Nearly 1,000 people have signed a petition calling for global religious freedom and the protection of fundamental rights, across a weekend of faith festivals. 

Organised by Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), signatories called on governments and international organisations to guarantee the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as established in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Ribqa Nevash, part of ACN’s delegation at the WeBelieve festival, spoke of the constant pressure to abandon her faith while growing up in Pakistan. She shared about being bullied at school for her Christian name, Rebecca in English, as the only Christian in a class of 75 students; being offered bribes of money and cars to renounce Christ. 

Nevash, now aged 26, was forced to flee Pakistan in 2023, having received death threats after appearing on national television. 

She also spoke about the Jaranwala attacks in August 2023, which saw mobs torch and rob more than 25 churches and at least 85 Christian homes in a single day.

Nevash told attendees in Birmingham: “ACN started a petition to enforce Article 18. We need all to sign that for religious freedom for all religions particularly Christians. My request to you today is [that] you have to sign that petition. With your one signature, more lives will be saved. I don’t like what is happening there – they need to stop and we need your help and your support.”

Dr Caroline Hull, ACN UK national director, spoke at an Ahmadiyya Muslim conference to demonstrate that religious freedom is an issue for all to champion. The community also faces persecution in Pakistan.

“Freedom of religion or belief is not a Christian cause or a Muslim one – it is a human one. And it is defended best when communities of different faiths stand together”, she said.