Church of Almighty God

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Church of Almighty God ( Chinese  全能 神 教會  /  全能 神 教会 , Pinyin Quánnéng Shén Jiàohuì , English Church of Almighty God ) is the current self-name of a religious community founded in China around 1991 , which was formerly called Eastern Lightning or Lightning from the East ( Chinese  東方 閃電  /  东方 闪电 , Pinyin Dōngfāng Shǎndiàn ) operated and is known under this name to this day.

The group's most important doctrine of faith is that the return of Christ expected by Christians has already taken place in the form of a 30-year-old Chinese woman. The group is viewed as a dangerous sect and persecuted by the Chinese government. Independent observers accuse her of various violent crimes.

founding

The denomination was founded around 1991 in Henan Province . The founder of the religion, Zhao Weishan, originally a physics teacher by profession, was a leader of an independent branch of the denomination founded by Witness Lee and known in China as "the screamers". According to journalistic sources, he claimed to have found the returned Christ in 30-year-old Yang Xiangbin, also known as "Lightning Deng". In the first scientific book on the denomination, Australian researcher Emily Dunn stated that Yang Xiaobin was born in 1973 and was in fact 18 when the movement was founded. Dunn and other researchers suggest that the nickname "Lightning Deng" is only used by opponents of the church. Yang is described as an inconspicuous young woman. However, there are no known verified photos of her, and some commenters even question that this woman ever existed. This position is not shared by researchers like Emily Dunn and PierLuigi Zoccatelli. Zoccatelli also believes that the designation of Zhao Weishan as the "founder" of the Church is incorrect and only reflects the reluctance of Chinese sources to admit that a woman founded a large religious community. He argues that Yang's religious community existed before Zhao joined, and that Yang should be called the real "founder".

Around 2000 Zhao Weishan fled to the USA, where he was granted political asylum because of religious persecution. Yang is also said to have fled to Chinatown, New York . According to evangelical journalist David Aikman, however, in 2013, the denomination remains silent about whether Yang is actually still alive. According to journalistic information from 2014, the exact whereabouts of Zhao Weishan should also be unknown. In 2017 and 2018, some researchers found that Yang and Zhao actually ran the faith community from New York. Since activity can still be observed in the United States, commentators assume that the two continue to spread their religion there: Advertising brochures keep popping up, preferably in the Chinese districts of New York and San Francisco and in the parking lots of Chinese-speaking parishes. Another center of activity is obviously in Canadian Toronto to find. Since 2014, more members have fled abroad, mainly to Seoul in South Korea, but also to Italy, France, Germany, Spain and other countries.

Since the group operates largely underground on the one hand because of its own tendency towards secrecy and on the other because of state oppression, the number of members is based on estimates. The group's own figures were 300,000 in 2001, while independent observers in the first part of the 2000s only assumed numbers in the five-digit range. Later estimates put one million members in mainland China, while the group itself speaks of three or four million. In 2014, Chinese authorities mentioned the number four million. While researchers agree that the group grew significantly, they think these numbers are exaggerated.

Surname

The name "Eastern Lightning" of the group refers to a verse in the end-time chapter of the Gospel of Matthew (24:27 LUT ):

"For as lightning goes out from the east and shines to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be."

Teaching

In the teaching of the religious community, Christian elements are mixed with elements from Chinese popular piety and supplemented by new revelations.

Age and name of God

The idea of ​​three different manifestations of God in the three ages occupies an essential place in the faith of the church. In the first two ages, God did not complete his work. In each of these ages, God has adopted a name for his work (Jehovah, Jesus, Almighty God):

  • the Age of Law to which the Old Testament and God's name Jehovah are assigned. In this age Jehovah instituted laws and commandments to guide people.
  • the age of grace to which the New Testament and the divine name Jesus Christ are assigned. In this age salvation came through Jesus.
  • the age of the kingdom to which the scriptures The Word Appears in the Flesh and the divine name Almighty God are assigned. In this last age the second coming of Christ had already taken place and the judgment of God had begun. A salvation and survival of the end-time catastrophes is only possible for people if they are "purified" by Almighty God. The American researcher Holly Folk emphasizes that the denominational community does not accept Protestant theology of justification by faith and that belief in Almighty God is not enough to be saved. With Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, human sins were forgiven, but their sinful nature was not removed. In the Age of Kingdom, Almighty God is working to destroy this sinful nature. Only those who are "cleansed" by the removal of their sinful nature would survive the calamities and live forever on earth, which is being transformed to Paradise.

Revelations

As a special revelation in addition to the Bible for the followers of this church is the scripture The word appears in the flesh as a collection of the personal expressions of Almighty God . It announces judgment on those who have not been “cleansed” by Almighty God or who reject his message.

In the Old Testament the ministry of Jehovah God is recorded in the age of law , in the New Testament the ministry of Jesus in the age of grace . Particular attention is paid to the book of Revelation , which is interpreted as a prophecy for God's work in the "last days".

However, the relationship to the Bible is ambivalent. According to some commentators, it is seen in the religious community as outdated and replaced by the new revelation. According to a journalist, the founder of the religion, Zhao Weishan, is said to have recommended that the believers throw away the Bibles after presenting them with the "returned Jesus". In contrast, in a detailed study of the theology of the Church of Almighty God, the American researcher Holly Folk came to the conclusion that the religious community “does not deny the Bible, even if it is often accused of doing so”: They believe that the Bible is “human error”. contains, but also real "messages from God".

End time expectation

As reported by both Chinese and Western media, the faith community - inspired by the 2012 Hollywood film , which interpreted an ancient Mayan calendar - predicted the end of the world for 2012. This expectation was accompanied by protests against the Chinese Communist Party , which resulted in further escalation. Around 1,000 members of the group were arrested in nationwide raids. The persecution by the Chinese authorities strengthened the group in its end-time beliefs, as it is interpreted as part of the end-time events.

Australian researcher Emily Dunn stated in her 2015 book on the Church of Almighty God that, like many Chinese, some "Eastern Lightning members adopted the Mayan prophecy," but they "appear to have done so without to be sanctioned by the self-appointed authorities of the group ”who actually declared“ Maya ”and other theories about the end of the world as theologically and factually“ wrong ”. Italian researcher Massimo Introvigne stated that the position of the members of the Church of Almighty God who accepted and spread the prophecy of the end of the world in 2012, some of whom were expelled from the church, “was inconsistent with the theology of the church. Almighty God does not proclaim the end of the world, but its transformation. This will not occur until the work of Almighty God is completed on earth ”or before the person who is recognized as Almighty God dies while he was alive and in good health in 2012.

controversy

Relationship with the Chinese government

For the followers of the religious community, the Chinese government is an enemy; it is referred to by the community as the "great red dragon" that must be fought. Conversely, the Chinese government classifies the group as a "cult" and fights it. Some observers suspect that the occasion of the supposed doomsday prophecy came at just the right opportunity for the state to crack down on an unpleasant movement, of which the state media reported "forced conversions, crude customs and the persecution of family members". According to some observers, this has contributed to further radicalization of the group and at the same time harmed the Christian churches, which were also affected by the punitive actions of the Chinese government.

According to official Chinese figures, several thousand members of the religious community have been arrested in recent years; According to the group itself, there were around 400,000 members (as of 2014). They face severe penalties, torture and imprisonment from the Chinese state. According to a report by the human rights organization CAP-LC ( Coordination des associations et des particuliers pour la liberté de conscience, a non-governmental organization with special advisory status in the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations ) to the UN Human Rights Council on February 2, 2018, there was news about torture and suspicious deaths in Chinese prisons would be "credible" and would "if recognized as such, face arrest and imprisonment for every member of the Church of Almighty God."

Relationship with the Christian churches

The relationship to the Christian churches in China has always been clouded because the “Church of Almighty God” is accused of using aggressive methods to recruit members, especially in the existing house churches. As some commentators point out, the texts even recommend directly to the religious community to specifically recruit Christians, not against those of other faiths.

According to Christian observers, house churches are systematically infiltrated for this purpose in order to initially build trust. Some critics assume that methods such as "flirty fishing" (use of sexual seduction), threats, blackmail or even kidnapping would then be used. However, since the house churches in China themselves have a legally insecure status, their members are often as afraid of the authorities as they are of the members of the "Church of Almighty God" and there is little they can do about these methods. The Italian researcher PierLuigi Zoccatelli counters, however, that "the allegations of the practice of sexual seduction are difficult to believe, given the general puritan attitude of the movement" and that the evidence of the alleged abductions is not entirely convincing.

In September 2013, the 9th National Assembly of Chinese Protestant Churches passed a "Resolution on Resistance to False Teachings and Heresies", which was particularly directed against the Church of Almighty God .

Criminal offenses

In 1998 the Chinese press reported thefts and attacks on people by members of the group, in which the victims' bones were broken and ears cut off. According to Chinese and Western media, this form of torture is also reported by victims of later incidents. In its report of February 2, 2018 to the UN Human Rights Council, the human rights organization CAP-LC (Coordination des associations et des particuliers pour la liberté de conscience) described these allegations as "fake news to justify persecution" from the Chinese authorities would.

The China Gospel Fellowship, a house church , accused the denomination in 2002 of kidnapping 34 community leaders and detaining them for two months. The community leaders were exposed to attempts at sexual seduction by women from the group under the influence of drugs and sleep deprivation, in order to be blackmailed with photos and forced to convert later. The group allegedly kidnapped, beaten, tortured, drugged, sexually abused and brainwashed Christians on other occasions if they were unwilling to accept the teachings of the denomination. In connection with the kidnapping case, a Baptist press agency accused the Church of Almighty God of having murdered members of the house churches in previous years. Some Western Christians found the allegations credible. However, Italian researcher Massimo Introvigne found inconsistencies in the story as reported by the China Gospel Fellowship in a study published in 2018. It also seemed strange that no one was arrested and that there was no trial for the crime. He believed it possible that by inventing this story, the China Gospel Fellowship wanted to explain why some of its members, including its national leader, had converted to the Church of Almighty God; but other interpretations of these allegations are possible.

Chinese media, whose allegations are occasionally repeated by Western media, regularly accuse the religious community of criminal offenses. For example, in a 2014 article, based largely on Chinese media reports, BBC journalist Carrie Gracie claimed that a woman who had been part of the group with her mother for 20 years slew her father to death in October 2013 because she was responsible for him held a “demon” for refusing to join the religious community. On August 24, 2013, a woman cut out the eyes of a boy named Guo Xiaobin in Shanxi City . The boy later became famous for the prosthetic eye surgery that was performed on him in Shenzhen . Following the McDonald's sect murder in Zhaoyuan , some Chinese media attributed the crime to members of the Church of Almighty God. According to a study by the American researcher Holly Folk, the Chinese police closed the case file back in September 2013 after they concluded that the crime was committed by Guo Xiaobin's aunt and had nothing to do with the Church of Almighty God would have. It was only a few days after the 2014 McDonald's sect murder that Chinese anti-sect activists brought the Church of Almighty God into connection with the incident. Folk also described that the accusation of tearing eyes has been a typical motif of Chinese anti-Christian propaganda since at least the 19th century.

In May 2014, in a McDonald’s restaurant in Shandong, a woman was beaten to death by several people who were officially members of the group after she refused to give them her phone number. Here, too, the victim was dubbed a “demon”. Two people were executed for the crime in January 2015 and others were sentenced to prison terms. The actual course of the incident and the role the police played during, after and in the process of coming to terms with it are controversial. The group itself denies that the perpetrators were members of their religious community. Two western researchers who investigated the murder case also concluded that the perpetrators were members of another religious movement.

Some commentators raise the question of Zhao Weishan's possible co-responsibility and thus indirectly of a possible complicity on the part of the United States, which granted him protection. In 2013, evangelical journalist David Aikman found it inconceivable that Zhao Weishan was not informed about the kidnapping, for example. Therefore, some Chinese Christians in the USA tried to take legal action against him. In 2017, however, the Italian researcher PierLuigi Zoccatelli stated that "rumors that legal action has been taken against Zhao Weishan for the kidnappings in the United States are indeed false".

membership

Some commentators accuse the group of having a sectarian membership structure. New members would be alienated from their families, forced to live in communities of the religious community and to transfer their financial resources to the community. The BBC journalist Carrie Gracie reported in a 2014 article that those willing to leave are threatened or not allowed to leave; it is worked with secrecy and lies, even spouses often do not know for a long time about the religious affiliation of the other. Members are given religious names, which makes it difficult to identify and find missing family members. According to an assessment by Italian researcher Massimo Introvigne , published in 2018 in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion ( Baylor University ), the scriptures of the Church of Almighty God show a positive view of the family and a typically conservative Protestant view of family values . According to survey results, most members of the religious community in China are won over by family members and then try to convert their relatives as well.

Refugee issues

Especially after the tough crackdown by the Chinese government following the McDonald's murders in 2014, thousands of followers of the Church of Almighty God fled to South Korea, the United States, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Australia and other countries and tried to do so to be recognized as refugees. While authorities in some countries contend that there is insufficient evidence of persecution of asylum seekers, some international experts note that there is enough evidence that followers of the Church of Almighty God are being persecuted as a movement, so they should return to China would be exposed to serious risks and therefore refusals of asylum applications would not be justified.

Publications

So far (as of September 2017) only a few publications by the group are available in German, all of them self-published:

literature

  • Emily Dunn: 'Cult', Church, and the CCP: Introducing Eastern Lightning. In: Modern China 35 (2008), pp. 96–119.
  • Emily Dunn: Lightning from the East . Heterodoxy and Christianity in Contemporary China. Brill, Leiden 2015, ISBN 978-90-04-29725-8 .
  • Massimo Introvigne: An Inquiry into the Church of Almighty God. In: Religion - State - Society , Volume XIX, No. 1–2, 2018, pp. 9–122.
  • Benjamin Lassiwe: Attempts to poach you from China. Pöhlmann : "Eastern Lightning" lures members on the Internet. In: Ecumenical Information of the Catholic News Agency , May 26, 2020.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Markus Ackeret: China takes action against sects. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , December 20, 2012, accessed on September 8, 2017.
  2. ↑ a b c Catherine Wessinger: The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism. Oxford 2011, p. 322.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Massimo Introvigne : Church of Almighty God. In: Profiles of Millenarian & Apocalyptic Movements, Center for the Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements, December 2017, accessed April 10, 2018.
  4. ↑ a b Carrie Gracie: The Chinese cult that kills 'demons'. In: BBC News , August 13, 2014, accessed September 10, 2017
  5. ↑ a b Tim Hume: 'Eastern Lightning': The banned religious group that has China worried. In: CNN , International Edition, February 3, 2015, accessed September 8, 2017.
  6. ↑ Tiffany Monhollon: 34 Chinese ministers released from cult kidnapping, e-mail announces. In: Baptist Press, June 21, 2002, accessed September 8, 2017.
  7. ↑ a b Jamil Anderlini: China cult targeted as 'doomsday' nears. In: Financial Times December 20, 2012, accessed September 8, 2017.
  8. ^ A b c Matt Shea : The Cult Who Kidnap Christians and Are at War with the Chinese Government. In: Vice , July 31, 2013, accessed September 7, 2017.
  9. ^ Emily Dunn: Lightning from the East: Heterodoxy and Christianity in Contemporary China. Brill, Leiden 2015, pp. 68-72.
  10. ^ Emily Dunn: Lightning from the East: Heterodoxy and Christianity in Contemporary China. Brill, Leiden 2015, p. 71.
  11. ^ Emily Dunn: Lightning from the East: Heterodoxy and Christianity in Contemporary China. Brill, Leiden 2015, p. 70.
  12. ↑ a b c PierLuigi Zoccatelli: La Chiesa di Dio Onnipotente: 'Il Lampo da Levante' In: CESNUR, Enciclopedia delle Religioni in Italia , accessed on April 10, 2018.
  13. ↑ PierLuigi Zoccatelli: Anti-Cult Campaigns in China and the Case of The Church of Almighty God: An Introduction. ( Memento of April 20, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) In: The Journal of CESNUR , 2 (1), pp. 3–12, accessed on April 10, 2018.
  14. ↑ David Aikman: Jesus in Beijing. Washington DC 2003, p. 239.
  15. ↑ PierLuigi Zoccatelli: Anti-Cult Campaigns in China and the Case of The Church of Almighty God: An Introduction. ( Memento of April 20, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) In: The Journal of CESNUR , 2 (1), pp. 3–12, p. 9, accessed on April 10, 2018.
  16. ↑ a b Lois Chan, Steve Bright: Deceived by the Lightning. ( Memento of October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) First published in: News Watch column of the Christian Research Journal, Vol. 28, No. 3 (2005).
  17. ↑ a b Pier Luigi Zoccatelli: Anti-Cult Campaigns in China and the Case of The Church of Almighty God: An Introduction. ( Memento from April 20, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) In: The Journal of CESNUR , 2 (1), pp. 3–12, p. 10, accessed on April 10, 2018.
  18. ↑ Ma Xingrui: 马兴瑞 同志 在 省委 防范 和 处理 邪教 问题 领导 小组 全体 成员 会议 上 的 讲话 . Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  19. ↑ a b David Aikman: Jesus in Beijing. Washington DC 2003, p. 238.
  20. ^ A b Holly Folk: Protestant Continuities in The Church of Almighty God. In: The Journal of CESNUR , 2 (1), pp. 58-77, accessed April 18, 2018.
  21. ↑ a b Lois Chan, Steve Bright: Deceived by the Lightning. ( Memento of October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) First published in: News Watch column of the Christian Research Journal, Vol. 28, No. 3 (2005).
  22. ↑ a b c Jamil Anderlini: China cult targeted as 'doomsday' nears. In: Financial Times, December 20, 2012, accessed September 8, 2017.
  23. ^ Holly Folk: Protestant Continuities in The Church of Almighty God. In: The Journal of CESNUR , 2 (1), pp. 58–77, p. 62, accessed April 18, 2018.
  24. ^ Emily Dunn: Lightning from the East: Heterodoxy and Christianity in Contemporary China. Brill, Leiden 2015, pp. 93-95.
  25. ↑ Shannon Tiezzi: China's other Religious Problem: Christianity. In: The Diplomat , June 3, 2014, accessed September 7, 2017.
  26. ^ Emily Dunn: Lightning from the East: Heterodoxy and Christianity in Contemporary China. Brill, Leiden 2015, p. 95.
  27. ^ Catherine Wessinger: The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism. Oxford 2011, p. 322.
  28. ↑ Tim Hume: 'Eastern Lightning': The banned religious group that has China worried. In: CNN, International Edition, February 3, 2015, accessed September 7, 2017.
  29. ↑ a b Jamil Anderlini: China cult targeted as 'doomsday' nears. In: Financial Times, December 20, 2012, accessed September 8, 2017.
  30. ↑ a b c Marcus Marschalek: "Red Dragon" against "Female Jesus". In: Religion ORF, August 24, 2014, accessed on September 10, 2017.
  31. ↑ Markus Ackeret: China takes action against sects. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, December 20, 2012, accessed on September 8, 2017.
  32. ↑ Shannon Tiezzi: China's other Religious Problem: Christianity. In: The Diplomat, June 3, 2014, accessed September 7, 2017.
  33. ↑ Address by Linda Wang , Church of Almighty God , at the Seoul International Conference on Literature and Human Rights (in Korean and English) on March 29, 2017, Boxun News Network, accessed September 10, 2017.
  34. ^ A b Coordination des associations et des particuliers pour la liberté de conscience: Written statement submitted by Coordination des associations et des particuliers pour la liberté de conscience, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status: Religious refugees (Church of Almighty God) from China denied asylum in Europe. In: Human Rights Council, Thirty-seventh session, February 26 - March 23, 2018, Agenda item 4, accessed April 22, 2018.
  35. ↑ Lois Chan, Steve Bright: Deceived by the Lightning. ( Memento of October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) First published in: News Watch column of the Christian Research Journal, Vol. 28, No. 3 (2005).
  36. ↑ Tim Hume: 'Eastern Lightning': The banned religious group that has China worried. In: CNN, International Edition, February 3, 2015, accessed September 8, 2017.
  37. ^ A b c Matt Shea: The Cult Who Kidnap Christians and Are at War with the Chinese Government. In: Vice, July 31, 2013, accessed September 8, 2017.
  38. ^ Katharina Wenzel-Teuber: National Assembly of Chinese Protestants. In: China heute, XXXII (2013), No. 3 (179) , pp. 141–143, here pp. 142f.
  39. ↑ Tim Hume: 'Eastern Lightning': The banned religious group that has China worried. In: CNN, International Edition, February 3, 2015, accessed September 8, 2017.
  40. ↑ a b Tiffany Monhollon: 34 Chinese ministers released from cult kidnapping, e-mail announces. In: Baptist Press, June 21, 2002, accessed September 7, 2017.
  41. ↑ David Aikman: Jesus in Beijing. Washington DC 2003, p. 239ff.
  42. ↑ David Aikman: Jesus in Beijing. Washington DC 2003, p. 239.
  43. ↑ David Aikman: Jesus in Beijing. Washington DC 2003, pp. 81, 267.
  44. ^ Massimo Introvigne: Captivity Narratives: Did The Church of Almighty God Kidnap 34 Evangelical Pastors in 2002? In: The Journal of CESNUR , 2 (1), January-February 2018, pp. 100–110, accessed April 22, 2018.
  45. ↑ a b Carrie Gracie: The Chinese cult that kills 'demons'. In: BBC News, August 13, 2014, accessed September 10, 2017
  46. ↑ Chris Irvine: Chinese Boy Whose Eyes Were Gouged Out Fitted with Prosthetic Eyeballs. In: The Telegraph , December 12, 2013, accessed April 22, 2018.
  47. ↑ Lai Ting-heng and others: Chinese Doomsday Cult Expands to Taiwan. ( Memento from June 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) In: Want China Times (Taiwan), June 2, 2014, accessed April 22, 2018.
  48. ^ A b Holly Folk: Cult Crimes and Fake News: Eye-Gouging in Shanxi. In: The Journal of CESNUR , 1 (2), 2017, pp. 96-109, accessed April 18, 2018.
  49. ↑ Tim Hume: 'Eastern Lightning': The banned religious group that has China worried. In: CNN, International Edition, February 3, 2015, accessed September 7, 2017.
  50. ↑ Shannon Tiezzi: China's other Religious Problem: Christianity. In: The Diplomat, June 3, 2014, accessed September 7, 2017.
  51. ↑ Father and daughter executed in China. In: n-tv .de, February 2, 2015, accessed on September 8, 2017.
  52. ↑ Zhu Zhishan: The Official Cult Rhetoric Zhaoyuan Murder Triggered Criticism. In: New Tang Dynasty Television, June 2, 2014, accessed September 10, 2017.
  53. ↑ Chung-Woong Choi: Human rights have no limits. In: Korea News System, July 6, 2017, accessed September 10, 2017.
  54. ↑ Massimo Introvigne: 'Cruel Killing, Brutal Killing, Kill the Beast': Investigating the 2014 McDonald's 'Cult Murder' in Zhaoyuan. In: The Journal of CESNUR 1 (2017), pp. 61–73. DOI: 10.26338 / tjoc.2017.1.1.6 ; Massimo Introvigne, David Bromley: The Lü Yingchun / Zhang Fan Group. In: World Religions and Spirituality Project , Virginia Commonwealth University, October 16, 2017.
  55. ↑ David Aikman: Jesus in Beijing. Washington DC 2003, p. 242.
  56. ↑ Lois Chan, Steve Bright: Deceived by the Lightning. ( Memento of October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) First published in: News Watch column of the Christian Research Journal, Vol. 28, No. 3 (2005).
  57. ^ Massimo Introvigne: "Family Networks and the Growth of The Church of Almighty God." In: Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion 14 (2018), pp. 1–20.
  58. ↑ Rosita Šorytė: Religious Persecution, Refugees, and Right of Asylum: The Case of The Church of Almighty God. In: The Journal of CESNUR , 2 (1), January – February 2018, pp. 78–99, accessed April 22, 2018.
  59. ^ Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience (CAP LC); CESNUR (Center for Studies on New Religions); EIFRF (European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom), and ORLIR (International Observatory of Religious Liberty of Refugees): UN Human Rights Council: General Periodic Review, Joint Comments , accessed May 17, 2018.

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