Project countries

CSI is engaged in human rights work and currently is active in 15 countries and regions: Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Myanmar, Armenia-Nagorno Karabakh, Nepal, Central America, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Syria

CSI project countries

Children from Nagorno Karabakh

Armenia - Nagorno Karabakh

Nagorno Karabakh, or Artsakh, is part of the ancient homeland of the Armenians, the first Christian nation. After the USSR’s collapse, Nagorno Karabakh resisted conquest by neighboring Azerbaijan and became a free republic. In 2020 and 2023, Turkey and Azerbaijan attacked Nagorno Karabakh again, expelling its entire population. Today, for the first time in 1,700 years, there are no Christians in Nagorno Karabakh. CSI stands for the right of Karabakh Armenians to return to their homeland, and provides support to their community in exile in Armenia.

Children in Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh has experienced an upsurge in radical Islam in recent years. Pressure on religious minorities is increasing, and violent attacks are a common occurrence.

Children receive a hot meal

Central America

In the slums as well as in remote areas of Central America, children and young people suffer as a result of widespread poverty and violence. CSI works with local partners to make a difference. (For security reasons, we do not name all of these countries in this region where we are active.)

A church with a cross and images of four saints in Egypt

Egypt

Christians in Egypt face various forms of social and state-sanctioned discrimination. In recent years, there have been numerous attacks on churches and other Christian institutions. People living in rural areas are often affected by extreme poverty.

India

India

In India, members of religious minorities are facing an alarming increase in persecution, discrimination and violence. As with members of the lowest castes, they are additionally at risk of becoming victims of human trafficking.

An outdoor church service in West Papua

Indonesia - West Papua

Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world. However, the indigenous people of the West Papua region have been Christians for generations. Through a systematic settlement of Muslims, the Indonesian government is trying to change the religious make-up of West Papua, turning its Christians into a minority in their own home. Thousands of people have fallen victim to violence and reprisals. Expulsion, arbitrary arrests, torture in prison and unfair trials are the order of the day.

A girl shows off her new winter coat

Iraq

After the U.S. invasion in 2003, jihadist groups targeted Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq for extermination. Hundreds of thousands fled these attacks. Those who survived the Islamic State's genocide are rebuilding their lives. But the security situation remains very fragile and the future uncertain.

A schoolgirl in Thailand

Myanmar

Since independence from Great Britain in 1948, armed conflict has raged in Buddhist-majority Myanmar between the army and the ethno-religious minorities. Hundreds of thousands of people, including many Christians, have been displaced, wounded, tortured and killed in recent decades. CSI launched a new aid project in 2020 that focuses on the mainly Christian Karen minority.

A woman with chickens

Nepal

The oppression of religious minorities is becoming ever more widespread in Nepal. Since the anti-conversion law came into force in 2017, their situation has become increasingly difficult. Discrimination and attacks in everyday life are on the increase.

Smiling children at an orphanage

Nigeria

In the northeast and in the Middle Belt region, Islamist terrorist groups including Boko Haram and Fulani militias regularly carry out attacks on Christians and moderate Muslims. CSI is active in Nigeria, as well as in other sub-Saharan countries plagued by jihadist attacks, for example Mozambique.

A woman with a boy and a girl

Pakistan

In Pakistan, Christians experience discrimination and violence. They are also disproportionately affected by poverty and exclusion.

Franco Majok feeds the child of a freed slave

South Sudan and Sudan

During the Sudanese civil war (1983 - 2005), countless people in the south (now South Sudan) were killed by Islamist militias or abducted to the north. Even though the slave raids have stopped, many Southern Sudanese are still enslaved and are exposed to the cruel arbitrariness of slave owners; others were born in slavery. To date, CSI has been able to free over 160,000 slaves.

Smiling women with children

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, minorities are suffering increasingly under the rapid spread of nationalist ideas and Buddhist extremism. Together with local partners, CSI has been advocating for victims of religious persecution since 2016.

Three children in a kindergarten

Syria

Since 2011, Syria has been devastated by civil war and a cruel economic blockade. In recent years, the cost of living has skyrocketed for ordinary people, leading to widespread hunger and misery. Church leaders estimate that two-thirds of the country's Christians have left to escape jihadist attacks, war, and the destruction of their livelihoods.

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