At the hearing, Representative Chris Smith, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee, defended the US decision to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act. He said the designation was “long overdue” given years of deadly attacks on Christian communities.

Smith said he was troubled by reports that Nigeria had hired DCI Group under a contract worth $9 million, or $750,000 a month, to influence US policymakers. He also cited a separate $120,000-a-month contract involving a Nigerian billionaire and another Washington-based firm.

“They come with well-written talking points to say there’s nothing to see here,” Smith said , arguing that the lobbying efforts risk minimising the scale of religious violence in Nigeria.

Other lawmakers cautioned against oversimplifying Nigeria’s crisis. Representative Sara Jacobs, the ranking member of the subcommittee, said the violence affects both Christians and Muslims and is driven by multiple factors, including terrorism, banditry and farmer-herder conflicts.

Jacobs also criticised recent US military strikes in Nigeria, questioning their effectiveness and warning that they could worsen instability rather than protect civilians.

Former US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback told the hearing that CPC designations mean little without consequences, urging the US to back them with sanctions and other concrete measures.

Another witness, Dr Stephen Schneck, a former chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, said military responses could be counterproductive and noted that the cost of recent airstrikes may have exceeded funding previously used for peacebuilding and interfaith programmes.

Nigeria’s government has rejected claims that Christians are facing genocide, saying the country’s security crisis is complex and not driven solely by religion .

Globally, the number of Christians experiencing persecution rose to 388 million during the reporting period from October 2024 to September 2025, up from 380 million a year earlier, marking the highest figure since the annual survey began.

These are the 10 countries that topped Open Doors’ watch list: 

Why North Korea is No. 1

Among the 15 worst places in the world for Christians, nine belonged to Asia. 

North Korea retained its position as the most dangerous country to be a Christian for the 24th consecutive year, with the report citing “dictatorial paranoia” by the ruling regime and the continued imprisonment of tens of thousands of believers in forced labour camps.

Open Doors estimates that between 50,000 and 70,000 Christians are detained in North Korea, with documented cases of brutal interrogation and punishment of those forcibly returned from China.

It also noted the use of church buildings as a propaganda tool to signal tolerance of faith. 

“While the church buildings displayed in the capital Pyongyang might suggest a degree of tolerance, this is propaganda. The reality is very different,” the report said. 

“Christianity has no place in North Korea, a country where homage must be directed one way only: towards the Kim regime,” it continued. 

To help Christians in North Korea, Open Doors called for prayers for Kim Jong-un and his family: “Ask God to change their hearts – knowing that He did the same for the Apostle Paul.”

Nigeria is deadliest country for Christians

Beyond the Korean peninsula, the report highlighted rising pressure across Asia, including tougher restrictions on religious practice in China, sweeping anti-conversion laws in India and persistent violence in Myanmar’s civil war.

China ranked 17th overall, with Open Doors warning of an intensifying crackdown on religious groups as authorities tighten control over worship, organisation and religious expression.

The list of the 15 most hostile countries also included Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Libya, Iran , Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar and Mali, showing that persecution remains widespread beyond Asia.

The report said conditions in Syria had deteriorated following political upheaval, while Africa continued to account for the highest number of killings despite a lower overall share of persecuted Christians.

During the year covered, at least 4,849 Christians were killed worldwide, 4,712 were detained and more than 3,600 churches and Christian properties were attacked.

Nigeria, ranked seventh overall, remained the deadliest country for Christians, with more than 25,200 believers killed there since 2020, according to the report.“It seems the violence in northern Nigeria is never-ending,” it said. “Ask God to bring peace to this country.”

Open Doors said its findings were based on field research in 100 countries, measuring both violent incidents and pressure on Christians across private, family, community, national and church life.

Justice Bahati Mwamuye rejected an oral request by Rastafarian representatives who asked the court to protect their members from house searches, arrests and repeated police stop-and-search operations. Instead, the judge directed them to file a formal application supported by evidence showing continued harassment by police across the country.

Rastafarian leaders say increased media attention around the court case has made their members easy targets. Through their lawyer, Shadrack Wambui, they told the court that Rastafarians are often stopped, searched or questioned simply because of their appearance, even when they are not in possession of cannabis.

They argue that such encounters are driven by stereotypes linking their faith to bhang use rather than reasonable suspicion, and that the repeated searches violate their dignity, privacy and freedom of religion.

“We pray that members of the community be allowed to operate without constant searches and stereotyping,” Wambui told the court.

However, the Attorney General opposed the request for interim protection, arguing that the Rastafarians had not provided concrete evidence of harassment or unlawful arrests. The court agreed that formal affidavits and documented cases would be required before any protective orders could be considered.

The petition at the centre of the dispute was first filed in 2021. It seeks legal recognition of the Rastafari faith and a declaration that cannabis use for worship, meditation and spiritual growth should not be criminalised.

Until the case is decided, with a key hearing scheduled for March 19, 2026, Kenya’s existing drug laws remain in force.

According to Gloria Arriero, Director of Colombia’s national immigration service, the adults arrived in the country between 22 and 23 October from the United States and Panama, entering with valid documentation. Their presence drew immediate attention after an alert and an anonymous tip prompted a joint investigation by Migration Colombia, the Gaula Militar Oriente, and the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF). The adults were held temporarily in Medellín before being transferred to New York , while the minors were placed under ICBF protection.

Arriero said the children would remain under the custody of New York State authorities to guarantee their safety and determine long-term protective measures. Colombian officials framed the operation as part of broader efforts to address cross-border risks involving vulnerable minors, especially in cases linked to groups already under international scrutiny.

Lev Tahor has faced years of allegations of abuse, mistreatment, and educational deprivation, reported by former members in different countries. The community, which established a compound in Colombia in October, has also been the subject of legal cases abroad. Its original leader, Shlomo Helbrans, convicted of fraud in the United States, died in Mexico in 2017, and the group has since attempted to establish communities in Canada and Guatemala.

Despite the controversies, Lev Tahor has repeatedly denied all accusations, insisting it is the target of religious persecution. The latest intervention in Colombia adds to a growing list of international actions involving the group, reflecting a wider global concern over the welfare of children within isolated religious communities.

Dr Kabiru Adamu, Managing Director of Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited, said available evidence does not support Trump’s assertion. “That claim by President Trump, we describe it as selective, you know, narrative,” he stated, arguing that the comment appears shaped by domestic political considerations in the United States . “He, for some reason, decided, and I think it’s because of domestic politics in the US, to narrow down on religion. But the reality, as we know it, looking at the data at our disposal, suggests that it is not a religious genocide.”

Analysts highlighted that while children are often among the victims, this is largely because rural schools are frequent targets for armed groups who operate in remote areas with limited state presence. As Dr Adamu explained, “There are instances where the attacks specifically target children, especially if the attacks have to do with schools… But then, when you disaggregate the data, you find out that it cuts across both children and adults.”

Experts also underscored broader structural challenges: in security is most severe in rural communities, where communication systems are weak and security responses slow. These conditions have allowed armed groups to abduct more than 1,400 students and teachers since 2014, particularly in the north-west and north-central regions, underscoring how Nigeria’s security crisis continues to deepen beyond religious narratives.

For instance, Serbia is believed to have lost between 16% and 27.8% of its population during the war, placing it among the hardest-hit nations in proportional terms.

Meanwhile, Western European nations such as France lost around 4.3% to 4.4% of their populations.

These figures help explain why social and political life across Europe and beyond was permanently transformed: a generation of young men lost, entire communities disrupted, and the demographic shock rippling into post-war unrest and reconstruction.

For smaller states or those deeply entangled in fighting, the losses were especially devastating.

In today’s global context, the map also resonates with how we understand modern conflict and its ripple effects. As the world watches ongoing conflicts, whether in parts of Africa, Eurasia or the Middle East, the notion that war doesn’t just kill those who fight but also destabilises societies remains painfully relevant.

Furthermore, remembrance efforts continue to highlight the war’s legacy. In northern France, for example, dozens of remains of WWI soldiers are still being discovered each year, an enduring testament to how the conflict’s footprint remains in the landscape.

The remains of a World War I soldier unearthed during construction work in France were laid to rest on Wednesday, June 12, 2025. Serjeant Henry Ashton from Derbyshire, who lost his life at the age of 44 in 1917 during an operation near Lens, received a dignified burial more than a century after his passing.

"It has been a privilege to identify Sjt Ashton, and to be able to organise this burial service for him. When you consider the half a million men still missing from the First and Second World Wars, every one we can identify feels like an achievement," Alexia Clark, the UK's Ministry of Defence's War Detective, said.

“ America will just use these Christians as a scapegoat to attack Nigeria — not necessarily to salvage Christians but rather an attempt to harness the resources in Nigeria,” said Idris Salisu Rogo, a public affairs analyst and lecturer at Bayero University Kano.

Civil society voices also questioned Washington’s approach, insisting support should come through partnership, not force. “If they want to support Nigeria, it is not necessary to come through an invasion or through the American military,” argued activist Salisu Yusuf. “They could provide training to Nigerian security forces.”

Trump made the remarks at a rally in Florida , citing attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s northern and central regions.

His comments have drawn swift pushback from Nigerian officials and added fresh strain to already sensitive geopolitical relations, with many Nigerians insisting that internal challenges require domestic solutions — not foreign troops.