UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was unacceptable in the 21st century for people to face discrimination and intimidation because of their beliefs, adding that persecution of religious minorities in the world was unbearable, pointing out that the full range of their human rights was guaranteed and states were obliged to implement policies. Ensure that their identities are respected and that they feel that they are a whole part of society as a whole.
Speaking at a meeting on religious freedom held by US President Donald Trump at the United Nations, Guterres noted that earlier this year, His Holiness Pope Francis, along with the virtue of the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb, signed a testimony to mutual respect, referring to the Brotherhood document Humanity, pointing out that diversity of religions is created by the Creator, wrote that "this divine wisdom is the source from which the right to freedom of belief and freedom of difference is derived."
The Secretary-General, saying: "Shattered my heart to see increasing numbers of individuals are humiliated, harassed and assaulted publicly because of their religion or beliefs.
Jews were killed in synagogues, their graves were desecrated with a swastika (the symbol of Nazism), Muslims were killed in mosques, Christians were killed during prayer and their churches were burned. ”
Guterres spoke of religious cleansing in some countries where entire communities have been targeted because of their faith - including in places where they have existed for centuries if not thousands of years.
He called on the international community to do its utmost to avoid religious cleansing of societies.
"I always remember when I was UNHCR and in a discussion about Chaldean and Assyrian communities in Iraq, Christian communities in Iraq, a friend of mine said, 'Well, you need to resettle them all in the Western world.'"
"Of course, for people in need of protection, resettlement is a measure. But I cannot accept that these communities that have been there for thousands of years are disappearing from their region," he explains.
He stressed that those who falsely denounce religion should be rejected to build misconceptions, to foment division and spread fear and hatred.