Pakistan: Abduction, Religious Conversion, and Forced Marriage of Minors from Minority Religious Groups

Despite local and international advocacy, girls under the age of 18, belonging to minority religious groups in Pakistan, and to disadvantaged social classes, remain under the threat of abduction, forced conversion to Islam, and forced marriages. On 20 August 2020, the World Evangelical Alliance and the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches submitted the following written statement addressing this issue to the Human Rights Council’s 45th session (14 September – 6 October 2020) under Agenda item 4: Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention.