Member's statement: Persecution of Christians: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Member's statement by Mrs Diane Dodds on .
- MLA
- Mrs Diane Dodds
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 23 September 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Persecution of Christians: Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5129086
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I rise to highlight the persecution of Christians, particularly those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Often, the world turns a blind eye to that brutal news. It does not get the same coverage as many other issues and the persecution of many other peoples. Open Doors reports that over 380 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination: one in seven Christians worldwide. In the past month, at least 100 people have been killed by Islamic groups in a series of attacks in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and a large number of them were of the Christian faith. Over 95% of the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are Christian, but levels of Islamic extremist violence have soared over the past year. That is only one of many attacks on Christians over the past year. On 22 August, 59 Christians were killed in attacks. On 3 August, 49 Christians were killed. On 25 February, Christians were found killed in a church. On 30 January, churches closed as rebels attempted to take them over. I could go on to list other examples. I want the House to recognise the persecution of Christians, not just in the Democratic Republic of the Congo but worldwide, and acknowledge that it is a real and present issue and that people are entitled to live out their faith in freedom.
234 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.27 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- Criteria met: Identity framing (0.70).
- The text adopts the identity-based framing in its own voice (0.57).
- Subject area: Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.70 | Yes |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.18 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.05 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.31 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.15 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.22 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.27 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.24 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.01 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.18 |
| Adopts it (chosen) | 0.57 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 01:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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