» The King’s ongoing concern is a great source of encouragement to us at ACN. « Caroline Hull, Director ACN UK
King Charles III after the Advent service at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Mayfair, London.
Great Britain Thanks to ACN’s close cooperation with the British ACN national office, King Charles III was invited to attend an Advent service on 17 December at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Mayfair, London. The service was co-organised by ACN to commemorate the capture of Mosul and the Nineveh Plains by IS ten years ago. The King had previously shown strong concern for the plight of per- secuted Christians and had been in contact with ACN. USA ACN organised a two-week visit to Washington for Bishop Wilfred Anag- be. Through his personal meetings with members of Congress, a vote in support of Nigerian Christians was se- cured in the House of Representatives on February 6 as US Resolution 82. A solidarity and fact-finding trip to Nigeria was organised for the Africa Subcommittee of the US Congress, which took place on 14 December.
highlighted. One piece of good news from Pakistan, for example, was the introduction of a new law that only allows Christians in the region around the capital Islamabad to marry once they have reached the age of 18. This is a positive step forward, as it safeguards underage Christian girls from forced marriages to Muslims and the resulting conversion to Islam. Previously, a law permitted Christian girls to marry at the age of 13. Another key aspect of our advocacy work focused on the suffering of Christians in Nigeria. Bishop Wilfred Anagbe and Father Remigius Ihyula, both from the Diocese of Makurdi in Benue State, where Christians are exposed to extreme violence, particu- larly by militant Fulani extremists, and where two million people have already been displaced, spoke to vari- ous target groups in Europe and Great Britain. In Hungary, Bishop Anagbe met with ministers from all EU mem- ber states, advocating for Nigeria to remain a priority in foreign policy. In the Czech Republic, the Bishops’ Conference expressed its interest in a closer, structured cooperation with ACN. The Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs promised to provide a budget for the protection of Christians and religious minorities. In the Neth- erlands, ACN provided information for the preparation of a resolution by the new government calling for measures to protect Christian minorities abroad.
Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe, Bishop of Makurdi, Ni- geria (left), pictured here with Father Remigius Shawon Ihyula, campaigning in the EU and the USA on behalf of suffering Christians in Nigeria.
In 2024, ACN published a report of over 50 pages on the dramatic situation in Burkina Faso (find more on this country on pages 50/51).
EXTREMISM AND TERRORISM
ACN Activity Report 2024 | 27 Advocacy |
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