Activists Demand UN Action on Forced Conversions in Pakistan

Lawmakers and human rights defenders gathered at the Geneva Press Club to confront a harrowing reality: the state-sanctioned or tolerated pressures that strip minority women of their autonomy. The event, co-organized by Global Human Rights Defence and CAP Pour la Liberte de Conscience, served as a platform to move beyond rhetoric, specifically targeting the misuse of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

European MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen pointed to these legal structures as the primary engine driving current abuses, arguing that they provide cover for forced marriages and coerced religious shifts. Attendees emphasized that without coordinated pressure from the international community, the cycle of violence against these women will remain unbroken, leaving the most marginalized populations in Pakistan without protection or recourse.