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(OPINION) On Aug. 22, the U.N. marked the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, a day designated for U.N. member states to reflect on their efforts to combat intolerance, discrimination and violence against persons based on their religion or belief. It was established as a direct response to the ever-growing issue of such violence, including in it most severe manifestations — international crimes such as crimes against humanity, war crimes and even genocide.

While the day was created particularly in response to the 2014 atrocities perpetrated by Daesh against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq — especially Yazidis, Christians and others — similar acts of violence continue to this day globally. The genocide unleashed by Daesh was followed by the Burmese military’s atrocities against the Rohingya Muslims, the Chinese government’s atrocities against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, the Boko Haram atrocities in Nigeria and atrocities against the Tigrayans in Ethiopia, to name only a few cases in which the severity of the crimes met the legal definition of international crimes. While in the majority of these cases the situation has been analyzed as ethnic in origin, in all of them there was a strong religious element that should not be neglected, especially if such targeting is grounded in law. Ultimately, even when the atrocities are addressed, if the law that gave rise to such atrocities remains, more will follow. 

A few years before some of the worst attacks on the Rohingya Muslim communities, the Burmese legislature introduced new laws that affected not only the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief but also the existence of religious communities. For example, the religious conversion law regulates conversion by way of imposing an extensive approval process, and the population control law legalizes the introduction of special zones with population control measures. One such measure is a “three-year birth spacing.” The population control law is aimed specifically at Muslim communities to prevent births within those groups. 

Similarly, in Xinjiang, the government introduced laws supposedly aimed at “religious extremism,” defined as “expressions and behaviors that are influenced by extremism, rendering radical religious ideas, and rejecting and intervening in normal production and life,” but in reality, they were aimed at any religious manifestation. Among the prohibited activities are practices that would otherwise be allowed in accordance with basic rights to freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief and especially religious manifestation — the right of parents to educate their children in accordance with their religious beliefs. 

In places where the atrocities are perpetrated by non-state actors, it is often the inaction and glaring impunity of the state actors that not only enable the perpetrators to continue unabated but also provide a fertile ground for further and future atrocities. In other words, if such atrocities are not investigated and prosecuted, more crime will follow. There is no doubt about it. 

Afghanistan is another place where religious minorities are at risk of atrocious crimes now that the Taliban has taken over. The situation of religious minorities was under threat even before the recent developments. However, the Taliban takeover marks a new era for religious minorities, and it will not be a good one. As Amnesty International reported, in July, the Taliban shot six men and tortured three to death, including “one man who was strangled with his own scarf and had his arm muscles sliced off.” The Hazara Shia community fears the worst, and this fear is substantiated by years of persecution and the recent developments. The threat they and other religious minorities face must be taken seriously.

On this International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, we need to reaffirm the right to freedom of religion or belief for all and work toward an environment that accommodates the full enjoyment of this right for all. In order to do so, we must ensure comprehensive protections and their full implementation. We must accommodate interfaith dialogue. We must challenge harmful speech and practices dehumanizing individuals and whole communities. We must recognize and understand the issue of persecution based on religion or belief and its different forms and manifestations. We must not only address acts of violence based on religion or belief once they occur but also act on incidents of intolerance, discrimination and harassment long before we see bodies on the streets. We must ensure justice and accountability in all cases. Until then, we will see more acts of violence based on religion or belief targeting some of the most vulnerable communities.

Ewelina U. Ochab is a legal researcher, human rights advocate, Ph.D. candidate and author of the book “Never Again: Legal Responses to a Broken Promise in the Middle East” and more than 30 U.N. reports. She works on the topic of persecution of minorities around the world. This piece was republished from Forbes with permission.