Jubilee Campaign Raises Concern with the Enjoyed Impunity by Perpetrators of the Trafficking and Coerced Conversion of Coptic and other Indigenous and Religious Minority Women and Girls During the 53rd Human Rights Council Session’s Annual Discussion on Women

GENEVA, Switzerland – Jubilee Campaign addresses the Human Rights Council during the Annual Full-Day Discussion on the Human Rights of Women. Jubilee Campaign calls on the Council to ensure women enjoy the right to have and adopt the religion or belief of their choice by repealing anti-apostasy laws and discriminatory family laws and apprehend and prosecute all individuals, including police, government officials, and Islamic religious groups or authorities who participated or facilitated the coerced conversions or forced conversions of women and girls. 

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen; We are thankful for this annual discussion on women’s rights to again remind us of the importance of our voices being heard in the decision-making process. 

Jubilee Campaign would like to raise to the Council’s attention to the concerning trend where women and girls of the Coptic Christian faith in Egypt are routinely trafficked and forcibly married to Muslim men against their free will. 

There are an estimated fifty such cases annually, 500 within the past decade, and many victims regrettably still remain disappeared to this day. We note the statement made by the UN Special Procedures urging urgent action regarding coerced conversions, forced and child marriage in Pakistan and urge for equal attention for what is taking place in Egypt. 

During the NGO Commission the Status of Women, Jubilee Campaign held a joint parallel event with Coptic Solidarity and other organisations working in Egypt, Pakistan and Nigeria raising the worrying trend of coerced conversions, forced and child marriage. There were several parallels between the countries, especially the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators, discrimination in the response of police authorities when the victim is a minority and lack of access to justice since the Islamic courts are limited to adherants of the Muslim faith leaving the family of victims with no means of recourse. 

We therefore, urge the Council and UN member states to: 

– Embed language addressing concerns with the early, forced and coerced conversions of religious minorities in the upcoming resolution on child, early and forced marriage [which has been proposed and presented by several members of civil society to the penholders.] 

– Ensure women enjoy the right to have and adopt the religion or belief of their choice by repealing anti-apostasy laws and discriminatory family laws; 

– Apprehend and prosecute all individuals, including police, government officials, and Islamic religious groups or authorities who participated or facilitated the coerced conversions or forced marriages of women and girls.