Item 3: General Debate

Organisation: Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)

Speaker: Ellis Heasley

Thank you Mr President,

CSW remains concerned by incidents of forced abduction and marriage of religious minority women and girls.

Last month marked five years since the abduction of Christian schoolgirl Leah Sharibu along with over 100 of her classmates from their school in Dapchi, Nigeria.

While the rest of her surviving colleagues were soon released, Ms Sharibu has remained a captive of Islamic State West Africa Province because she refused to renounce her faith as a pre-condition for her freedom.

Ms Sharibu’s continued captivity despite government promises to secure her release is emblematic of the Nigerian authorities’ resolute failure to address the threats posed by multiple insurgencies.

Thousands have been abducted for ransom in recent years by terrorist groups operating largely unchecked in the country’s northwest and central states, amid credible and deeply concerning reports of possible military complicity in the latter.

We call on the authorities to address this issue as a matter of urgency, by combatting the threats posed by these terrorist groups, increasing protections for vulnerable communities, and ensuring the swift release of all who remain in captivity.

Widespread abductions are also of grave concern in Pakistan, where in 2022, at least 124 Christian and Hindu girls were abducted, forced to marry and convert.

Perpetrators are emboldened by a culture of impunity, and victims and their families are often intimidated by abductors and their relatives. As a result, crimes are often unreported and figures underestimated.

In March last year, Pooja Kumari, an 18-year-old Hindu woman, was shot and killed in Sindh Province after she resisted an attempted abduction. Ms Kumari had reportedly refused her murderer’s request to marry him, upon which he and two others broke into her home, attempting to abduct her before shooting her when she refused to go with them.

CSW calls on Pakistan to end abductions, forced conversions and marriages of religious minority women and girls, and ensure that all those responsible for such crimes are held to account.

Thank you