Christian and Jewish Leaders Criticize UN for Failure to Act to Protect Christians From Global Persecution

Religious leaders gathered at a conference held on April 18, 2015 on the sidelines of the regular meetings of the United Nations. The meeting was sponsored by Sponsored by the Global Strategic Alliance, the Eng Aja Eze Foundation and the National Israel Hispanic Coalition.

Entitled "The Persecution of Christians Globally: A Threat to International Peace and Security", a series of speakers called for increased UN action to protect Christians from state-sanctioned oppression and from terrorist atrocities.

One such speaker was Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations. Urging the world body to address the global threats to Christians, Auza stated: "Christians have been specifically targeted. As a 2014 Pew Research Center report on religious hostilities across the world documented, brutal attacks on people of faith happen to Christians more than to any other religious group. Between 2006 and 2012, Christians were targeted through harassment, persecution or martyrdom in 151 out of 193 Members States of the United Nations. This points to a collective failure of this international organization, whose primary objective is to spare peoples and nations from the scourge of violence and unjust aggressions."