Seventh-day Adventist religious liberty activist Gianfranco Rossi addressed the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on March 28, telling delegates that “Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that formally prohibits on its territory the public practice of all other religions except Islam.”

Citing an incident in January of this year in which Saudi authorities arrested 16 Christians, including five children, for meeting for a private religious service, Rossi called for greater awareness of the plight of people of all minority faiths in Saudi Arabia.

“Among the 6 million immigrant workers, there are many who are not Muslims and who would like to freely profess their religion,” said Rossi. “However, if they try to do this, they are arrested, imprisoned and expelled from the country. Saudi authorities prohibit Jews, Christians, and all other non-Muslims from having their places of worship and even from meeting in private.”

Rossi later met with representatives of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, telling them that “religious extremism is a scourge, which must be fought to avoid serious tragedies for humanity.”