Introduction
1. CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide) and Impulso18 are a human rights organisations specialising in the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all.
2. This submission seeks to draw attention to concerns regarding the right to FoRB in the People’s Republic of China ahead of the state’s fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
3. During the reporting period, reports of FoRB violations increased. This trend fits into a broader pattern of increasing human rights abuses under Xi Jinping’s leadership, accompanied by and manifested through a shrinking space for civil society, a heightened sensitivity to perceived challenges to Party rule, and the introduction of legislation that curtails civil and political rights in the name of national security.
4. There have been continued reports of sentences against Christian leaders; the demolition or ‘rectification’ of more religious buildings including churches and mosques; mass arrests of Tibetan Buddhists and the demolition of Tibetan Buddhist statues; and the arbitrary detention and disappearance of countless Falun Gong practitioners, members of the Church of Almighty God and other banned groups, as well as Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic groups in the Uyghur region, and lawyers and activists who defend the right to FoRB.