2020, six of whom were murdered by their abductors. In addition, abductors exploit the children, subjecting them to sexual violence or other forms of torture, using them as suicide bombers, child soldiers, and sex slaves. After years of captivity, the Christian teenager Leah Sharibu still remains held by the Islamic State West Africa Province for refusing to convert to Islam.
Both Sharia and blasphemy laws in the North have been used against individuals of various backgrounds, including Sufis, Humanists, Christians, and LGBT persons. Mubarak Bala and Yahaya Sharif-Aminu remain in detention in Kano state for alleged blasphemy. In the North, a blasphemy conviction can lead to the death penalty for those tried under Sharia law. In the Northwest, Shi’a Muslims face regular harassment and attacks.
The Nigerian authorities also harass individuals who raise concerns about the increased violence, kidnappings, and government inaction. The government has accused them of politicizing the situation and “blaming the government under the able leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari,” while also detaining some arbitrarily for lengthy periods. The government has since 2019 criticized the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial and arbitrary executions, the UK All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, and Catholic Archbishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, who was accused of lying after he spoke out about the kidnappings of schoolchildren during a Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission congressional hearing in July 2021.
But the crises facing Nigeria go beyond freedom of religion or belief and extend to a broader array of human rights violations and rule of law issues. Last year, Nigeria saw countrywide protests against police brutality and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), who have committed atrocities against everyday Nigerians. These came to a bloody end when the security services opened fire on unarmed protestors and carried away bodies to obscure the true death toll. President Buhari also is increasingly attempting to close civic spaces and shut down dissent, with his recent Twitter ban and attempted prosecutions of social media users being the most blatant example. President Buhari’s only response to widespread banditry, kidnappings, and secessionist movements in the Southeast seems to be the commission of further human rights abuses.
In sum, the religious freedom and human rights situation in Nigeria has only worsened over the past year. With only a limited set of tools available to address Nigeria’s human rights and religious freedom abuses, now is not the time to relent on pressuring the Nigerian government to take effective action. Lifting the CPC designation would only embolden President Buhari’s increasingly authoritarian administration and send the wrong signal to the Nigerian people. Instead, the CPC designation should remain as a pressure point in diplomatic engagements with the Nigerian government.
We thank you for your consideration.
Best regards,
Organizations
21Wilberforce
ADF International
Africa Faith and Justice Network
American Humanist Association
Anglican Persecuted Church Network
Bellwether International
Boat People SOS - Religious Freedom Project
Center for Pluralism
Christian Freedom International
Christian Solidarity International
Church of the Brethren, Office of Peacebuilding and Policy
Church of Scientology National Affairs Office
Citizen Power Initiatives for China
Coptic Solidarity
Faith & Liberty
GAFCON Suffering Church Network
Genocide Watch
Greentree Global
Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM)
Humanists UK
Ignition633 Ministries
International Christian Concern
International Committee on Nigeria
Jubilee Campaign
Justice for All
Katartismos Global
LEAH Foundation
Legalise Apostasy
Masjid Muhammad, The Nation's Mosque
New Wineskins Missionary Network
Open Doors USA
Parity
Prayer Pioneers
Religious Freedom Coalition
Revealing Light Ministries
Save the Persecuted Christians
Set My People Free
Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Stefanus Alliance
United Macedonian Diaspora
Individuals
The Baroness Cox
Independent Member of the House of Lords and Founder President of Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART)
Lela Gilbert
Senior Fellow for International Religious Freedom Coalitions Coordinator Family Research Council Adjunct Fellow, Center for Religious Freedom Hudson Institute
Ghaidaa Hetou Principal Consultant iStrategic LLC
Lauren Homer
President Law and Liberty Trust International
Paul Marshall
Distinguished Professor Baylor University
Scott Morgan
President Red Eagle Enterprises
Iyabo Obasanjo
Assistant Professor College of William & Mary
Patrice J. Pederson
President First Freedom International
Kyaw Min San
Former MP of Myanmar
Nina Shea
Director, Center for International Religious Freedom Hudson Institute
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Please note that this letter was coordinated by the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, which was founded and is co-chaired by Scientologist and Scientology lobbyist Greg Mitchell.
ERLC, others urge Blinken to keep Nigeria on CPC list | Baptist Press
WASHINGTON (BP) – The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has joined nearly 40 other organizations in urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to re-designate Nigeria as one of the world’s most severe violators of religious freedom.
www.baptistpress.com
* * * * * BEGIN EXCERPT * * * * *
25 August 2021
The Honorable Antony Blinken
Secretary
U.S. Department of State
2201 C St NW Washington, DC 20520
[email protected]
Letter Calling on the State Department to Redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern
Dear Secretary Blinken:
We, the undersigned, are a group of individuals and organizations that advocate for human rights and freedom of religion and belief around the world. We represent diverse religious, non-religious, and ethnic backgrounds but are united in our goal of promoting freedom of religion or belief for all. As you prepare to designate Countries of Particular Concern for nations who have “engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” we ask that you redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
Nigeria faces multiple intertwining crises, which have all worsened over the last year. Where these crises involve violations of religious freedom, they are egregious, systematic, and ongoing. The Nigerian government now appears to be simply unwilling to stop terrorists in the Northeast who continue to target and murder both Christians and Muslims who reject their extremist ideology, and who are increasingly affiliated with militants in the Northwest and Middle Belt. A recent study reported that at least 3,462 Christians have been murdered for their faith in 2021, a number which has nearly surpassed those killed in all of 2020. Priests are regularly kidnapped, and churches and mosques regularly destroyed. If the Nigerian government will not provide security, cycles of retaliatory violence are likely to increase.
Militant groups have targeted Christian and Muslim schools with abductions, disproportionately targeting girls and Christian students. The state response to the attacks on schools has been to close them. Most recently Kaduna state authorities ordered 13 schools shut after the abduction of 140 students from Bethel Baptist High School. The United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, estimates that more than 1,120 schools are closed across northwestern Nigeria. According to conservative estimates armed men have abducted at least 950 students for ransom since December 2020, six of whom were murdered by their abductors. In addition, abductors exploit the children, subjecting them to sexual violence or other forms of torture, using them as suicide bombers, child soldiers, and sex slaves. After years of captivity, the Christian teenager Leah Sharibu still remains held by the Islamic State West Africa Province for refusing to convert to Islam.
Both Sharia and blasphemy laws in the North have been used against individuals of various backgrounds, including Sufis, Humanists, Christians, and LGBT persons. Mubarak Bala and Yahaya Sharif-Aminu remain in detention in Kano state for alleged blasphemy. In the North, a blasphemy conviction can lead to the death penalty for those tried under Sharia law. In the Northwest, Shi’a Muslims face regular harassment and attacks.
The Nigerian authorities also harass individuals who raise concerns about the increased violence, kidnappings, and government inaction. The government has accused them of politicizing the situation and “blaming the government under the able leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari,” while also detaining some arbitrarily for lengthy periods. The government has since 2019 criticized the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial and arbitrary executions, the UK All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, and Catholic Archbishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, who was accused of lying after he spoke out about the kidnappings of schoolchildren during a Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission congressional hearing in July 2021.
But the crises facing Nigeria go beyond freedom of religion or belief and extend to a broader array of human rights violations and rule of law issues. Last year, Nigeria saw countrywide protests against police brutality and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), who have committed atrocities against everyday Nigerians. These came to a bloody end when the security services opened fire on unarmed protestors and carried away bodies to obscure the true death toll. President Buhari also is increasingly attempting to close civic spaces and shut down dissent, with his recent Twitter ban and attempted prosecutions of social media users being the most blatant example. President Buhari’s only response to widespread banditry, kidnappings, and secessionist movements in the Southeast seems to be the commission of further human rights abuses.
In sum, the religious freedom and human rights situation in Nigeria has only worsened over the past year. With only a limited set of tools available to address Nigeria’s human rights and religious freedom abuses, now is not the time to relent on pressuring the Nigerian government to take effective action. Lifting the CPC designation would only embolden President Buhari’s increasingly authoritarian administration and send the wrong signal to the Nigerian people. Instead, the CPC designation should remain as a pressure point in diplomatic engagements with the Nigerian government.
We thank you for your consideration.
Best regards,
Organizations
21Wilberforce
ADF International
Africa Faith and Justice Network
American Humanist Association
Anglican Persecuted Church Network
Bellwether International
Boat People SOS - Religious Freedom Project
Center for Pluralism
Christian Freedom International
Christian Solidarity International
Church of the Brethren, Office of Peacebuilding and Policy
Church of Scientology National Affairs Office
Citizen Power Initiatives for China
Coptic Solidarity
Faith & Liberty
GAFCON Suffering Church Network
Genocide Watch
Greentree Global
Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM)
Humanists UK
Ignition633 Ministries
International Christian Concern
International Committee on Nigeria
Jubilee Campaign
Justice for All
Katartismos Global
LEAH Foundation
Legalise Apostasy
Masjid Muhammad, The Nation's Mosque
New Wineskins Missionary Network
Open Doors USA
Parity
Prayer Pioneers
Religious Freedom Coalition
Revealing Light Ministries
Save the Persecuted Christians
Set My People Free
Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Stefanus Alliance
United Macedonian Diaspora
Individuals
The Baroness Cox
Independent Member of the House of Lords and Founder President of Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART)
Lela Gilbert
Senior Fellow for International Religious Freedom Coalitions Coordinator Family Research Council Adjunct Fellow, Center for Religious Freedom Hudson Institute
Ghaidaa Hetou Principal Consultant iStrategic LLC
Lauren Homer
President Law and Liberty Trust International
Paul Marshall
Distinguished Professor Baylor University
Scott Morgan
President Red Eagle Enterprises
Iyabo Obasanjo
Assistant Professor College of William & Mary
Patrice J. Pederson
President First Freedom International
Kyaw Min San
Former MP of Myanmar
Nina Shea
Director, Center for International Religious Freedom Hudson Institute
* * * * * END EXCERPT * * * * *
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