Mr. David Turner:

I thank members for the opportunity to address the committee. Church in Chains is an Irish charity that seeks to be an Irish voice for persecuted Christians. We have been in existence for more than 30 years when our work began by focusing on the plight of Christian prisoners in the Soviet Union. Deputy Quinn stood with me outside the Soviet Embassy all those years ago.

The world has moved on since then, but the persecution of Christians remains in many countries around the world. We have already heard about the desperate plight of Christians in the Middle East, but it is not only there that Christians face persecution. The persecution of Christians worldwide has been neglected and overlooked for far too long. For this reason, we have worked hard to try to secure this meeting. It is also why we are so pleased that the committee is considering this topic.

Although I will focus on Christians, I want to make it very clear that we strongly believe in religious freedom for all people. While our work focuses exclusively on Christians, we acknowledge that many other religious groups suffer alongside them, for example, the Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, the Baha'i in Iran, Muslims in Burma, China and India and the Yazidis in Iraq.

In seeking to convey the extent of the situation to Irish people, we produced a global guide booklet, of which some members have copies. We colour coded 60 countries. Some are red, denoting severe persecution. These are countries in which every Christian is in danger of persecution, for example, imprisonment, torture or violent attack. Such countries include Pakistan where, as many members know, Christians frequently face violent attack and the blasphemy law causes the imprisonment of many people. Interestingly, that law means that most of those victims are fellow Muslims, but Christians spend many years in prison under it. In Vietnam, hundreds of thousands of tribal Hmong and Montagnard people are persecuted for their faith and ethnicity.

A large part of the world is coloured orange on our map. This stands for significant persecution, that being, a country where some, but not all, Christians face attack, arrest or restrictions. Large countries are in this category, for example, India. There are many places in India, particularly its large cities, where Christians worship freely. Go beyond the cities to small villages, one will find pastors and small churches facing violent attack from Hindu extremists week after week. The Indian police and Government are doing nothing about this. In fact, persecution in those areas has increased since the Government of Prime Minister Modi came to power a year ago. We could visit cities in China where churches are freely open, but there are also Christians in prison in China because they want to worship in churches whose leaders or activities the Chinese Government does not approve of, and China seeks to control the church. Those who are unwilling to accept that control face the full wrath of the state.

Green coloured countries in our global guide maybe receive less attention because we define that as a limited category of persecution. Some churches or individuals face restrictions or discrimination, for example, finding it difficult to arrange meeting places or to import copies of the Bible. However, these difficulties should be addressed.

I hope the committee wants to take concrete steps and I will suggest three. First, it should invite ambassadors from countries where Christians face persecution to discuss their governments' actions. Ambassadors from China, India, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are resident in Dublin. It would be good to have them engage with the facts relating to the persecution of Christians in their countries. Second, we would like the committee to encourage the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to make a major speech on the topic. In common with previous Ministers, he has issued some press releases but if Ireland wants to address this situation, a major speech by him would make Ireland's position clear.

Third, an official in the human rights unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade should be dedicated, part-time or full-time, to the issue of religious freedom. The unit's staff do a good job and are trying to cover a wide area of human rights, but it would be beneficial if one official, even part time for the sake of resources, was dedicated to the issue of religious freedom. As I am sure members are aware, this would provide the opportunity for continuity and the building of expertise.

I will pass over to my colleague, Mr. Mahmoodnezhd, a trustee of Church in Chains who is originally from Iran. He will briefly discuss his home country.