t the beginning of the 20th century (1900), Buddhism claimed a following of around 20 percent of the world's population. By the end of the 20th century it was down to 5 percent. This is largely because Buddhists have historically been found primarily in East and South East Asia, a region that has suffered severely from atheist-fundamentalist (Communist) persecution of all religion. Buddhism has not survived and revived as Christianity has.

At least three of the wounded survivors of a deadly Christmas night attack against a village church in Pakistan have sustained permanent eye damage, confirmed doctors from Lahore who operated on two of them.

Lack of religious freedom has always been an issue in Islam; however, the advance of the Islamic renewal movement and Islamic militancy has accentuated this. The rise of Hindutva over the past decade now extends to alleged government complicity in religious violence, and, in parts of India, anti-conversion legislation. Likewise the rise of Buddhist nationalism and militancy, which has lead to increased persecution, may soon extend to anti-conversion legislation being introduced in Sri Lanka.

Police used noxious gas to break up a Christian worship gathering attended by 40 Hmong people in the Dien Bien Dong district of North Vietnam.

CSW conducted interviews with 50 North Koreans in four different countries and heard of human rights abuses such as arbitrary executions and torture for this report which provides a rare insight into conditions in North Korea's secret prison camps.