Mexico Conference to Hear First-Hand Testimony of Religious Freedom Violations
Christian Solidarity Worldwide
"...Activists and victims are traveling from across the country, including from states like Chiapas, Michoacán and Oaxaca, which have some of the highest numbers of religious freedom violations in the country, to give first-hand testimony of the violations they have witnessed [at a national conference on religious freedom in Mexico City, held on November 6th]. Witnesses include representatives from the Yashtinin community in Chiapas, who were violently displaced from their homes in 2012 after local authorities arbitrarily imprisoned all the Protestant men and boys, and attempted to force them to renounce their faith. The group of 40 people, including small children and the elderly, has been housed in an overcrowded former homeless shelter, and has yet to see any movement to resolve their situation.
"While often overlooked, Mexico continues to have one of the highest rates of religious freedom violations in the Western Hemisphere. In areas with high indigenous populations, where traditional forms of justice are exercised, members of minority religious groups are regularly subjected to attempts at forcible conversion and participation in majority religious festivals, exclusion from state run schools, barred from access to electricity, water and farmland, the destruction of religious buildings, violence, and in the worst cases, forced expulsion. While these are all clear violations of Mexican law, the government rarely intervenes to prosecute those responsible for criminal acts, including violent crime. A report by the Mexican Commission for the Promotion of Human Rights published in September found that religious intolerance is one of the principal reasons for forced displacement in the country..."
"While often overlooked, Mexico continues to have one of the highest rates of religious freedom violations in the Western Hemisphere. In areas with high indigenous populations, where traditional forms of justice are exercised, members of minority religious groups are regularly subjected to attempts at forcible conversion and participation in majority religious festivals, exclusion from state run schools, barred from access to electricity, water and farmland, the destruction of religious buildings, violence, and in the worst cases, forced expulsion. While these are all clear violations of Mexican law, the government rarely intervenes to prosecute those responsible for criminal acts, including violent crime. A report by the Mexican Commission for the Promotion of Human Rights published in September found that religious intolerance is one of the principal reasons for forced displacement in the country..."
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