U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the “Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom” event at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday hosted an event at the United Nations headquarters titled ‘Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom,’ calling on the international community and business leaders to work to protect religious freedom.
“As president, protecting religious freedom is one of my highest priorities and always has been,” Trump said during his remarks. “The United States of America calls upon the nations of the world to end religious persecution.”
Trump accused his fellow heads of state of hypocrisy on worldwide religious persecution. He urged them to increase the prosecution and punishment of crimes against religious communities.
“Too often people in power preach diversity, while shunning or silencing the faithful,” Trump said. “True tolerance means respecting the rights of all people to express their deeply held religious beliefs.”
“We’re standing up for almost 250 million Christians around the world who are persecuted for their faith,” he said, according to Open Doors USA.
“It is estimated that 11 Christians are killed every day […] for following the teachings of Christ.” President Trump added, reportedly using the research from World Watch List, which shows that over 245 million Christians live in places where they experience high levels of persecution for their faith.
“Today, I ask all nations to join us in this urgent moral duty,” Trump said. “We ask the governments of the world to honor the eternal right of every person to follow their conscience, live by their faith, and give glory to God. The United States has a vital role in this critical mission.”
He went on to pledge $25 million to protect religious freedom, sites and relics globally – and the formation of a coalition of U.S. businesses for the protection of religious freedom.
This country, referring to USA, is “founded on the principle that our rights do not come from government, they come from God,” Trump said.
