Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


          Religious Freedom Report Highlights Displacement, Repression

   by VOA News

   Secretary of State John Kerry says the United States will stand up for
   religious minority communities under assault and in danger around the
   world.

   Kerry spoke at the release the State Department's [1]Annual Report on
   International Religious Freedom. He said the freedom to profess and
   practice one's faith is a birthright of every human being.

   The report says millions of people were forced from their homes because
   of their religious beliefs last year. It said in conflict zones, mass
   displacement has become the "pernicious norm."

   ''

   Kerry said North Korea stands out again in this year's Religious
   Freedom report "for its absolute repression of religious activity."

   He also pointed out the Russian government has used punitive laws
   against what it calls extremism to justify crude measures against
   people of faith.

   Kerry also said in China authorities harass Christians and arrest
   Tibetan Buddhists simply for possessing the Dalai Lama's photograph.

   The report highlighted more than one million people being displaced in
   the Central African Republic during 2013 amid an upsurge in
   Christian-Muslim violence.

   The report said that in much of the Middle East, the Christian presence
   is becoming "a shadow of its former self." Hundreds of thousands of
   minority Christians have fled Syria after three years of civil war.

   In Southeast Asia, anti-Muslim violence spread from Myanmar's volatile
   west to central Meikhtila, with up to 100 deaths and 12,000 displaced.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/religious-freedom-report-highlights-d
   esplacement-repression/1966732.html

References

   1. http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/religious-freedom-report-highlights-desplacement-repression/1966732.html