Laos converts face eviction orders

Laos – Officials in the province of Savannakhet have ordered converts to Christianity to renounce their faith or face eviction from their villages. Amid concern at an upswing in conversions from the local animist faith, officials decreed that Christians will be removed from the district. Christians have rejected the order, pointing out that Laos is a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees freedom of religion.