World leaders, diplomats, and faith advocates gathered this week at Prague Castle and the Czernin Palace for the fifth annual International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) Ministerial, marking the Alliance’s fifth anniversary.

Under the auspices of the president of the Czech Republic, the high-level gathering centered on resilience and religious engagement.

Sam Brownback, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom in the first Trump administration, was recognized with the inaugural IRFBA Award for his decades-long leadership in advancing global religious liberty and his “vision in building coalitions that protect conscience and belief across divides.”

Panels throughout the two-day event explored regional and thematic challenges — from persecution in Eurasia and the Middle East to gender-based violence, climate change, and the need to monitor persecution trends to prevent genocide.

Sadly, religious persecution continues to be increasingly common around the world. Rising religious nationalism continues to undermine basic freedoms of belief and conscience. In India, militant Hindu groups aligned with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have targeted Christian and Muslim minorities. Several states have passed anti-conversion laws that criminalize peaceful expressions of faith.

In Myanmar, Buddhist nationalism remains central to the military junta’s justification for its assault on ethnic minority regions, where entire Christian and Muslim villages have been destroyed. Increasingly, loyalty to a dominant faith has become a dangerous test of national identity and belonging.

At the same time, growing Islamization is reshaping parts of Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. In countries where strict interpretations of Islam are embedded in law, non-Muslim minorities face discrimination, social exclusion, and violence. From blasphemy prosecutions in Pakistan to Islamist influence spreading across the Sahel, pluralism is narrowing and dissent is being silenced.

Authoritarian governments are also extending their reach abroad, targeting religious minorities and dissidents living in exile. Türkiye has intensified efforts to surveil and abduct critics overseas, while China continues to expand its global campaign against Uyghur Muslims, Falun Gong practitioners, and unregistered Christian groups. Reports describe Chinese operatives pressuring foreign governments to deport asylum seekers and intimidating diaspora communities across Asia, Africa, and Western nations.

Inside their borders, repressive states are tightening control over organized religion. In China, new regulations give the Communist Party sweeping authority over clergy, sermons, and church design. Registered churches must promote party ideology, while unregistered congregations face raids and arrests. Vietnam and Nicaragua have expanded a similar system of registration and surveillance, forcing churches into state-approved structures and imprisoning pastors who refuse to comply.

Meanwhile, Africa has become an epicenter of global terrorism. Groups such as Boko Haram, ISWAP, and al-Shabab continue to expand across Nigeria, Niger, Mali, and Somalia. At the same time, affiliates of the Islamic State and al-Qaida spread into the Sahel and Central Africa. Thousands of Christians have been killed or displaced in attacks aimed at erasing their presence from contested regions.

A recurrent message throughout the ministerial was that freedom of religion or belief is not only a human right but a foundation for peace, democracy, and resilience. Panels called for new collaborations between governments and faith-based organizations to use technology responsibly, promote intercultural understanding, and monitor violations of conscience worldwide.

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