International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief

A person should never have to fear violence because of what they believe or because they choose not to believe. Imagine living in fear because you believe something else.

Across the world, there are cases of threats, violence, displacement, and discrimination because of their religion or belief. Places made for prayer and peace have themselves become targets of violence. Religious minorities, in particular, often experience hostility that extends beyond physical attacks to discrimination, hate speech, social exclusion and intimidation.

22 August is observed as the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. The United Nations General Assembly established the Day on 28 May 2019. The resolution strongly deplores violence against people because of their religion or belief, including attacks directed against their homes, businesses, schools, cultural centres and places of worship. It also recognizes the importance of providing appropriate support and assistance to victims and their families.

Freedom of Religion or Belief Is a Human Right. It is about human dignity and freedom. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This freedom is closely connected with freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. The United Nations rightly emphasizes that these rights are interdependent and mutually reinforcing.

Freedom of religion or belief means creating a society in which people can profess, practise, change or reject a belief without fear of violence, persecution or discrimination. The real test of this freedom is not how a society treats the beliefs of the majority. It is how it treats those whose beliefs are different, unpopular or held by only a small minority.

Religious violence rarely begins with the act of violence itself. It can begin much earlier with prejudice, stereotypes, dehumanising language, discriminatory practices and the gradual portrayal of another community as somehow less deserving of dignity or protection.

Today, this danger also exists online. Digital platforms can connect communities and promote understanding, but they can also amplify hatred, misinformation, stigma and scapegoating with extraordinary speed.

In his message marking the Day in 2026, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that religious minorities continue to face hostility both online and offline. He called upon governments to bring perpetrators to justice, religious leaders to speak against violence, and technology companies to protect users from stigma and scapegoating. This is an important as preventing religious violence requires intervention before hatred becomes violence.

States have the primary responsibility to protect human rights, including the rights of religious minorities and their freedom to practise their religion or belief. That responsibility is not about the constitutional guarantees written on paper. It requires institutions capable of turning those guarantees into reality. Where violence occurs, there must be effective investigation, prosecution and accountability. Where discrimination occurs, victims must have meaningful access to remedies. Where threats arise, institutions must act before those threats become attacks. Most importantly, the law must protect everyone equally.

International days can easily become ceremonial occasions: a statement is issued, victims are remembered, and the world moves on. The significance of 22 August should be greater than that. Remembering victims carries a responsibility to ask difficult questions. Are minorities able to worship safely? Are places of worship protected? Are hate crimes properly investigated? Do victims have confidence in justice institutions? Are political, community and religious leaders challenging intolerance rather than exploiting it? Are our schools teaching respect for diversity? And are digital spaces being allowed to turn prejudice into organized hatred?

These are not responsibilities of governments alone. Religious leaders, educators, lawyers, civil society, the media, technology companies and individual citizens all influence whether diversity becomes a source of social strength or social division.

Religious minorities in Pakistan are facing serious human rights concerns, particularly Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis and Shia Muslims, arising from the interaction of blasphemy laws, religious intolerance, mob violence and weaknesses in institutional protection. Blasphemy provisions can be misused in personal or property disputes and even an unproven allegation may expose individuals and communities to threats, violence, displacement, economic loss and social exclusion. These incidents, such as absence of violations of due process, intimidation of lawyers and judges, inadequate responses to mob violence, and impunity for perpetrators, are violation of Pakistan’s international human rights obligations, particularly freedom of religion, equality, security, and fair-trial protections.

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s 11 August 1947 speech remains one of the strongest message on which Pakistan was founded. He made it clear that every citizen should be free to go to their temples, mosques or other places of worship, regardless of religion, caste or creed. More importantly, Jinnah looked to the future with hope. He believed Pakistan was beginning its journey on the fundamental principle that there would be “no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another” and that “we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State.” This vision of religious freedom was later reflected in Article 20 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which guarantees the freedom to profess, practise and propagate religion and to establish and manage religious institutions, subject to law, public order and morality. The promise was clear from the beginning: a country where faith would not determine the worth or rights of a citizen. But the question remains: how closely does the reality in Pakistan reflect that founding promise?

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), religious minorities continued to face serious challenges in 2025. The Ahmadiyya community experienced attacks on places of worship, desecration of graves, arrests on religious charges and incidents of faith-based violence. Christian families affected by the 2023 Jaranwala violence reported that compensation remained unresolved, while 729 people, including 51 women and two juveniles, were reportedly imprisoned in Punjab on blasphemy-related charges as of June. HRCP also received complaints concerning alleged forced conversions involving Hindu children. These incidents alarms us about freedom of religion, protection of religious minorities and equal protection of the law in Pakistan.

The strongest message for this year’s observance comes from the UN Secretary-General:

“Whenever one group is persecuted, no group is safe.”

Human rights become meaningful only when we defend them not for ourselves, but also for people whose identity, faith or convictions differ from our own.