The new Malian Constitution, which includes a recognition of Christians as a minority, should improve Christians’ living conditions in the country, according to Open Doors. The text, which intends to prepare a return to civilian rule, was approved in June in a referendum with 97% of the vote.
The report also noted the growing influence of the Islamic Allied Democratic forces in war-torn Congo.
This year’s World Watch List included actions taken against Christians by their governments. North Korea, at the top of the list for many years, continues to track illegal house churches and condemn Christians to “hard labor,” according to the organization.
China increased its crackdown on house churches through a set of “old and new authoritarian measures,” explained the watchdog group. Thousands of churches closed in the past year, and 83% of closures documented in the report happened in China and India.
The report also describes a degrading climate for Christians in Nicaragua due to President Daniel Ortega’s anti-clergy policies. Last August, the government confiscated the University of Central America, a Jesuit-run institution, accusing it of being a “center for terrorism.”
In February 2023, Bishop Rolando Álvarez was sentenced to 26 years in prison for “criticizing religious freedom conditions.” The bishop of Matagalpa was released Tuesday (Jan. 16) with 18 other priests after negotiations with the Vatican.
Open Doors also raised the alarm on the situation for Indian Christians and reports a rise in Christian killings and attacks on Christian schools and hospitals in that country.
Last May’s ethnic violence in northeastern India, between the Kuki Christian minority and the Meitei, Manipur’s biggest and largely Hindu ethnic group, led to the death of 160 Christians and forced thousands more out of their homes.
The organization said the ouster of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party from India’s southern Karnataka state might improve the situation for Christians there, as long-standing anti-conversion laws are repealed.
The 2024 top 10 list is:
- North Korea
- Somalia
- Libya
- Eritrea
- Yemen
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Sudan
- Iran
- Afghanistan
This article originally appeared on ReligionNews.com.
