Participants in hearings held by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) believe that children bear the greatest burden of violations of freedom of religion or belief.

This was reported by The Irish Catholic.

According to Commission Chair Vicky Hartzler, the group is deeply concerned about countries where governments restrict religious education and prevent children from learning or practicing their faith.

“These measures are intended to undermine religious identity by preventing beliefs from being passed from one generation to the next,” she said.

She stated that in China, authorities have imposed sweeping bans on religious education and practice for Uyghur Muslim and Tibetan Buddhist children. The government has separated tens of thousands of Uyghur and Tibetan children from their families through state boarding schools where Chinese is taught and all religious instruction is prohibited.

The Commission is also seriously concerned about the ongoing abduction and forced transfer of Ukrainian children by Russian authorities, actions that the United Nations has concluded constitute crimes against humanity.

“Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, thousands of children have been separated from their families, relocated to Russia or Russian-controlled territories, and subjected to state programs aimed at eradicating their Ukrainian culture, including their religious identity,” she said.

The group is also concerned about the Taliban’s “strict control” over a growing number of madrassas, or religious schools, in Afghanistan, which they use to impose a rigid state-sanctioned interpretation of Islam.

According to Hartzler, in countries where freedom of religion or belief is violated, children suffer the most from these abuses.

“Perpetrators target them because they are defenseless, knowing that harming girls and boys can destabilize families and entire religious communities,” she said.