First State-Sponsored Side Event on Christian Persecution and Discrimination Held at UN Human Rights Council

Posted on: March 6, 2026

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For the first time, a state-sponsored side event on Christian persecution was held at the United Nations Human Rights Council. The event, titled “Standing with Persecuted Christians – Defending the Faith and Christian Values”, brought together diplomats, religious freedom experts and civil society representatives in Geneva on 4 March 2026. Speakers warned that while Christians face severe persecution worldwide, legal and social restrictions on Christian beliefs are also increasingly documented in Europe.

The side event took place during the sixty-first session of the Human Rights Council and was attended by Member States as well as civil society representatives. Several panelists highlighted that, although civil society events on this topic have taken place before, this was the first time that a state-sponsored side event at the Human Rights Council specifically addressed persecution and discrimination against Christians.

Human rights violations often overlap

Prof. Nazila Ghanea, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, emphasised that attacks on Christians should be understood within the broader framework of human rights violations.

She explained that victims of religious persecution frequently suffer multiple and overlapping violations, and called on UN delegates to remember the central principle of human dignity, which lies at the heart of the UN’s human rights system. “Christians do not and should not stand alone,” she concluded.

Global persecution and "polite persecution"

H.E. Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, highlighted the global scale of Christian persecution.

He noted that hundreds of millions of Christians worldwide face violence, imprisonment, forced displacement and other serious human rights violations because of their faith. Referring to data from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, he also pointed out that anti-Christian hate crimes continue to occur across Europe.

At the same time, Balestrero warned about more subtle forms of discrimination, sometimes referred to as “polite persecution”, where Christians face gradual marginalisation or legal restrictions for expressing their beliefs. He also referred to documented cases collected by OIDAC Europe, which has recorded thousands of incidents affecting Christians across Europe.

Legal restrictions affecting Christians in Europe

Ms. Anja Tang, Executive Director of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe), warned that anti-Christian incidents and legal restrictions are increasing across Europe. She referred to the 2024 murder of Assyrian Christian Aushur Sarnaya in France while he was livestreaming his testimony of faith on social media, which authorities confirmed as a jihadist attack.

Tang also pointed to legal cases affecting Christians’ freedom of expression and religious practice across Europe, including the prosecution of Finnish Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen for alleged “hate speech” after quoting a Bible verse in a public debate about her church’s participation in Pride events.

“Several European governments targeted individuals through criminal procedures for peacefully expressing their religious beliefs,” Tang said.

She further highlighted cases involving restrictions on parental rights in education, neutrality laws limiting religious references in schools, bans on public expressions of faith such as prayer or baptisms, and court rulings interfering with the internal autonomy of religious communities.

Humanitarian and diplomatic responses

H.E. Mrs. Marie-Thérèse Pictet-Althann emphasised the historic significance of addressing the issue at the Human Rights Council. She described the humanitarian work of the Sovereign Order of Malta, which provides assistance to persecuted Christian communities worldwide through hospitals, schools and humanitarian relief programmes.

Mr. Márk Aurél Érszegi presented Hungary’s Hungary Helps Programme, which supports persecuted communities directly by cooperating with churches and religious leaders in affected regions.

He stressed that although no single initiative can resolve the global problem of Christian persecution, concrete support for communities facing violence and discrimination can provide crucial encouragement and stability.

The event was moderated by H.E. Ms. Zsófia Havasi, who concluded that protecting persecuted Christians does not privilege one community over another but strengthens the universal protection of freedom of religion or belief and contributes to peaceful coexistence.

Photo (c): Holy See Mission Geneva